– French car manufacturer
This article is about the original company founded by Ettore Bugatti. For the present-day company, see Bugatti Automobiles. For other uses, see Bugatti (disambiguation).
Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars were known for their design beauty and numerous race victories. Famous Bugatti automobiles include the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Type 41 "Royale", the Type 57 "Atlantic" and the Type 55 sports car.
The death of Ettore Bugatti in proved to be a severe blow to the marque, and the death of his son Jean in meant that there was no successor to lead the factory with no more than about 8, cars made. The company struggled financially, and it released one last model in the s before eventually being purchased for its airplane parts business in
In , an Italian entrepreneur bought the brand name and revived it as Bugatti Automobili S.p.A.[2]
A movie about the founding of the French car manufacturer Bugatti is being produced by Andrea Iervolino with the film slated for release in [3]
The founder Ettore Bugatti was born in Milan, Italy, and the automobile company that bears his name was founded in in Molsheim located in the Alsace region which was part of the German Empire from to The company was known both for the level of detail of its engineering in its automobiles, and for the artistic manner in which the designs were executed, given the artistic nature of Ettore's family (his father, Carlo Bugatti (–), was an important Art Nouveau furniture and jewelry designer).
During the war Ettore Bugatti was sent away, initially to Milan and later to Paris, but as soon as hostilities had been concluded he returned to his factory at Molsheim.[4] Less than four months after the Versailles Treaty formalised the transfer of Alsace from Germany to France, Bugatti was able to obtain, at the last minute, a stand at the 15th Paris motor show in October [4] He exhibited three light cars, all of them closely based on their pre-war equivalents, and each fitted with the same overhead camshaft 4-cylinder 1,cc engine with four valves per cylinder.[4] Smallest of the three was a "Type 13" with a racing body (constructed by the Bugatti themselves) and using a chassis with a 2,&#;mm (&#;in) wheelbase.[4] The others were a "Type 22" and a "Type 23" with wheelbases of 2, and 2,&#;mm ( and &#;in) respectively.[4]
See also: Bugatti Grand Prix results
The company also enjoyed great success in early Grand Prix motor racing: in , a privately entered Bugatti won the first ever Monaco Grand Prix. Bugatti's racing success culminated with driver Jean-Pierre Wimille winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice (in with Robert Benoist and in with Pierre Veyron).
Bugatti cars were extremely successful in racing. The little Bugatti Type 10 swept the top four positions at its first race. The Bugatti Type 35 is one of the most successful racing cars - developed by Bugatti with master engineer and racing driver Jean Chassagne who also drove it in the car's first ever Grand Prix in Lyon.[5] Bugattis swept to victory in the Targa Florio for five years straight from through Louis Chiron held the most podiums in Bugatti cars, and the modern marque revival Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. named the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car in his honour. But it was the final racing success at Le Mans that is most remembered—Jean-Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron won the race with just one car and meagre resources.
In the s, Ettore Bugatti got involved in the creation of a racer airplane, hoping to beat the Germans in the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize. This would be the Bugatti P,[6][7] which never flew. It was designed by Belgian engineer Louis de Monge who had already applied Bugatti Brescia engines in his "Type " lifting body.
Ettore Bugatti also designed a successful motorised railcar, the Autorail Bugatti.[8]
The death of Ettore Bugatti's son, Jean Bugatti, on 11 August marked a turning point in the company's fortunes as he died while testing a Type 57 tank-bodied race car near the Molsheim factory.[9]
World War II left the Molsheim factory in ruins and the company lost control of the property. During the war, Bugatti planned a new factory at Levallois, a northwestern suburb of Paris. After the war, Bugatti designed and planned to build a series of new cars, including the Type 73 road car and Type 73C single seat racing car, but in all Bugatti built only five Type 73 cars.
Development of a &#;cc supercharged car was stopped when Ettore Bugatti died on 21 August Following his death, the business declined further and made its last appearance as a business in its own right at a Paris Motor Show in October [10]
After a long decline, the original incarnation of Bugatti ceased operations in
Bugatti models are known to focus on design.[11]Engine blocks were hand scraped to ensure that the surfaces were flat so that gaskets were not required for sealing, and many of the exposed surfaces of the engine compartment featured guilloché finishes on them. Safety wires were threaded through most fasteners in intricately laced patterns. Rather than bolt the springs to the axles as most manufacturers did, Bugatti's axles were forged such that the spring passed through an opening in the axle, a much more elegant solution requiring fewer parts. Bugatti himself described his competitor Bentley's cars as "the world's fastest lorries" for focusing on durability. According to Bugatti, "weight was the enemy".[12]
Relatives of Harold Carr found a rare Bugatti Type 57S Atalante when cataloguing the doctor's belongings after his death in Carr's Type 57S is notable because it was originally owned by British race car driver Earl Howe. Because much of the car's original equipment is intact, it can be restored without relying on replacement parts.[14]
On 10 July , a Bugatti Brescia Type 22 which had lain at the bottom of Lake Maggiore on the border of Switzerland and Italy for 75 years was recovered from the lake. The Mullin Museum in Oxnard, California bought it at auction for $, at Bonham's Rétromobile sale in Paris in
The company attempted a comeback under Roland Bugatti in the mids with the mid-enginedType race car. Designed with help from Gioacchino Colombo, the car failed to perform to expectations and the company's attempts at automobile production were halted.
