Bugatti
Bugatti is one of the most celebrated marques of automobile and the one of the most exclusive French car producers of all time. The company is legendary for producing some of the best sports cars money could buy. The original Bugatti failed with the advent of World War II, but has been resurrected twice, most recently under the Volkswagen Group.
Under Ettore Bugatti
Automobile designer and manufacturer Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti was born on September 15, 1881 in Brescia, Italy, into a notably artistic family that had its roots in Milan. He was the elder son of Carlo Bugatti (1856–1940), an important Art Nouveau furniture and jewelry designer, and his wife, Teresa Lorioli. His younger brother was a renowned animal sculptor, Rembrandt Bugatti (1884–1916), his aunt, Luigia Bugatti, was the wife of the painter Giovanni Segantini, and his paternal grandfather, Giovanni Luigi Bugatti, was an architect and sculptor.
Although born in Italy, the automobile company Ettore Bugatti founded was located in Molsheim, in the Alsace region of France. The company was known for its advanced engineering in its premium road cars and its success in early Grand Prix motor racing, winning the first ever Monaco Grand Prix. The company's success culminated with driver Jean-Pierre Wimille winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice (in 1937 with Robert Benoist and 1939 with Pierre Veyron).
Models
Only a few models of each of Ettore Bugatti's vehicles were ever produced, the most famous being the Type 35 Grand Prix car, the huge "Royale", and the Type 55 sports car.
Throughout the production run of approximately 7,900 cars, each Bugatti model was designated with the prefix T for Type, which referred to the chassis and drive train.
| Name | Years | Number Produced | Engine | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 2 | 1900–1901 | 3050 cc I4 | ||
| Type 5 | 1903 | 12867 cc I4 | ||
| Type 10 | 1908 | 1131 cc I4 | SOHC; Came second in the 1911 French Grand Prix | |
| Type 13 | 1910–1914 | 1368 cc I4 | SOHC 4-valve; Placed 1,2,3,4 in the 1921 Voiturettes Grand Prix in Brescia | |
| Type 18 | 1912–1914 | 6 or 7 | 5030 cc I4 | 3-valve |
| Type 19 | ? | Several thousand | 855 cc I4 | Peugeot "Bébé" engine |
| Type 22 | 1913–1914 | 1368 cc I4 | Same SOHC 4-valve engine as the "Brescia" | |
| Type 23 | 1913–1914 | 1368 cc I4 | 2-valve version of the "Brescia" engine | |
| Type 29 | 1922–1926 | 1991 cc I8 | SOHC 3-valve, 60 hp (45 kW); Second place in 1922 ACF Grand Prix | |
| Type 30 | 1922–1926 | 1991 cc I8 | Same engine as Type 29; also 1923 Indy car | |
| Type 32 | 1923 | 1991 cc I8 | Same engine as Type 29; "Tank" body; Finished third in 1923 ACF Grand Prix | |
| Type 35 | 1924–1930 | 96 | 1991 cc I8 | Same engine as Type 29; 90 hp (67 kW) |
| Type 35 B | 1924–1930 | 38 | 2262 cc I8 | Stroked Type29 engine, 135 hp (101 kW); Won 1929 French Grand Prix |
| Type 35 Targa Florio | 1924–1930 | 13 | 2262 cc I8 | Modified Type 35 B; 100 hp (75 kW); Swept the Targa Florio from 1925-1929 |
| Type 35 C | 1924–1930 | Won 1928 & 1930 French Grand Prix | ||
| Type 36 | 1925 | 1493 cc I8 | De-stroked Type 29 engine | |
| Type 37 | 1926–1930 | 212 | 1496 cc I4 | New SOHC 3-valve engine, 60 hp (45 kW) |
| Type 38 | 1926–1927 | 1991 cc I8 | Type 29 engine | |
| Type 39 A | 1926–1929 | 1493 cc I8 | Type 36 engine, 120 hp (89 kW); Won 1926 French Grand Prix | |
| Type 40 | 1926–1930 | about 800 | 1496 cc I4 | Type 37 engine |
| Type 41 | 1927–1933 | 6 | 12736 cc I8 | SOHC 3-valve, 300 hp (224 kW); The "Royale" |
| Type 43 | 1927–1931 | 2262 cc I8 | Type 35 B engine, 120 hp (89 kW) | |
| Type 44 | 1927–1931 | 1,095 | 2991 cc I8 | Bored Type 35 B engine, SOHC 3-valve |
| Type 45 | 1929–1930 | 1 | 3801 cc U16 | 1+1 cam 3-valve "U" engine |
| Type 46 | 1929–1936 | 400 | 5359 cc I8 | New SOHC 3-valve engine, 140 hp (104 kW) |
| Type 49 | 1930–1934 | 470 | 3257 cc I8 | Bored Type 44 engine |
| Type 50 | 1930–1934 | 4972 cc I8 | New DOHC 4-valve engine, 225 hp (168 kW); touring car | |
| Type 50 B | 1937–1939 | 4972 cc I8 | 470 hp (350 kW) Type 50 engine; sports car | |
| Type 50 T | 1937–1939 | 4972 cc I8 | 200 hp (150 kW) Type 50 engine; coupé | |
| Type 51 | 1931–1935 | 40 | 2262 cc I8 | DOHC 4-valve engine; Won 1931 French Grand Prix |
| Type 53 | 1931–1932 | 3 | 4972 cc I8 | Type 50 engine, 300 hp (224 kW) |
| Type 54 GP | 1932–1934 | 4 or 5 | 4972 cc I8 | Type 50 engine, 300 hp (224 kW) |
| Type 55 | 1932–1935 | 38 | 2262 I8 | Type 51 engine, 130 hp (97 kW) |
| Type 57 | 1934–1940 | 3257 cc I8 | Bored Type 51 engine, 135 hp (101 kW); touring car | |
| Type 57 C | 1937–1940 | about 750 | 3257 cc I8 | 160 hp (119 kW); racing car |
| Type 57 G | 1936–1939 | 4743 cc I8 | "The Tank"; Won 1936 French Grand Prix, and 1937 and 1939 Le Mans | |
| Type 57 S | 1936–1938 | 3257 cc I8 | 175 hp (130 kW); "Atlantic" | |
| Type 57 S45 | 1936–1939 | 4743 cc I8 | ||
| Type 57 SC | 1937–1938 | 3257 cc I8 | 200 hp (150 kW); "Atlantic" | |
