Bugatti Type 59, Monaco Grand Prix 1934 #28

The Type 59 was Bugatti's last successful Grand Prix car: a long, low two-seater body over a supercharged straight-eight of just under 3.3 litres and piano-wire wheels whose aluminium backplates took the drive and braking loads while the spokes carried only the weight. It arrived late in 1933 and was often beaten by Auto Union, Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo, whose cars had independent suspension and hydraulic brakes; its one major Grand Prix win came at Spa in 1934. At Monaco on 2 April 1934 Tazio Nuvolari drove number 28 from fifth on the grid. Guy Moll won in an Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3, and Nuvolari finished fifth, completing 98 of the 100 laps.

Amalgam Collection modelled the car from a scan of chassis 59122, owned by Ralph Lauren, with archive imagery and paint codes from Bugatti. The deep red body is dense with rivets and louvres, with leather straps across the bonnet, fine copper pipework along the flanks, and 28 on the tail, the flanks and the grille mesh. The tail carries the registration 8264-NVI, and Nuvolari's name runs in white script beside the cockpit. Inside are a brown leather seat, a tan rimmed four-spoke steering wheel and an engine-turned dashboard with its dials. The model is just over 20 cm long and sits on a black gloss plinth with the Bugatti oval and Type 59 on its steel plaque. Amalgam Collection builds it at 1:18.