Description

The Bugatti Type 252 Biplace Sport was a unique prototype developed between 1957 and 1962, marking the final automotive endeavor by the original Bugatti family before the company’s sale to Hispano-Suiza in 1963. Conceived under the direction of Roland Bugatti, Ettore Bugatti’s youngest son, the Type 252 aimed to rejuvenate the brand with a modern, mid-sized sports car.

Designed by Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, the Type 252 featured a sleek, two-seat roadster body crafted from aluminum. The car’s aesthetic combined contemporary lines with traditional Bugatti elements, such as the signature horseshoe grille. Its compact dimensions and lightweight construction were intended to deliver agile performance and appeal to a new generation of sports car enthusiasts.

Under the hood, the Type 252 was powered by a 1.5-liter inline-four engine, derived from halving the straight-eight engine of the earlier Type 251. This engine produced approximately 120 horsepower and was coupled with a four-speed manual transmission. The car employed MacPherson strut suspension at both the front and rear—a notable innovation for Bugatti at the time—and was equipped with hydraulic drum brakes on all four wheels.

Despite its promising design, the Type 252 faced numerous challenges during development, including engine reliability issues and financial constraints. These hurdles ultimately prevented the car from reaching production, leaving the sole prototype as the only example ever built.

Today, the Bugatti Type 252 Biplace Sport is preserved at the Cité de l’Automobile museum in Mulhouse, France. It stands as a testament to the Bugatti family’s enduring commitment to innovation and excellence in automotive engineering, even in the face of adversity.