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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The Bugatti Type 57G Tank was a streamlined endurance racer, and a Type 57G driven by Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist gave Bugatti its first Le Mans victory in 1937. Its enclosed-wheel body and weight-saving chassis made it one of the marque’s most distinctive racing cars. The surviving car is identified by the Simeone Foundation as the Le Mans winner, although the museum titles it “1936 Bugatti 57G ‘Tank’”—a reminder that Type 57G cars were built in both 1936 and 1937.
What was the Bugatti Type 57G Tank?
The Type 57G was Bugatti’s sports-racing car for top-level competition after Le Mans organizers introduced new regulations in 1936. The “Tank” nickname refers to its unusual aerodynamic body: Bugatti describes a full-width magnesium-alloy shell that enclosed the wheels. A drilled chassis was intended to reduce weight, and the car used an inline eight-cylinder engine.
Bugatti credits Wimille with Type 57G victories at Montlhéry and the Grand Prix de la Marne in 1936. The model therefore had a racing record before its celebrated Le Mans result the following year.
How did the Tank win Le Mans in 1937?
For the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 19–20 July 1937, Bugatti entered two cars. Pierre Veyron and Roger Labric drove one; Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist drove the winning Type 57G. Bugatti’s 2013-era Jean-Pierre Wimille press release records the winning distance as 3,287.938 km at an average 136.99 km/h. Bugatti’s 2023 overview rounds the distance to 3,287 km and says the team covered about 100 km more than the runner-up.
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Bugatti describes this as the marque’s first Le Mans victory. On the race’s long straight, its 2023 account says the Tank reached nearly 220 km/h (135 mph). That figure is Bugatti’s reported speed for the straight, not a general average or a modern independently measured test.
What did the Type 57G Tank’s specifications look like?
Published specifications vary by source and account, so the figures below should be read with their attributions rather than combined into one definitive configuration sheet for the winning car.
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| Specification | Published figure | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Engine displacement | 3,266 cc | Bugatti’s 2023 Le Mans history for the Type 57G. |
| Engine output | 170 PS | Bugatti’s 2023 Le Mans history for the Type 57G. |
| Engine displacement | 3,257 cc | The Bugatti Trust’s undated Type 57G reference entry, accessed in 2026; not presented as a specific configuration sheet for the Le Mans winner. |
| Engine output | Approximately 200 bhp | The Bugatti Trust’s undated Type 57G reference entry, accessed in 2026. |
| Engine output | Approximately 200 hp | Bugatti’s earlier press material describing the Tank; a separate published figure from its 2023 account. |
| Supercharging | Roots supercharging | The Bugatti Trust’s general Type 57G entry; the entry is not a precise configuration sheet for the 1937 Le Mans winner. |
| Wheelbase | 2.98 m | Bugatti’s earlier press material and the Bugatti Trust entry for 1936–37 cars. |
| Transmission and brakes | Four-speed gearbox with reverse; four-wheel cable-operated brakes | The Bugatti Trust’s general Type 57G entry. |
| Body and chassis | Streamlined magnesium-alloy body enclosing the wheels; drilled weight-saving chassis | Bugatti’s 2023 overview. |
The different displacement and output figures belong to distinct published accounts. They do not establish that one source is simply a corrected version of the other, or that every Type 57G had an identical specification.
How many Type 57G Tanks were built?
The published totals conflict. Bugatti’s press release says three Type 57G Tanks were produced; the Bugatti Trust’s Type 57G reference entry says four. Neither figure should be treated as settled on the strength of these references alone.
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There is also a naming and dating wrinkle. Bugatti says Type 57G cars were built in 1936 and 1937, while the Simeone Foundation titles its surviving example “1936 Bugatti 57G ‘Tank’.” The canonical “1937 Bugatti Type 57 G Tank” name is closely associated with the Le Mans-winning car and race, but it should not be read as a claim that every Type 57G was built in 1937.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about the surviving car?
The Simeone Foundation identifies its car as the “aerodynamic mule,” calls it the sole surviving 57G Tank, and identifies it as the Le Mans winner. Those are the museum’s descriptions of the car and its history.
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According to the museum’s provenance account, the car was kept at Molsheim, moved to Bordeaux in 1940, and brought to the United States in 1961. It was sold to Colonel Eri Richardson in 1968, after which he pursued its restoration. The account presents the history of the surviving example; it does not resolve the differing production totals.
Is the 1937 Tank the same car as Bugatti’s 1939 Le Mans winner?
No. Bugatti distinguishes the 1937 Type 57G from its 1939 Le Mans winner, a developed Type 57C driven by Jean-Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron. The 1937 victory belongs to Wimille and Robert Benoist in the Type 57G. The changed model designation and driver pairing matter: the 1939 result should not be credited to the Tank or used as evidence for its specifications.
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Bugatti President Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber described the 1937 result as “a meteoric high point” in the marque’s racing life in the Jean-Pierre Wimille Legend press release. The Tank’s lasting significance rests on that first Le Mans win and on a body-and-chassis design that made its racing purpose unmistakable.
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