Italeri - 1:12 Bugatti Type 35B - Targa Florio '28 / Monaco GP '30

Italeri Bugatti Type 35B — Targa Florio 1928 / Monaco Grand Prix 1930 — 1:12 Scale Model Kit

Introduced in 1924, Ettore Bugatti’s masterpiece combined elegant bodywork, light weight, precise handling, and advanced mechanical engineering in a car designed specifically for competition. During its extraordinary career, the Type 35 family accumulated more than 1,000 victories and won the Targa Florio five consecutive times.

The Type 35B was among the most powerful versions. Its 2.3-liter straight-eight engine used a Roots-type supercharger to produce approximately 140 horsepower, driving through a four-speed manual transmission. With a lightweight body and chassis, the car could reach approximately 130 mph—an impressive speed in an era when the driver sat above the fuel tank, protected by goggles, a small windscreen, and considerable optimism.

Italeri recreates this landmark racing car in large 1:12 scale with approximately 336 components, including 60 photo-etched parts, opening engine cowls, steerable front wheels, rubber tires, chrome-plated pieces, realistic plumbing, artificial leather, and two historically significant marking options.

The completed model measures just over 12 inches long.

Two Cars. Two Very Different Racing Stories.

The kit offers two versions of the Bugatti Type 35B:

No. 58 — Eliška Junková, 1928 Targa Florio

No. 22 — René Dreyfus, 1930 Monaco Grand Prix winner

One won. The other finished fifth and became legendary anyway.

The Supercharged Straight-Eight

The long engine bay contains a highly detailed reproduction of Bugatti’s 2,263 cc inline eight-cylinder engine.

The assembly includes the multi-piece engine block, cylinder head, Roots-type supercharger, intake system, exhaust manifold, carburetor, ignition components, separate spark plugs and wires, oil lines, coolant pipes, reservoirs, and associated fittings.

Vinyl tubing, wire, and separate connectors reproduce the plumbing and electrical lines running through the engine compartment. The four-piece engine cowling incorporates finely molded louvers and may be displayed open, allowing the completed powerplant to remain visible.

A Complete Chassis Beneath the Body

The Type 35’s mechanical sophistication extended well beyond its engine.

Italeri begins the model with a full ladder-frame chassis assembled from separate rails and crossmembers. Front and rear axles, leaf springs, friction dampers, steering box, steering linkage, driveshaft, gearbox, differential, brake cables, fuel tank, exhaust system, and other mechanical components are individually represented.

Metal screws reinforce selected structural connections and moving assemblies. The front wheels are designed to steer through the detailed linkage, allowing them to be positioned for a more natural display.

The suspension and underside remain fully modeled even where the finished body makes casual inspection difficult.

Bugatti believed engineering should be beautiful.

Bugatti’s Famous Aluminum Wheels

The Type 35 introduced cast aluminum wheels incorporating the brake drums—an advanced solution that reduced unsprung weight and improved brake cooling while making wheel changes faster.

It also gave the car one of the most recognizable wheel designs in automotive history.

The kit reproduces these wheels with sharply defined spokes, integral brake-drum detail, separate hubs, and realistically molded rubber tires. Two spare wheels are included for the Targa Florio configuration, where carrying replacements was advisable on several hundred miles of rough Sicilian mountain roads.

In total, the kit supplies six rubber tires: four for the car and two for the spare wheels.

A Cockpit Designed for Work

The Type 35B’s cockpit was elegant because Bugatti made nearly everything elegant, not because the driver was given unnecessary comforts.

The kit includes a detailed instrument panel with individual gauges, switches, steering wheel, gear lever, handbrake, pedals, seat, cockpit lining, floor, and small windscreen.

New components supplied for this edition reproduce the differences between the two racing versions. Artificial leather material is provided for the seat, hood straps, and spare-wheel retainers, with photo-etched buckles and fasteners adding convincing scale thickness.

The finished interior combines painted metal, wood, leather, and instrument details in a cockpit that remains completely visible.

Air conditioning is not included.

Two Distinctive Finishes

The two versions offer very different visual personalities.

Junková’s Targa Florio car is finished in brilliant yellow with racing number 58 and two externally mounted spare wheels. It is immediately recognizable and makes an especially striking display model.

Dreyfus’s Monaco winner appears in traditional French racing blue with number 22, presenting the Type 35B in its most familiar Grand Prix form.

The kit includes decals for both cars along with a die-cut masking sheet. Builders may use the supplied markings or paint selected numbers and details through the masks for a more authentic period finish.

The extensive color instruction sheet identifies the appropriate finishes for the body, chassis, engine, interior, wheels, and mechanical components.

Multimedia Detail in Large Scale

The included photo-etched fret provides approximately 60 fine metal components for grilles, brackets, straps, fasteners, screens, mechanical details, and cockpit hardware.

Chrome-plated parts reproduce selected bright-metal fittings. Screws strengthen mechanical assemblies, while vinyl tubing and wire add the engine, brake, oil, and fuel connections visible throughout the open chassis.

Artificial leather supplies the straps and upholstered surfaces that plastic alone cannot reproduce convincingly.

The result is a model with the variety of textures expected from an exposed 1920s racing car: painted aluminum, polished metal, leather, rubber, wood, steel, and the occasional component whose purpose becomes apparent only after consulting the instructions again.

Kit Features

Large 1:12 scale multimedia model kit

Approximately 336 components

Approximately 12 inches (30.6 cm) long when completed

Bugatti Type 35B racing car

Highly detailed 2.3-liter supercharged straight-eight engine

Separate supercharger, intake, ignition, and exhaust components

Detailed engine plumbing and wiring

Four-piece opening engine cowling

Full ladder-frame chassis

Detailed four-speed transmission and drivetrain

Complete front and rear suspension

Leaf springs and friction dampers

Detailed mechanical brake system and cables

Steerable front wheels

Six realistic rubber tires

Two spare wheels

Detailed cast-aluminum-style wheels and brake drums

Complete cockpit with instruments and controls

Artificial leather for seat, hood straps, and wheel retainers

Approximately 60 photo-etched metal components

Chrome-plated parts

Screws, vinyl tubing, and wire

Die-cut painting masks

Decals for two historic racing versions

No. 58 Eliška Junková — 1928 Targa Florio

No. 22 René Dreyfus — 1930 Monaco Grand Prix winner

Full-color assembly and painting instructions

Italeri Skill Level 5

This is a complex multimedia kit intended for experienced modelers. Building the chassis square, routing the engine plumbing and brake cables, assembling the working steering, fitting the opening cowls, and applying the external straps will reward careful planning and frequent test-fitting.

The finished model captures more than one of the most beautiful racing cars ever made.

It captures two moments when talent challenged expectation: Eliška Junková leading the world’s most demanding road race and René Dreyfus defeating Bugatti’s own factory team with a privately entered car.

The Type 35B was elegant, sophisticated, fast, and remarkably successful.

In other words, very French—except when it was yellow and driven by a Czech woman through Sicily.

Assembly, paint, and cement are required and sold separately.