| Type 59 | 1934–1936 | 6 or 7 | 3257 cc I8 | 250 hp (186 kW) |
| Type 64 | 1939 | 4432 cc I8 | ||
| Type 73 | 1943/1947 | 1488 cc I4 | DOHC 3-valve | |
| Type 101 | 1951 | 3257 cc I8 | 135 hp (101 kW); Modern touring car | |
| Type 251 | 1955–1956 | 2486 cc I8 | DOHC |
Racing Success
Bugatti cars were extremely successful in racing, with many thousands of victories in just a few decades. The little Bugatti Type 10 swept the top four positions at its first race. The 1924 Bugatti Type 35 is probably the most successful racing car of all time with over 2,000 wins. The company swept the Targa Florio for five years straight from 1925 through 1929. Louis Chiron held the most podiums in Bugatti cars, and the 21st Century Bugatti company remembered him with a concept car named in his honor. But it was the final racing success at Le Mans that is most remembered—Jean-Pierre Wimille and Louis Veyron won the 1939 race with just one car and few resources.
The End
Ettore Bugatti also designed a successful motorized railcar, the Autorail, and an airplane, but it never flew. His son, Jean Bugatti, was killed on August 11, 1939 at the age of 30, while testing a Type 57C tank-bodied race car near the Molsheim factory. After that, the company's fortune began to decline. World War II ruined the factory in Molsheim, and the company was never able to recover.
Ettore Bugatti died on August 21, 1947 and is buried in Le Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France.
Latter-day Bugattis
Under Romano Artioli
In 1987 Romano Artioli, an Italian entrepreneur, acquired the legendary Bugatti name and established Bugatti Automobili SpA. The new company built a factory designed by the architect Giampaolo Benedini in Campogalliano, Italy, a town near Modena, home to other performance-car manufacturers De Tomaso, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati.
By 1989, the plans for the new Bugatti-revival were presented by Paolo Stanzani, the famous designer of the Lamborghini Miura and Countach. The first completed car was labeled the Bugatti EB110 GT, advertised as the most technically advanced supercar ever produced.
On August 27, 1993, through his holding company, ACBN Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg, Romano Artioli purchased the Lotus car company from General Motors. The acquisition brought together two of the greatest names in automotive racing history and plans were made for listing the company's shares for sale on international stock exchanges.
By the time the EB110 came to market the North American and European economies were in recession and operations ceased in September of 1995. A model specific to the United States market called the "Bugatti America" was in the prepatory stages when the company closed.
Under Volkswagen AG
Volkswagen AG purchased the rights to produce cars under the Bugatti marque in 1998. They commissioned ItalDesign to produce the Bugatti EB 118 concept, a touring sedan which featured a 555 bhp (414 kW) output and the first 18 cylinder engine on any passenger vehicle, at the Paris Auto Show.
In 1999 the Bugatti EB 218 concept was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show; later that year the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron was introduced at the IAA in Frankfurt. At the Tokyo Motor Show the EB 218 reappeared and the Bugatti EB 18/4 Veyron was presented as the first incarnation of what was to be a production road car. All had eighteen cylinders.
In 2000 Volkswagen founded Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. and introduced the EB 16/4 Veyron concept, a 16 cylinder car producing 1001 bhp (746 kW), at the Paris, Geneva, and Detroit auto shows. Development continued throughout 2001 and the EB 16/4 Veyron was promoted to "advanced concept" status. In late 2001 Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. announced that the car, officially called the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, would go into production in 2003. Financial and technical difficulties beset the company and in early 2004 the Veyron had yet to be built and sold.
Collectors
Today original Ettore Bugatti cars are amongst the most sought after in the world by collectors, fetching prices as high as US$10 million.
The best-known collectors of Bugatti were Hans and Fritz Schlumpf, two brothers who ran a textiles business in Mulhouse, close to the Bugatti factory. Between 1958 and 1975 (when their business failed) they secretly amassed a remarkable collection of the cars. Now known as the Schlumpf Collection, it has been turned into one of the world's great car museums, the Musée Nationale de l'Automobile.
See also
External links
- Musée Nationale de l'Automobile http://www.collection-schlumpf.com/schlumpf/
- Bugatti official site http://www.bugatti-cars.de/
- Bugatti Trust and Owners Club (UK) http://www.bugatti.co.uk/
- Jacob's Bugatti pages http://homepage.mac.com/bugatti/jacob/
- Bugatti Airplace http://home.uni-one.nl/bugatti/baa/kalempa.htm
