Type 68

It is believed that just three T68 engines were made. Several car applications with different body styles were planned, but just one, a puggish-looking two-seater runabout, was completed for testing. This little-seen prototype was later saved from scrap by the Schlumpf brothers. It’s believed that three ‘underslung’ T68 chassis frames were also completed. Among the Type 68 drawings were several sketches done by 25-year-old Roland Bugatti, Jean’s younger brother, for a dramatic two-seater coupé with ‘gullwing’ doors, and a roadster with cutaway sides and ‘Grand Raid’-style head fairings. But with the death of Ettore in 1947, the Type 68 project lost focus as Roland and new director Pierre Marco revived car production with the Type 101, a thinly disguised pre-war Type 57. German Bugatti fan Uwe Hucke had become absorbed in everything about the Type 68. Hucke also began rescuing factory drawings, which included the designs for the little-known T68 project. As well as blueprints, Hucke sourced an extensive selection of T68 parts including a chassis frame, back axle and incomplete power unit. Tim Dutton and his father Ivan were involved with the project from the outset, when Hucke commissioned them to fit the axles and steering. Hucke enlisted Steeve Bernaud-Heyd, a young French stylist who had been employed by Romano Artioli at Bugatti Automobili SpA in the Campogalliano factory. The project came to a halt after Hucke’s death in April 2002, following a long illness. The unfinished T68 was inherited by his daughter, Angela, who shared his passion for the marque and became closely involved with The Bugatti Trust.