Ettore Bugatti

Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti to give him his full name, was born in Milan, Italy on the 15th September 1881. Bugatti went on to become a designer and manufacturer of some of the finest racing and touring automobiles of the day. Before founding his own company, Bugatti designed engines and vehicles for other companies. Starting with the Type 1 designed for Prinetti & Stucchi, moving on to Dietrich who built his Types 3 and 4 and ultimately Types 5, 6 and 7 under the Dietrich-Bugatti marque. In 1907, Bugatti moved again, this time to the DGF (Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik) company where he designed and built his Type 8 and 9 models. Working alone, Bugatti designed the Type 2 in 1900/01 and in 1903 the Type 5. During his tenure with Deutz, he designed and built his Type 10. His Type 19 was a design for the Peugeot Automobile Company. This car went on to be known as the "Bébé".

Bugatti was born into an artistic family with their roots in the Milan area. His mother, Teresa Lorioli was an influential Art Nouveau jewellery and furniture designer, while his brother Rembrandt was a renowned animal sculptor. 

Bugatti eventually started his own automobile company in Molsheim in the Alsace region of France. The company quickly went on to build an enviable reputation for it's advanced engineering and unique automobiles. The company had enormous success in Grand prix motor racing and it was a Bugatti

design that won the first Grand Prix to be held in Monaco.

During the first World War, Bugatti turned his hand to the design of various aero engines, most notable being the U16.

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A massive engine of 16 cylinders, it was never built in large numbers and was installed in only a few aircraft. After the war, Bugatti went on to design motorised railcars - the Autorail, the engine from which was adapted to power the famous Type 41 "Royale" cars of the inter war period. In 1937 Bugatti started the

development of the 100p high performance aeroplane. Under contract to the French Air Ministry, Bugatti hired the visionary Belgian designer Louis de Monge as his chief engineer. His brief to de Monge was to build an aircraft capable of winning

some of the many air races of that period with a planned military version scheduled to follow.

Bugatti suffered a devastating blow in August 1939 when his son, Jean Bugatti, was killed testing the Type 57 racing car near the factory in Molsheim. It is thought that Bugatti never recovered from the death of his son, and shortly after his death, the

company's fortunes started to decline. During World War 2, the Molsheim factory was completely destroyed and Bugatti lost control of the property. Bugatti did have plans to open a factory near Paris to manufacture a series of new cars but the idea was stillborn.

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Bugatti was known to be eccentric and extremely stubborn when it came to his designs. For example, he refused to fit front brakes to some of his early designs,

and refused to even try one of his cars which had been secretly fitted with front brakes. He was however, an extremely perceptive and Imaginative engineer, and had the gift of being able to visualise how a component or assembly might work. One example of his vision came at an early Grand Prix at Monza, Italy

where Bugatti asked to look at Seagrave's car. After a few minutes of intense study, Bugatti suggested to Seagrave that one of his engine supports would break and that his front axle appeared to be "unsafe!". Seagrave felt that Bugatti was simply trying to unsettle him, but so convinced was Bugatti, that he told his own

drivers to keep their distance from the Seagrave car.

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As predicted, the questionable engine support broke during the race, forcing Seagrave to withdraw, luckily without injury.

Ettore Bugatti died in Paris in August 1947 and was buried in the family plot in Dorlisheim near Molsheim. His legacy lives on in the great many cars that still exist, most commanding extraordinary prices when they do come to market, and in the new Bugatti Veyron. A marvel of sophisticated engineering and a car which Bugatti would have been proud to have carried his name.

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Bugatti Type 1Bugatti type 1 is a Tricycle……

Designed by Ettore Bugatti produced by Prinetti & Stucchi in 1899. It had four engines, two on each side of the rear axle.

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Bugatti Type 2BUGATTI Type 2 (1900 - 1901): Ettore Bugatti first introduced the Type 2 concept car in 1900. This prototype later served as inspiration for the later-developed Dietrich-Bugatti Type 2, designed and assembled at Baron de Dietrich's Niederbronn factory in Alsace, France. The car was fitted with a 3.1L inline-4 engine and provided the base for the upcoming Type 3, Type 4 and Type 5 models. It was discontinued a year later, a few months after winning an award at the 1901 Milan Automobile Exhibition. It won an award at the Milan Automobile Exhibition that year and gained the notice of the Baron de Dietrich.

