Bugatti

History

Italian-born Ettore Bugatti founded Automobiles Ettore Bugatti in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, then part of the German Empire and later returned to France. Bugatti cars were renowned for their engineering excellence, artistic design, and racing success.

The Type 35 Grand Prix car dominated motorsport in the 1920s, winning over 1,000 races. The Type 57 SC Atlantic, produced in the 1930s, is considered one of the most beautiful cars ever designed, with its riveted dorsal seam and sweeping fenders.

After Ettore Bugatti death in 1947 and the post-war decline, the brand lay dormant for decades. It was revived in 1987 by Romano Artioli, who produced the EB 110 in the 1990s before bankruptcy. Volkswagen Group acquired the rights in 1998 and relaunched Bugatti with the Veyron in 2005, a 1,001 hp quad-turbocharged hypercar that set a new standard for production car performance. The Chiron followed in 2016 with 1,500 hp, and the Mistral roadster and Bolide track car represent the final pure internal combustion Bugatti models before the Tourbillon introduces hybrid electrification.

Innovations

The Type 35 (1924) introduced hollow front axle design and cast aluminum wheels with integrated brake drums, advanced for its era.

The Veyron (2005) was the first production car to exceed 400 km/h, achieving 407 km/h with a quad-turbocharged W16 engine producing 1,001 hp.

The Chiron Super Sport 300+ (2019) broke the 490 km/h barrier, reaching 490.484 km/h, a record for a production-based vehicle.

The Bolide (2020) stripped away all comfort to create a 1,578 hp track-focused machine weighing just 1,240 kg, the most extreme Bugatti ever built.