Classic & Sports Car UK – September 2019

ALSO IN MY GARAGE

T

heworldis notflat,Santais not
real...andIvanDutton’sgarage
is notfullofBugattis– well,nota
wholeone.Havingspentdecades
unravellingthesecretsofEttore’s
art,thisintuitivelygiftedengineer(andthe 1973
BritishProductionSaloonCarChampion)
hasturnedhisinteresttomoreeclecticdevices

• midgetracersand,lately,ancientmopeds.
  Mostrecently,he’salsobeenracinghisthunder-
  ingEdwardian‘LesCharlatans’racer,loosely
  based onthe 1913 Indianapolis-winning
  Peugeotbutwith10-litreHall-Scottpower.But
  that’sanotherstoryforanotherday.
  Theitch forthemidgets startedwhen
  Dutton’sfathertookhim,at theageof 12,tosee
  ToPleasea Lady, starringClarkGableand
  BarbaraStanwyckandfeaturinga climactic
  sceneat Indianapolis:“Englandwasa bitdullin
  1952,andtoseeallthesecolourful,glamorous
  racerswhizzingabout...”
  Henowhashalfa dozen,includinga ’36Elto


• namedforitsflat-four,two-strokeEvinrude;
  the4WD,chain-driveJAPV-twinSkirrow;and
  a ratherseriousKurtisKraftpoweredbya real
  Offy– “Youknow,theonetheyallgotkilledin!”
  Thelatestarrivalis theCarusoBugatti,which
  Duttonhasreplicatedaroundtheoriginal
  motor,a ‘four’cutdownfroma straight-eight
  usingonecylinderblock.Builtandracedinthe

ALSOINMYGARAGE

agestogetgoingagain.ThenI sawonethat

whizzedby,andit turnedouttobea Cucciolo.”

ProducedbyDucati,thoughoriginallySiata-

backed,these48ccfour-strokesingleswere

madebetween 1946 and’58,andbuiltunder

licenceinFrancebyMRocher.Duttonhas

severalofeach,mostacquiredattheBeaulieu

Autojumblewherehehasbeena regularfor 40

years.“I gotthefirstoneabout 10 yearsagofrom

a lovelyladyintheNationalAutocycleand

CyclemotorClub,PhilippaWheeler,”hesays.

“TheCucciolois a revelation,witha two-speed

preselectortransmission.Takeoneapartand

it’slikea Swisswatch.Beinginvolvedwith

Bugattiswastrainingforthese.”

TheredCucciolo-poweredbikeis a Jordenne,

withracygraphicsonthetankofa ladyrider’s

skirtblowingup,suggestingspeed.Ithasa

sophisticateddecompressor(forwhenyou’re

pedallingtostartit)workingfromthethrottle

twist-grip.There’smore,includinga 1922

Cyclette,fromFrance,thatlookstoofragile

tomovefromindoors.Oneoftherarestis the

Laverda‘Laverdino’,whichhasdiscbrakesand

a 49cctwo-strokemotor:“Iboughtthatabout

fiveyearsago,in Holland.

“We’rehavingtheclubcampingfora week-

endinourfieldsoon,andI’mgivinga talkat

Beaulieu.Youknow,everythingI’vedonehas

beenbasedonwhatI’veseenat Beaulieu.”

IVAN DUTTON

USA by Mike Caruso, it found its way to the UK

in the ’60s: “The family had a breaker’s yard, and

there were lots of old Bugattis lying about so

getting hold of an engine wouldn’t have been a

problem. The crankcase has been shortened and

the welding is fantastic, with no machining after-

wards – there was no TIG in 1936.”

The mopeds are clearly what really tickle him,

though: “It all started when I was standing at the

bus stop in Greenford in 1950, and people riding

past on Cyclemasters and Cyclemotors [bicycles

with tiny two-strokes] tried to time it so that they

didn’t have to stop, because it would take them

Obscure mopeds are the new Bugattis for this Beaulieu Autojumble stalwart

WORDS PAUL HARDIMAN PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES MANN

September 2019 Classic & Sports Car 203

From top: Dutton on his

Jordenne, with his motley

moped crew and recreated

Indy racer; a selection of

midget racers, with Caruso

Bugatti in foreground