Bugatti Type 53

The Bugatti Type 53 was a four-wheel drive racing car built by Bugatti in 1932, one of the first racing cars to try to drive all four wheels. It combined the 4,972 cubic centimetre engine of the Type 50 road car with the chassis of the Type 51 racer and produced roughly 300 horsepower. The concept came from Giulio Cappa, who had made a front-wheel drive Grand Prix car in 1926, and Antonio Pichetto developed it at Bugatti from 1930. Its elaborate front drivetrain brought the only independent front suspension Ettore Bugatti ever approved. The car was notoriously hard to steer: Albert Divo gave up during practice at its 1932 Monaco Grand Prix debut, and Jean Bugatti rolled one at the Shelsley Walsh hill climb. René Dreyfus won the 1934 La Turbie hillclimb in one and Robert Benoist won the 1935 Chateau-Thierry hillclimb, after which the type was retired. Two or three were built.