Bugatti was founded in Molsheim, France (Germany at that time) as a manufacturer of high performance automobiles by Ettore Bugatti, an Italian-born, described as an eccentric genius.
The original company is legendary for producing some of the most exclusive cars in the world, as well as some of the fastest. The original Bugatti brand failed with the coming of World War II, like many high-end marques of the time. The death of Ettores son Jean was also a contributory factor. The company struggled financially, and released one last model in the 1950s, before eventually being purchased for its airplane parts business in the 1960s. Today the name is owned by Volkswagen Group, who have revived it as a builder of limited production exclusive sports cars.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Under Ettore Bugatti
o 1.1 Design
* 2 Models
* 3 Racing success
* 4 Bugatti in Formula One
* 5 Aviation
o 5.1 The Bugatti 100P
* 6 The end
* 7 Bugatti brand used afterwards
o 7.1 Bugatti Automobili SpA
o 7.2 Bugatti Automobiles SAS
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 External links
[edit] Under Ettore Bugatti
Type 35C (1926), painted in the blue racing colour of France.
Founder Ettore Bugatti was born in Milan, Italy, and the automobile company that bears his name was founded in 1909 in the town of Molsheim located in the Alsace. The company was known both for the level of detail of its engineering in its automobiles, and for the artistic way in which the designs were executed, given the artistic nature of Ettores family (his father, Carlo Bugatti (1856–1940), was an important Art Nouveau furniture and jewelry designer). The company also enjoyed great success in early Grand Prix motor racing, winning the first ever Monaco Grand Prix. The companys 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).
[edit] Design
Bugattis cars were as much works of art as they were mechanical creations. Engine blocks were hand scraped to ensure that the surfaces were so flat that gaskets were not required for sealing, many of the exposed surfaces of the engine compartment featured Guilloché (engine turned) finishes on them, and safety wires threaded through almost every fastener in intricately laced patterns. Rather than bolt the springs to the axles as most manufacturers did, Bugattis axles were forged such that the spring passed though a carefully sized opening in the axle, a much more elegant solution requiring fewer parts. He famously described his arch competitor Bentleys cars as "the worlds fastest lorries" for focusing on durability. According to Bugatti, "weight was the enemy".
[edit] Models
Only a few examples of each of Ettore Bugattis vehicles were ever produced, the most famous being the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the "Royale", the Type 57 "Atlantic" and the Type 55 sports car.
On 2 January 2009, it was revealed that a rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic had been found in the garage of a deceased surgeon in England. Only 17 of this model were made, all by hand.[1]
On 10 July 2009, a 1925 Bugatti Brescia Type 22 which had lain at the bottom of Lake Maggiore on the border of Switzerland and Italy for 75 years has been lifted out of the water. The Mullin Museum in Oxnard, CA bought it at auction for $351,343 at Bonhams Retromobile sale in Paris in 2010.
Throughout the production run of approximately 7,900 cars (of which about 2,000 still exist), each Bugatti model was designated with the prefix T for Type, which referred to the chassis and drive train.
1938 Type 57SC Atlantic from the Ralph Lauren collection
1933 Type 59 Grand Prix racer from the Ralph Lauren collection
Prototypes Racing Cars Road Cars
* 1900–1901 Type 2
* 1903 Type 5
* 1908 Type 10 « Petit Pur Sang »
* 1925 Type 36
* 1929 Type 40
* 1929 Type 41
* 1929–1930 Type 45/47
* Type 56 (electric car)
* 1939 Type 64 (coupe)
* 1943/1947 Type 73C
* 1910–1914 Type 13/Type 15/17/22
* 1912 Type 16 « bébé »
* 1922–1926 Type 29 « Cigare »
* 1923 Type 32 « Tank Bugatti »
* 1924–1930 Type 35/35A/35B/35T/35C/37/39 « Grand Prix »
* 1927–1930 Type 52 (electric racer for children)
* 1936–1939 Type 57G "Tank"
* 1937–1939 Type 50B
* 1931–1936 Type 53
* 1931–1936 Type 51/51A/54GP/59
* 1955–1956 Type 251
* 1910 Bugatti Type 13[2]
* 1912–1914 Type 18
* 1913–1914 Type 23/Brescia Tourer (roadster)
* 1922–1934 Type 30/38/40/43/44/49 (touring car)
* 1927–1933 Type 41 « Royale, Coupé Napoléon »
* 1929–1939 Type 46/50/50T (touring car)
* 1932–1935 Type 55 (roadster)
* 1934–1940 Type 57/57S/Type 57SC (touring car)
* 1951–1956 Type 101 (coupe)
* 1957–1962 Type 252 (2-seater sports convertible)
During the war Bugatti worked at Levallois in northwestern suburbs of Paris, on several new projects, including the Type 73 road car, Type 73C single seater racing car (5 built), and the Type 75. After World War II, a 375 cc supercharged car was canceled when Ettore died.
[edit] 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. Bugattis swept to victory in 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 honour. But it was the final racing success at Le Mans that is most remembered—Jean-Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron won the 1939 race with just one car and meagre resources.
