Thursday 24th May 2012

You Know You Want To: Teal Bugatti Type 35 replica

Your budget probably doesn't stretch to one of the most valuable GP cars ever, but you might just be able to afford one of these...

---

What does the word 'teal' mean to you? A colour? A type of duck, possibly? Or a Bugatti Type 35 replica?

If it's the latter, then this is probably the 'You Know You Want To' for you. If you were expecting to see a small dabbling duck featured as a YKYWT on the other hand, well, you probably need help of some sort.

Anyway, we digress. Unlike many replica kit cars, which choose to emulate Ferraris or Lamborghinis using something like the humble Toyota MR2 as a base (and therefore often come out looking painfully out of proportion), the Teal pays homage to the legendary Type 35 Bugatti with a rather more bespoke ladder-frame chassis. The result is therefore remarkably elegant. And a damn sight cheaper than the millions of pounds you'd need to get your hands on a real one.

Depending on who you talk to, anything between 160 and 320 Teals were built between 1983 and 1998, with the early ones made from GRP body panels and Morris Marina running gear. Sure, it's not quite the straight eight of the original, but it's a solid-enough engine.

More recent Teals get an aluminium body (of which this is one), and engines that range in source from MGBs to Triumph straight sixes, 2.6-litre Rover units, Fiat-Lancia twin-cams and even the odd Jaguar unit.

Rather inconveniently, the vendor of this car doesn't actually say what particular motor lies beneath that long bonnet, but you'd have to hope it's one of the more interesting powerplant options...

So there you have it, a bargain way to feel at least vaguely like you're driving a pre-war racing icon. Though we would politely suggest that perhaps you shouldn't park it next to a 'proper' Bugatti if you pay a visit to La Vie en Bleu at Prescott hill climb this weekend...

---

TEAL TYPE 25 REPLICA
Price: £22,500
Why you should: It's not as expensive as a proper Bugatti
Why you shouldn't: It's nowhere near as cool as a proper Type 35

 

[loudlashadjuster]

Those pics were either nabbed from Instagram or the chap obviously had a bit of trouble matching the paint colour...

[KDIcarmad]

I remember the first of these, base on the VW "beetle". Not my type of car. still this looks nice.

[W00DY]

I know I don't.

Bleughh.

It looks so half-arsed and 22 grand could actually buy something interesting in its own right.

[vixen1700]

There's a guy near me who has two originals in his garage.

Saw one outside and wandered over to ask if it was real then saw the other one parked in the garage. He was quite embarassed by the values of them as I think he'd inherited them.

Occasionally see him out and about in one of them and it sounds immense.

[Martin 480 Turbo]

It looks no more Bugatti than the average MR2 looks Ferrari
and this ph article shows only, that the author doesn't
know much about pre war cars.

Sorry. This is a pass. A delete would be better.

Martin 480 Turbo

[Riggers]

Martin 480 Turbo said:

this ph article shows only, that the author doesn't
know much about pre war cars.

Does it? How?

I don't know much about pre-war cars as it happens, but I'm not sure how you draw that conclusion from this piece. Because I don't really talk about pre-war cars at all, other than to mention that the Teal looks vaguely like a fairly famous one...

[williredale]

vixen1700 said:

There's a guy near me who has two originals in his garage.

Saw one outside and wandered over to ask if it was real then saw the other one parked in the garage. He was quite embarassed by the values of them as I think he'd inherited them.

Occasionally see him out and about in one of them and it sounds immense.

I suspect that I was on holiday near you a couple of years ago and saw one of these. He had it warming up for a while as I was loading the car. We drove off and a minute later I saw it in my mirrors. I wasn't dawdling but out of a corner I heard him drop a gear and hurtle past me. It was a beautiful thing and I cheered him on much to the disdain of my wife who didn't understand what the fuss was about...

[threespires]

This one is often seen around the Midlands

Bugatti Vitesse

Bugatti Vitesse

Bugatti Vitesse

Bugatti Vitesse

Bugatti Detail - original car

Bugatti Interior - original car

[vixen1700]

williredale said:

I suspect that I was on holiday near you a couple of years ago and saw one of these. He had it warming up for a while as I was loading the car. We drove off and a minute later I saw it in my mirrors. I wasn't dawdling but out of a corner I heard him drop a gear and hurtle past me. It was a beautiful thing and I cheered him on much to the disdain of my wife who didn't understand what the fuss was about...

Yeah, he doesn't hang about in them at all.

When I first spoke to him about them, I walked away and was speechless with my wife for about 10 minutes.

[B10]

Riggers said:

Martin 480 Turbo said:

this ph article shows only, that the author doesn't
know much about pre war cars.

Does it? How?

I don't know much about pre-war cars as it happens, but I'm not sure how you draw that conclusion from this piece. Because I don't really talk about pre-war cars at all, other than to mention that the Teal looks vaguely like a fairly famous one...

I agree with you Mr Riggers. A bit uncalled for Mr Volvo. As low cost 'homages' it is not as bad as some and would be a bit for of fun for a fraction of the cost of a real Bugatti. However a replica is something quite different, like a Lynx D type for example. For 22k notes I would prefer to buy something like a 911 SC and a A-H Sprite.

[Mark-C]

The word Teal made me think Duck so can I suggest the next YKYWT goes for Mallard .... and we can have some proper streamlined British heavy metal?

[TheEnd]

No one like a Ferrari copy, the entire forum complains it is fake and it's a laughing point, so why is this different?

It's still a copy, with the wrong badges on trying to look like something more expensive.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

£22k

[Martin 480 Turbo]

TheEnd said:

No one like a Ferrari copy, the entire forum complains it is fake and it's a laughing point, so why is this different?

It's still a copy, with the wrong badges on trying to look like something more expensive.

At least the buyer could show some humor when running around in that:



Nothing against a nice and marked replica or tribute. But this "Bugatti" is as warped
as most "Ferraris". Morris Marina running gear, for heavens sake. Wasn't that Morris
Minors, anyway?

Martin 480 Turbo

[m1dg3]

If you can't afford an original and the Teal doesn't push the right buttons then Pur Sang make a recreation rather than a replica which is good enough for bona fide Bugatti collectors. If I had £125,000 or so to spend on a car I'd be very tempted...

[seefarr]

Riggers said:

What does the word 'teal' mean to you? A type of duck, possibly? Or a Bugatti Type 35 replica?

Can't we have both?

[Ferg]

TheEnd said:

No one like a Ferrari copy, the entire forum complains it is fake and it's a laughing point, so why is this different?

It's still a copy, with the wrong badges on trying to look like something more expensive.

..and the Cobra copies, of course. Oh no, they're acceptable apparently.

[TheEnd]

Ferg said:

TheEnd said:

No one like a Ferrari copy, the entire forum complains it is fake and it's a laughing point, so why is this different?

It's still a copy, with the wrong badges on trying to look like something more expensive.

..and the Cobra copies, of course. Oh no, they're acceptable apparently.

Yea, the thing is, I don't mind any of them, Countach reps, F355 reps etc.
They are nice looking cars so if someone wants to body kit their car so it looks like something made by a "design house", that's fine by me.

Cobra reps, GT40 reps and others get a thumbs up, but more modern cars are laughed at.
Either they are all OK or they are all something to ridicule, unless there is some criteria I haven't yet noticed that polarises people.

[threespires]

seefarr said:

Can't we have both?

Great work !

[Ferg]

TheEnd said:

Either they are all OK or they are all something to ridicule,