1 The chisel-point tail was cribbed from much earlier grand prix Fiats after Bugatti's experiment with full-width bodywork failed at Tours in 1923.
2 Bugatti patented these cast-aluminum wheels with incorporated brake drums. In a long race, smaller-diameter drums could be installed to compensate for lining wear. Later cars had these bigger tires.
3 The outside shifter and handbrake lever were old-fashioned in 1924, but they add visual interest to the austere lines and allow narrow bodywork.
4 The positive camber seems exaggerated, but along with light weight, it contributed mightily to the superb balance of the Bugatti racing cars.
5 These lamps are contemporary with the chassis, and they were capable of lighting the road for high-speed night driving, which must have been exciting.
6 Plain Type 35s had a slightly smaller radiator, set farther back, but the supercharged cars were all like this one, with exactly enough cooling capacity, and no more.
7 The tubular axle, forged with passages for the semielliptic springs, was hammered shut at the outer ends and carefully polished, a Bugatti characteristic. Functional jewelry.
8 Hard to see here, the oil pan has external cooling fins running the length of the bottom, plus a series of longitudinal tubes through the sump for more cooling.
9 The louvers along the bottom of the body are splendidly decorative, as are those on the tail.
10 The tombstone-shaped engine is a work of art in its own right, rectilinear and engine-turned as though it were more jewelry. Which, in fact, it is.
11 Most cars with knockoff wheels had bigger two-eared hubs. Bugatti chose four-pointed lugs, a lighter and more visually elegant solution. And safer for stray animals.
12 The hood slopes down from the cowl toward the radiator, giving the car a nicer profile than keeping its top parallel to the ground. Art, not science.
13 Body panels are attached with bolts, each of them safety-wired against loosening under vibration. It is a sound technique but also visually elegant.
14 A spare wheel was standard, but one often sees vintage Bugattis today without them. In the 1920s, they were vital.