Hudson ‘Bestium’ special: Domingo Bucci’s hometown hero

By Mick Walsh

| 16 Jan 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Hudson ‘Bestium’ special: Domingo Bucci’s hometown hero

City-to-city contests may have ended early in Europe but the tradition continued in South America, nowhere more dramatically than Argentina.

Originally utilising the old Camino Real route from Buenos Aires, the Gran Premio del Automóvil Club Argentino devised the epic Nacional events that ran from the capital to Rosario and later Córdoba between 1924 and ’32.

Staged on mixed surfaces ranging from arid dust to deep mud, the event was eagerly followed by locals lining the roads.

The personalised exhaust cover on Domingo Bucci’s Hudson

It made front-page stories in the national papers, and fans later followed progress with live radio reports.

As if the flat-out route wasn’t perilous enough, the Gran Premio organisers shortened the schedule from four to two days with no night stops.

Hans Stuck was invited to compete in the ’32 Gran Premio Nacional with a Mercedes-Benz S-type, but he was so shocked by the state of the roads that he withdrew after testing, and treated the local drivers as heroes.

For me, one image perfectly captures the dramatic race – an aerial view of a lone car storming over a long river bridge, its dusty wake trailing for miles behind.

The car is the Bestium and the driver Domingo Bucci, one of the fastest and most popular of the champion contestants.

Like the majority of race cars entered, the Bestium Hudson was developed from an American production model with lightweight two-seater body, high side exhaust and open wheels.

Argentina was a key export market for Detroit, and the well-supported race was an important but very tough piece of promotion.

The broad steering wheel dominates the Hudson ‘Bestium’ special’s basic cockpit

The fabled Bestium was constructed in ‘Mingo’ Bucci’s garage on Calle Cerrito, Buenos Aires.

How the name came about isn’t clear but its meaning – ‘fierce beast’ – is Piedmontese and could relate to the area of Northern Italy where Bucci’s ancestors originated.

The basis was a Hudson chassis that had been bought for 3000 Pesos, while the engine came from an ex-Tomás Roatta race car.

As with most Fuerza Libre machines, the chassis was shortened and the rear legs given a sharp arc to allow for extra suspension travel on the rough roads.

It was powered by a 4.7-litre, L-head Super Six Hudson engine.

Featuring lightened pistons and twin carburettors, it revved to 4500rpm and was good for 100bhp.

Mated to a Hudson three-speed gearbox, the driveline was mounted lower in the chassis.

Its most distinctive feature was a special sunray-style exhaust manifold cover featuring Bucci’s name at the core.

The Hudson ‘Bestium’ special is fitted with the later F-head ‘six’

The unpainted Bestium made its debut in October 1926 at an oval-track contest organised by the Audax Córdoba club, where it faced rapid European imports in the Especiales de Carrera class.

No one could touch the Bugatti Type 35A driven by Ernesto Bossola, but locals cheered on the new car, which came second and reached 93mph down the straights.

Later, in Santa Fe, Bucci finished third after delays with troublesome spark plugs, but at the Gran Premio Primavera in Mercedes he stormed into the lead, much to the euphoria of supporters, before tyre problems dropped him to second.

Although primarily designed for circuits, the Bestium also proved highly effective in road-racing.

In 1927, it roared along the main road linking Rosario and Sante Fe, leaving rival entrants far behind, and won in both directions to claim its first victory in the Copa Kade.

Bucci by then felt confident about the Bestium’s debut in the Gran Premio and stormed to victories on the first two legs, including setting a record time to Córdoba despite having to contend with muddy sections.

Again victory looked certain before a gearbox failure dropped Bucci to a frustrating third overall.

The Hudson ‘Bestium’ special shone thanks to its top speed rather than its handling – and inclination for oversteer

The Bestium was back on an oval dirt track for the Premio Otonó in Mercedes, where it was matched against imported exotica.

Hot favourite was Victor Pangaro’s Bugatti T37, and the two contrasting machines played out a dramatic battle for 3½ hours.

Although it struggled against the nimble French racer around the bends, the Bestium stormed alongside on the short straights and the crowd went mad for the local hero.

The Bestium’s hefty 1½-ton weight took its toll on tyres, which forced Bucci to stop several times while the Bugatti pressed on. Just 18 secs separated the two leaders at the finish.

After a win in Córdoba, the Bestium was pitched against the best from Europe at the 500 Millas Argentinas and, although it couldn’t catch the exotic Grand Prix Delage V12 of Juan Malcolm, the home-built hero trounced all the Bugattis to take second.

Bucci’s popularity and success brought lucrative returns, which allowed him to buy an impressive house in Buenos Aires.

“The Bestium had no rivals among the specials,” says historian Guillermo Sánchez. It could exceed 100mph but tyre and fuel consumption were a disadvantage.

“Its acceleration was no match for the refined thoroughbreds, and it suffered from oversteer through the corners. But Bucci developed a very technical driving style which he improved to perfection.”

Domingo Bucci and mechanic Danián Astraldi in the Bestium in 1927

The Bestium was continually developed, its bodywork becoming more streamlined with an undershield and cowled front.

The refinements were perfected by Bucci after tests at San Martin autodrome, where his wife was employed to attach bits of paper to the bodywork while he studied the airflow at speed.

The Esperanza circuit was the fastest in South America and at the end of the season the Bestium faced daunting opposition for the feature race: two Delage V12s, an Alfa Romeo P2, a Mercedes SSK and a Bugatti Type 35B.

Although handicapped in terms of speed, Bucci was blessed with a trouble-free run to victory while the European designs failed or were delayed.

It was no cruise, with Bucci setting a record lap of 105mph, the new Hudson F-type motor and a 3:1 axle ratio proving their worth.

Uruguayan guest driver Daniel Artagaveytia took fastest time in the final event of 1927, a speed trial in Montevideo.

Bucci’s success continued on the tracks but he initially decided to give the 1928 Gran Premio Nacional road-race a miss, before he returned to battle with old rival Juan Gaudino and his Chrysler Imperial after pressure from the Hudson importer.

The duo of Bucci and Astraldi returned for the 500 Millas Argentinas race

The Bestium won but only after two oil pump failures, the engine rattling ominously as it reached the finish in Córdoba.

With a new record average and an 8000 Pesos prize, Bucci was a happy man, paying credit to riding mechanic Danián Astraldi, who knew the route intimately after working for the ACA.

Bucci continued to revise and improve the Bestium, sometimes running it with an exposed petrol tank on road-race events, or with an aerodynamic body for flying-kilometre speed trials such as at Montevideo where, despite poor sand, it clocked 100mph.

After tremendous success, Bucci sold the Bestium and it continued to compete right up to ’39.

Bucci even borrowed it back for the ’29 Gran Premio Nacional: having qualified third, he was thwarted by a holed radiator and five punctures and eventually retired.

After WW2, the Bestium sat unloved at the back of Desiderio Kuriger’s scrapyard in Rafaela, the famous car finally being saved by Daniel van Lierde.

After a full rebuild to authentic specification, it became a regular on Argentinian rallies, including the Mille Millas.

‘Bucci’s wife attached bits of paper to the body while he studied the airflow at speed’

On an epic vintage-Bentley event in 2009 from La Quiaca to Tierra del Fuego, van Lierde’s Speed Six suffered engine problems and the Bestium was transported out to continue the challenge.

The famous car looked mighty running among the British Racing Green convoy through rain and snow, its crew exposed to the elements.

Having learnt about the Fuerza Libre cars through Guillermo Sánchez’s remarkable history of racing in Argentina from 1919-1942, it was a singular moment to finally see the famous Hudson sitting on a rain-soaked field among the Tipa trees at last year’s Autoclásica event.

With mud-caked tyres and dirt-splattered bodywork, it could have been parked by Bucci after one of the Gran Premio races in the ’20s.

Van Lierde has been passionate about pre-war cars since he was a boy and the Bestium is one of the stars of his collection.

His passion for it is infectious, and to my joy he willingly agrees to return the Bestium to the Hipódromo de San Isidro site for a test drive.

No trailers are needed – van Lierde’s mechanic casually drives the exposed machine through the Buenos Aires suburbs, the deep exhaust note causing quite a stir as it rumbles past the moderns.

It’s obvious when the Hudson ‘Bestium’ special’s engine gets hot, thanks to the thermometer that steams when it overheats

There are no doors, so the easiest route in is to step on the leaf spring and drop behind the broad, cord-bound, four-spoke steering wheel.

Deep beneath the scuttle is a small cluster of gauges – rev counter, oil pressure and water temperature – all sourced from a Corbin.

You feel high as your legs stretch above the chassis to pedals that sprout from the bulkhead.

Down the impressive bonnet is a novel thermometer that sits proud of the radiator.

Developed to steam when the engine overheated, it allowed Bucci to keep his eyes on the road.

Flick the ignition switch, align the starter with a floor-mounted pedal and crank the engine – the big ‘six’ erupts with a deep, earthy burble.

With the long, crooked gearstick pushed left and back for first, the later F-head engine pulls strongly from low revs.

The clutch is heavy and there are only three speeds, but the meaty torque compensates for the gulf between ratios. Once up to speed the steering is direct and responsive.

The Hudson ‘Bestium’ special’s long-travel suspension could cope with rough Argentinian roads

The chassis and frame are extensively drilled but the car feels rigid and, thanks to the long springs, it rides the ruts well with little kickback at the wheel.

Once you’re attuned to the long gate and slow change, the car is great fun to drive, and through the corners it’s easy to get the tail out.

“It’s very predictable,” says van Lierde, who encourages ever-greater angles of slide.

Alone in the deserted park and blasting along the straights with a trail of dust behind, it’s easy to conjure those pre-war road-races, but I can’t imagine the stamina of the men who gunned these highly physical machines from dawn to dusk.

Little wonder that Hans Stuck stepped back from the challenge.

Images: Tony Baker

This was first in our January 2014 magazine; all information was correct at the date of original publication

Domingo ‘Mingo’ Bucci

Domingo Bucci (right) began his motor-racing career as a riding mechanic

Born in 1884 to a family of Italian settlers, Bucci studied engineering, working on cycles, sewing machines and guns in a local Sante Fe business from the age of 13.

Thanks to an inheritance, he travelled back to Italy to learn to fly and was a pupil of the legendary aviator Roland Garros.

On returning to Argentina he launched an aerobatics show, but poor profits prompted him to settle down with a family garage.

Motor racing soon tempted him and Bucci made his mark preparing American marques including Overland, Case and later Hudson.

This modest man – who started as a riding mechanic before becoming a driver – stood out thanks to a rapid, neat style and clever tactics.

His record of 19 race wins remained unbeaten in Fuerza Libre, and he became an idol in the provinces, but tragedy stuck in 1933 when his Chrysler-De Soto Especial smashed into a stranded competitor hidden in the dust during a road-race.

Both of Bucci’s sons – Rolando and Clemar – also became racing drivers, while the great Oscar Alfredo Gálvez always carried a photograph of Bucci in his wallet.

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