Bugatti does not build many cars like the Bugatti Type 51: a Underslung type with 1.5-2.3 L 16-valve DOHC straight-8 engine, 130-185 hp, built from 1931 to 1935 when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. Its designer of record is Ettore Bugatti, Jean Bugatti.
The story
The Bugatti Type 51 series succeeded the famous Type 35 as Bugatti's premier racing car for the 1930s. The main distinction is that it uses a twin cam engine. Unlike the dominant Type 35s of the prior decade, the Type 51 (and later Type 53, Type 54, and Type 59) were unable to compete with the government-supported German and Italian offerings.
What is underneath
Under the skin sits 1.5-2.3 L 16-valve DOHC straight-8 engine, 130-185 hp. Kerb weight is 750-850 kg. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual + reverse. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2400 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Where it sits in Bugatti's history is not in doubt: the Bugatti Type 35 came before it; the Bugatti Type 59 followed it; it was built at Molsheim, Alsace (Usine Bugatti de Molsheim), France. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Chevrolet Suburban, the Mercedes-Benz W15, the Lancia Artena. Nearby in the Bugatti catalogue sit the Bugatti 57 Galibier and the Bugatti 8-cylinder line.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Bugatti Type 51 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.