In the s, Virgil Exner designed a Bugatti as part of his "Revival Cars" project. A show version of this car was actually built by Ghia using the last Bugatti Type chassis, and was shown at the Turin Motor Show. Finance was not forthcoming, and Exner then turned his attention to a revival of Stutz.
Bugatti continued manufacturing airplane parts and was sold to Hispano-Suiza, also a former auto maker turned aircraft supplier, in [1]Snecma took over Hispano-Suiza in After acquiring Messier, Snecma merged Messier and Bugatti into Messier-Bugatti in
Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli acquired the Bugatti brand in , and established Bugatti Automobili S.p.A.. Artioli commissioned architect Giampaolo Benedini to design the factory which was built in Campogalliano, Modena, Italy. Construction of the plant began in , alongside the development of the first model, and it was inaugurated two years later—in By , the plans for the new Bugatti revival were presented by Paolo Stanzani and Marcello Gandini, designers of the Lamborghini Miura and Lamborghini Countach.
The first production vehicle was the Bugatti EB GT which featured a litre, 5-valve per cylinder, quad-turbocharged 60° V12 engine, a six-speed gearbox, and four-wheel drive. Stanzani proposed an aluminium honeycomb chassis, which was used for all early prototypes. He and president Artioli clashed over engineering decisions so Stanzani left the project and Artioli sought Nicola Materazzi to replace him in June Materazzi, who had been the chief designer for the Ferrari GTO and Ferrari F40 replaced the aluminium chassis with a carbon fibre one manufactured by Aerospatiale and also altered the torque distribution of the car from to He remained Director until late [16][17] Racing car designer Mauro Forghieri served as Bugatti's technical director from through [18] On 27 August , through his holding company, ACBN Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg, Romano Artioli purchased Lotus Cars from General Motors. Plans were made to list Bugatti shares on international stock exchanges.
Bugatti presented a prototype large saloon called the EB in
Perhaps the most famous Bugatti EB owner was seven-time Formula One World Champion racing driver Michael Schumacher who purchased an EB in Schumacher sold his EB, which had been repaired after a severe crash, to Modena Motorsport, a Ferrari service and race preparation garage in Germany.
By the time the EB came to market, the North American and European economies were in recession. Poor economic conditions caused the company to fail and operations ceased in September A model specific to the US market called the "Bugatti America" was in the preparatory stages when the company ceased operations.
Bugatti's liquidators sold Lotus Cars to Proton of Malaysia. German firm Dauer Racing purchased the EB licence and remaining parts stock in in order to produce five more EB SS vehicles. These five SS versions of the EB were greatly refined by Dauer. The Campogalliano factory was sold to a furniture-making company, which became defunct prior to moving in, leaving the building unoccupied.[19] After Dauer stopped producing cars in , Toscana-Motors GmbH of Germany purchased the remaining parts stock from Dauer.
Ex vice-president Jean-Marc Borel and ex-employees Federico Trombi, Gianni Sighinolfi and Nicola Materazzi established the B Engineering company and designed and built the Edonis using the chassis and engine from the Bugatti EB SS, but simplifying the turbocharging system and driveline (from 4WD to 2WD).[20]
Main article: Bugatti Automobiles
Volkswagen Group acquired the Bugatti brand in Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. commissioned Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign to produce Bugatti Automobiles's first concept vehicle, the EB, a coupé that debuted at the Paris Auto Show. The EB concept featured a kilowatt (&#;PS; &#;bhp), W engine. After its Paris debut, the EB concept was shown again in at the Geneva Auto Show and the Tokyo Motor Show. Bugatti introduced its next concepts, the EB at the Geneva Motor Show and the 18/3 Chiron at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA).
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. began assembling its first regular-production vehicle, the Bugatti Veyron (the PS super car with an 8-litre W engine with four turbochargers) in September at the Bugatti Molsheim, France assembly "studio".[21][22] On 23 February , Bugatti sold its last Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, which was named La Finale.[23]
The Bugatti Chiron is a mid-engined, two-seated sports car, designed by Achim Anscheidt,[24] developed as the successor to the Bugatti Veyron.[25] The Chiron was first revealed at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1, [26][27]
In February , Bugatti announced the successor to the Chiron, which will use a V16hybrid-electric powertrain.[28] In June the successor was confirmed as the Bugatti Tourbillon.[29]
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