Bucciali

The Bucciali was a French automobile manufactured from 1922 until 1933. Built by the brothers Bucciali, it began life at Courbevoie as a cyclecar under the name Buc. Initial offerings were powered by twin-cylinder two-stroke 1340 cc engines. In 1925 a 1600 cc SCAP-engined model appeared, available in two versions, the "Tourisme" and the "Quatre Speciale" supercharged. A six-cylinder car of 1500 cc was also offered. 1928 saw the creation of a TAN six-cylinder and an eight-cylinder with front-wheel drive and Sensaud de Lavaud automatic gearbox, both of which caused a sensation. In the 1930s the company produced the Double Huit, also a front-wheel-drive model, which was powered by a pair of straight-eight Continental engines mounted side by side. The last of the prototypes took a Voisin 12-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 two are known by automotive enthusiasts to still exist: one in America and one in France.

The TAV 12 pictured here has won its class at not only lesser-known concours events such as the Glenmoor Gathering of Significant Automobiles in Canton, Ohio in September 2006, but it has also taken honors at Pebble Beach.

Note: the black Bucciali that still exists was rebuilt by a man named Bruce Kelly

References

*David Burgess Wise, "The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles".