Bucciali
TheBuccialiwas a Frenchautomobilemanufactured from 1922 until 1933.
Built by the brothers Angelo and Paul-Albert Bucciali, the company's first vehicle, produced atCourbevoie,was acyclecar,sold under the name Buc. Initial offerings were powered by 1,340 cc two-cylindertwo-stroke engines.In 1925, a 1,600 ccS.C.A.P.-engine model appeared, available in two versions: the "Tourisme"and the"Quatre Speciale"supercharged.A six-cylinder car of 1,500 cc displacement was also offered.
In October 1928, a sensation at the22nd Paris Motor Showwas the Bucciali TAV-6.[1]Six years before the appearance of theCitroën Tractionand more than two years before the launch of theDKW F1,the Bucciali TAV-6 featured front-wheel drive.[1]Another innovative concept, which would only become familiar to most auto industry observers several decades later, was provided by theSensaud de Lavaudinfinitely variable automatic transmission.[2]The car was exhibited on the Bucciali show stand in bare chassis form, enabling visitors to study theFWDdrivetrain with its enormous transversely mounted transmission, as well as the all-round independent suspension.[1]Almost as eye-catching in their own terms were the wheels, which were elaborately sculpted fromAlpaxcastings.[note 1][1]The car at the show sat on a 3,470 mm (136.6 in) wheelbase and was powered by aContinentalside-valve 2.4-litre engine.[1]Later versions of the car would be offered with 6- or 8-cylinder engines.
In the 1930s, the company produced theDouble Huit,also a front-wheel drive model, which was powered by a pair ofContinentalstraight-eight enginesmounted side by side. The last of theprototypestook aVoisin12-cylinder engine. Very few of the front-wheel-drive Buccialis ever reached the road.
While it is not known exactly how many of the TAV 12 models were produced, only three are known by automotive enthusiasts to still exist: one in the USA, one in France, and one in Canada.
The black Bucciali that still exists was rebuilt by Bruce Kelly with the help of Robert LeMire at Lake Country Classics in Saint Paul Minnesota.
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- David Burgess Wise,The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles.[full citation needed]
External links
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