The Bugatti brand has long ranked high on the list of exclusive and desirable automotive nameplates. The artistry of the marque's original designs has been held in reverential esteem for many years. And while the original Bugatti is long gone, today's offspring carries a bit of the Bugatti mystique forward with a single automobile that occupies an unrivaled place in the automotive
...The Bugatti brand has long ranked high on the list of exclusive and desirable automotive nameplates. The artistry of the marque's original designs has been held in reverential esteem for many years. And while the original Bugatti is long gone, today's offspring carries a bit of the Bugatti mystique forward with a single automobile that occupies an unrivaled place in the automotive stratosphere.
Bugatti was founded by automotive pioneer Ettore Bugatti, and it remained in the hands of the Bugatti family for many years. Today, Bugatti is owned by Volkswagen and has been reborn as a producer of limited-edition vehicles.
It's telling that the first vehicle built by Ettore Bugatti was a twin-engine bicycle. His penchant for power and creativity would shape the future of his company. Bugatti's first automobile was the 1910 Type 13. By 1914, the company was building 75 vehicles per month, but World War I forced a halt to production as Ettore fled to Milan. Production resumed in 1919, and Bugatti introduced the Type 35 in 1924. With its horseshoe-shaped grille and innovative design, the Type 35 is considered the first great Bugatti automobile.
More successes would follow, as Ettore's son Jean took over the racing program and design studio in the early thirties. Jean Bugatti's achievements include the elegant Royale Roadster of 1931 and the masterpiece of the marquee--the Type 57C Atlantic, which was introduced as a prototype at the Paris Motor Show in 1935. The vehicle was christened Aérolithe, but the name was changed to Atlantic in honor of a family friend who died trying to fly over the Atlantic Ocean. Only 17 Atlantics were built. One was recently discovered in the barn of a deceased English doctor.
The brand was very successful on the world's race tracks. The Type 35 won 501 races in 1925. In 1939 a Type T57C set a speed record at Le Mans. Tragically, Jean Bugatti was killed shortly thereafter while test-driving the car that had won at Le Mans.
In 1940, German invaders forced Ettore Bugatti to sell his plant to a German businessman. After the war, Ettore had difficulty re-establishing ownership of his company. Despondent over business problems and the death of his son, Jean, Ettore died soon thereafter. Although Bugatti produced a small car in the early 1950s, the golden age of the brand ended with World War II. In 1956, the plant at Molsheim was shuttered.
In the early 1960s, Hispano Suiza purchased the Bugatti name and manufactured airplane parts under the brand. In 1987, an Italian businessman bought the name and turned out 150 copies of a four-wheel-drive sports car dubbed the EB-110. In 1998 the brand was sold to Volkswagen. Today, Bugatti builds the 1,001-horsepower Bugatti Veyron 16.4 sports car at a new plant in Mosheim. With a horseshoe grille and a 253-mph top speed, the Veyron is every bit a Bugatti. You can have one for a mere 2.5 million.
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