Bugatti: An Inside Look

The Bugatti company and, most particularly, the company’s founder Ettore Bugatti are venerable fixtures in the world of automobile engineering. From the very beginning, Bugatti’s unique constructions and high aesthetic standards have enthralled the public and spawned a virtually boundless passion in those fortunate enough to own such automotive works of art.

Unique visions, the strong legacy of legendary sports cars, and high-precision engineering in development, construction, and manufacture distinguish this outstanding automotive brand. The elegant, individual, and independent character of Bugatti automobiles is reflected in the brand logo: the pearl-framed oval sporting 60 pearls, the stylized initials of the brand’s founder Ettore Bugatti, and the elegantly simple Bugatti word mark have adorned each Bugatti model since 1909. The logo embodies the official statement and the tradition-conscious promise that Bugatti offers its discerning customers. All Bugatti brand values have been integrated in the Veyron), an aesthetic and engineering masterwork first introduced in 2005, which, like its predecessors, is a match for contemporary racing cars.

The Bugatti legacy dates back to the year 1901, when the designs and constructions of Ettore Bugatti and his son Jean achieved a perfect synthesis of art and technology. In the 1920s, Ettore Bugatti’s cars were the embodiment of light construction and unmatched technical aestheticism. Jean Bugatti’s bodywork designs had a lasting impact on the style of the 1930s. Prime examples of these two eras are the almost invincible racing car Typ 35 designed by Ettore Bugatti, and the vanguard super-sports two-seater Typ 57SC Atlantic by Jean Bugatti. Each of these surpassing automobiles embodies the genius of its creator. Yet the history of this legendary brand and its two formative designers and engineers goes far beyond technology and art – it is also a history of automotive pioneering. This legacy lives on in the Veyron.

In 1998, Volkswagen AG decided to revive the legendary Bugatti automobile brand, purchasing all trademark rights, and the next year Bugatti Automobile S.A.S. was founded in Molsheim, Alsace, as a Volkswagen France subsidiary. In 2001, Volkswagen decided to start serial production of the super-sportscar Veyron, whose official name was “Veyron 16.4”. In the fall of 2004, after renovation of the traditional Bugatti headquarters at Château Saint Jean was completed and the new assembly studio constructed, Bugatti S.A.S. began manufacturing the first Veyron. About 80 cars are assembled each year, most of them being picked up directly in Molsheim by their new owners. This is a pleasure that customers back in Ettore Bugatti’s days also used to indulge in. Below is a video that gives us an inside look at the Bugatti factory and the development of the Veyron.