Year Race Driver Car
1921 Voiturettes Grand Prix Ernest Friderich
1925 Targa Florio Bartolomeo Costantini Type 35
1926 French Grand Prix Jules Goux Type 39 A
1926 Italian Grand Prix Louis Charavel
1926 Spanish Grand Prix Bartolomeo Costantini
1926 Targa Florio Bartolomeo Costantini Type 35 T
1927 Targa Florio Emilio Materassi Type 35 C
1928 French Grand Prix William Grover-Williams Type 35 C
1928 Italian Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1928 Spanish Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1928 Targa Florio Albert Divo Type 35 B
1929 French Grand Prix William Grover-Williams Type 35 B
1929 German Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1929 Spanish Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1929 Monaco Grand Prix William Grover-Williams
1929 Targa Florio Albert Divo Type 35 C
1930 Belgian Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1930 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Heinrich-Joachim von Morgen and Hermann zu Leiningen
1930 French Grand Prix Philippe Étancelin Type 35 C
1930 Monaco Grand Prix René Dreyfus
1931 Belgian Grand Prix William Grover-Williams and Caberto Conelli
1931 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1931 French Grand Prix Louis Chiron and Achille Varzi Type 51
1931 Monaco Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1932 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1933 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1933 Monaco Grand Prix Achille Varzi
1934 Belgian Grand Prix René Dreyfus
1936 French Grand Prix Jean-Pierre Wimille and Raymond Sommer Type 57 G
1937 24 hours of Le Mans Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist Type 57 G
1939 24 hours of Le Mans Jean-Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron Type 57 C
[edit] Bugatti in Formula One
(key)
Year Chassis Engine(s) Tires Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points WCC
1956 Bugatti Type 251 Bugatti Straight-8 D ARG MON 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA 0* -*
Maurice Trintignant Ret
* The World Constructors Championship was not awarded before 1958.
[edit] Aviation
[edit] The Bugatti 100P
In the 1930s, 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 100P,[3][4] which never flew. It was designed by Belgian engineer Louis de Monge who had already applied Bugatti Brescia engines in his "Type 7.5" lifting body.
[edit] The end
Ettore Bugatti also designed a successful motorised railcar, the Autorail. His son, Jean Bugatti, was killed on 11 August 1939 at the age of 30, while testing a Type 57 tank-bodied race car near the Molsheim factory. Subsequently the companys fortunes began to decline. World War II ruined the factory in Molsheim, and the company lost control of the property. During the war, Bugatti planned a new factory at Levallois in Paris and designed a series of new cars. Ettore Bugatti died on 21 August 1947.
The company attempted a comeback under Roland Bugatti in the mid-1950s with the mid-engined Type 251 race car. Designed with help from famed Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Maserati designer Gioacchino Colombo, the car failed to perform to expectations, and the companys attempts at automobile production were halted.
In the 1960s, 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 101 chassis, and was shown at the 1965 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 (another auto maker turned aircraft supplier) in 1963. Snecma took over in 1968, later acquiring Messier. The two were merged into Messier-Bugatti in 1977.
[edit] Bugatti brand used afterwards
[edit] Bugatti Automobili SpA
Bugatti EB110 (1996)
Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli acquired the famous Bugatti name in 1987, 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, Pagani and Maserati.
By 1989 the plans for the new Bugatti revival were presented by Paolo Stanzani and Marcello Gandini, famous designers of the Lamborghini Miura and Countach. The first completed car was labelled the Bugatti EB110 GT, advertised as the most technically advanced sports car ever produced.
From 1992 through 1994 famed racing car designer Mauro Forghieri was technical director.
On 27 August 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 historical names in automotive racing, and plans were made for listing the companys shares on international stock exchanges. Bugatti also presented in 1993 the prototype of a large saloon called the EB112.
By the time the EB110 came to market the North American and European economies were in recession, and operations ceased in September 1995. A model specific to the United States market called the "Bugatti America" was in the preparatory stages when the company closed. Bugattis liquidators sold Lotus to Proton of Malaysia.
In 1997 German manufacturer Dauer Racing bought the EB110 license and remaining parts stock to Bugatti in order to produce five more EB110 SS units, although they were greatly refined by Dauer. The factory was later sold to a furniture-making company, which also collapsed before they were able to move in, leaving the building unoccupied.[5]
Perhaps the most famous Bugatti EB110 owner was racing driver Michael Schumacher, seven-time Formula One World Champion, who bought the EB110 in 1994 while racing for the Benetton team. In 2003 Schumacher sold the car—which had been repaired after a severe crash the year he bought it—to Modena Motorsport, a Ferrari service and race preparation garage in Germany.
[edit] Bugatti Automobiles SAS
Veyron 16.4.
Main article: Bugatti Automobiles SAS
Volkswagen AG purchased the rights to produce cars under the Bugatti marque in 1998. They commissioned ItalDesign to produce the Bugatti EB118 concept, a touring saloon (sedan), which featured a 408 kilowatts (555 PS; 547 bhp)[citation needed], and the first W-configuration 16-cylinder engine in 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 Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA). At the Tokyo Motor Show, the EB 218 reappeared, and the Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron was presented as the first incarnation of what was to be a production road car.
[edit] See also
* Musée National de lAutomobile de Mulhouse, home of the Schlumpf Collection of Bugatti cars
* Bugatti Type 8
[edit] References
