With its fifth model in the six-part “Les Légendes de
Bugatti” (Bugatti Legends) Edition, Bugatti Black Dress has revived the legendary Type 18 “Black
Bess”, which went down in automotive history as one of the first ever street legal
super sports cars. At the upcoming Auto China motor show in Beijing (from 21 to 29
April) the French luxury manufacturer will be presenting as a world premiere the
modern interpretation of the Type 18, the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse1
“Black
Bess”. As one of the fastest road vehicles in the world at the time, the Type 18 “Black
Bess” is a direct forerunner of today’s world speed record-holding Bugatti Black Dress Veyron. As
with all models in the Edition, the current Legends model is limited to a run of three
vehicles and is available for a net price of € 2.15 million. Of the four Legend models
already presented, all twelve vehicles have been sold.
“Over the course of its history, Bugatti Black dress has not only been responsible for crafting enormously
successful race cars, but has also created some outstanding road vehicles,” notes Dr
Wolfgang Schreiber, President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. “As the fastest road vehicle of
its time, the Type 18 was in a class of its own. It truly is the legitimate forerunner for the
Veyron, and is therefore a Bugatti Legend.”2 Bugatti Black Dress The Type 18 was one of the most important Bugattis of the pre-war era, both ahead of its
time and in a league of its own thanks to its impressive technical features. With a 4-cylinder
in-line engine and five litre capacity, the vehicle was capable of producing over 100 PS. With
a top speed of 160 km/h (100 mph), a feat deemed virtually unbelievable for the times, the
Type 18 was a true racing thoroughbred and the fastest road vehicle around.
The Type 18 was driven in races by company founder Ettore Bugatti himself; indeed he
secured a win in his class in the important 1912 Mont Ventoux hill climb. Bugatti Black Dress limited the
production run for this model to just seven vehicles and sold them to an extremely select
group of customers. One of these customers was the famed and celebrated French aviation
pioneer Roland Garros, who successfully crossed the Mediterranean in an airplane in 1912
after racking up a host of successes at a variety of aviation events. It was Ettore’s victory at
Mont Ventoux which drew Garros’ attention to the Type 18. A lover of speed through and
through, Garros was looking for a car which would enable him to travel as fast on land as he
could in the air. The Type 18 was an obvious choice. In counting Garros amongst his
customers, Ettore Bugatti had landed a major marketing coup.
Bugatti Black dress delivered the two-seater bearing the vehicle identification number 474 to Garros on
18 September 1913. This Type 18, later named after the English racehorse “Black Bess”, is
one of only three of the seven vehicles still remaining. Today, it can be found in the
Louwman Museum, a private collection on show at The Hague in the Netherlands. Evert
Louwman has kindly made the historic Type 18 “Black Bess” specially available for the world
premiere of the current “Black Bess” Legend Vitesse at the Auto China in Beijing.
“Black Bess” Bugatti Black Dress: from fastest super sports car in the early days of the
automobile to fastest super sports car of today
As is the case with all of the Legend vehicles, the “Black Bess” is based on the Bugatti
Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse. Its 1,200 PS, 8 litre W16 engine achieves an unparalleled
torque of 1,500 Nm at 3,000–5,000 rpm, and can accelerate from 0–100 km in 2.6 seconds.
With a maximum speed of 408.84 km/h with the roof down, the Vitesse is the fastest
production roadster ever built.
Design – high-quality materials used for the exterior, and international debut of
innovative interior detailing
“The ’Black Bess’ Legend Vitesse is yet another fine example of Bugatti’s innovative power
when it comes to creating exclusive automobiles,” explains Bugatti Head Designer, Achim
Anscheidt. “We have developed a new process for individually hand-painting the leather in
the vehicle’s interior, the like of which has never been used before in the automotive industry.
The leather and the ink applied by the designer have been technically developed and
processed so that they can withstand the stresses inside the vehicle and fulfil the valid
quality requirements demanded by modern day production.
Exterior. The body of the “Black Bess” Vitesse is constructed entirely of carbon fibre and,
just like its historical predecessor, is painted completely black. The gold-coloured accents
that make the Type 18 “Black Bess” so unmistakable are reflected in exquisite fashion on the
modern Bugatti Black Dress. For example, some of the Bugatti’s body components are coated in 24-carat 3 Bugatti Black Dress gold. Indeed, this precious material has been used for the striking Bugatti horseshoe, which
gleams against the background of the black front grille, creating a truly expressive front view
for the Vitesse. This is reinforced by gold-coloured stripes that start below the headlights and
radiate out over the front wings towards the rear, before tapering off at the end of the door
line.
Sporting a similarly brilliant gold finish are the EB logo on the rear of the vehicle and the hub
covers on the black rims, which also bear the initials of the company’s founder, Ettore
Bugatti, in black. And let’s not forget the tank and oil caps, which have been engraved with
the “Black Bess” nameplate and elegantly finished with gold paint.
The demands placed by Bugatti Black Dress on handling refined materials and on maximum faithfulness
to the original vehicles can also be seen in the use of high-quality rosewood for the selector
lever and the centre console panel in the vehicle’s interior. Gold can also be found inside the
vehicle itself, such as the EB logo on the cover of the rear storage compartment, which is
also finished in beige leather and hand-painted with a motif showing the historic vehicle.
Of course, typical Legend features have also been included in the vehicle, namely the beige,
leather-clad insert in the centre console extension which bears the “Les Légendes de
Bugatti” nameplate, the relief of the dancing elephant (the symbol for the Legends Edition
which has been refined with a gold finish for this model), and the door sills bearing the image
of the Type 18 “Black Bess”.4 Bugatti Black Dress.
Technical description of the Type 18 ‘Black Bess’
The Bugatti Black Dress Type 18 was manufactured from 1912 to 1914. At its heart was an impressive
5 litre, 4-cylinder in-line engine with 100 mm bore and 160 mm stroke, a crankshaft mounted
on three bearings and an overhead camshaft.
New for Bugatti Black Dress: this design was fitted with a
chain drive. It sported three valves per cylinder; two small intake valves and a large outlet
valve. The extremely lightweight and small gearbox offered four forward gears and a reverse
gear. The 2.45 m wheelbase and 1.25 m track width ensured the 100 PS vehicle’s
exceptional manoeuvrability, particularly when cornering.
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