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Bugatti Type 5 BUGATTI Type 5 (1903): Ettore Bugatti presented the Type 5 prototype in 1903. Designed by Ettore Bugatti and Émile Mathis as a link-model between the old Type 3/4 and the later-developed Type 6/7, this variant - also known as

'Hermes' - was equipped with a 12.9L 4-cylinder inline engine delivering up to 45 hp and a 4-speed manual

transmission. The upcoming Type 6/Type 7 models were both based on the Type 5 and entered the production line badged as Dietrich-Bugattis.

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Bugatti Type 10

BUGATTI Type 10 (1908): Ettore Bugatti first designed the Type 10 model in 1908, in the dying months of his collaboration with German manufacturer Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik. Soon after designing this model, Ettore decided to look for a French manufacturer to further develop his Type 10 and found it in Molsheim, Alsace. He fitted it his 2-seat roadster with a 1.1L engine and a 4-speed manual transmission, while

featuring a bathtub-shaped body style. Also, the Type 10 had no rear suspension whatsoever.

so he conceived this aluminum-bodied 810-pound 10-horsepower car capable of 55 mph. He dubbed it "le Petit Pur-

Sang," or little thoroughbred. When he left the company, he drove it to Molsheim, France, where this car helped him secure financial backing to start his own company.

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Bugatti Type 13,14

After opening his new factory in Molsheim, Ettore Bugatti refined his lightweight Type 10 into the Type 13 racer. The new company produced five examples in 1910, and entered the French Grand Prix at Le Mans in 1911. The tiny Bugatti looked a little out of place in the race, but took second after seven

hours of racing. World War I halted car production but Ettore took completed Type 13 cars with him to Milan for the duration of the war, leaving the parts for three more cars buried near his factory in France. After the war, Bugatti returned and prepared five Type 13s for racing. They were a great success, winning the first four places at the 1921 Brescia Grand Prix, so Type 13s are often called the 'Brescia' Bugattis. Ettore Bugatti entered four examples of his Type 13 in a newly estalbished Grand Prix race in northern Italy, the Gran Premio d'Italia Internazionale held at the Circuito di Brescia on August 21st of 1921. Ernest Friderich drove car number 13 to a victory in its class with an average speed of 72 mph over 215 miles, setting a new record for the 1,400cc category. The other Bugatti cars finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th. After this impressive accomplishment, the model was dubbed the 'Brescia Bugatti.' Between 1920 and 1926, the Brescias scored a long list of important successes in Britain and Continental Europe.

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This Bugatti Type 13, chassis number 981, was manufactured in Molsheim, France, on August 14th of 1920. It was originally configured as a Type 22-27 and was equipped with a 16-valve, overhead-camshaft engine (no. 538), an RB magneto, four shock absorbers, five Rudge wire wheels, the 'long'-type steering column and four-place coachwork.

Chassis 981 was included in a delivery of 20 Bugatti chassis to Louis Pabanel of Paris on September 5th of 1920. Louis

Pabanel was an official agent for Bugatti, Diatto and Hotchkiss automobiles.

The first recorded owner was Edmond Autran of Avignon, France. He registered the Bugatti on June 17th of 1922, but by the fall of 1928, the Brescia had been sold to M. Bailly, a resident of Toulon. About two years later, M. Pensin of Draguignan became the next owner.

When World War II came to a close, an American serviceman stationed in France discovered the Bugatti and shipped the car to the United States. It was later purchased by Bud Ley of Cleveland, Ohio. Under Mr. Ley's ownership, the car was sent to England, where the original chassis was shortened to Type 13 configuration. Bugatti is credited with building cars that were not only works of art, but also amazing mechanical creations. The first -Bugatti ever built,

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the Bugatti Type 13 is considered to be one of the most successful cars in Bugatti history. With the company's founding in 1910, production of the Type 13 and later Types 15, 17, 22, and 23 lasted through 1920 with 435 examples produced. The Type 13 featured a 16-valve four-cylinder, one of the first ever produced, that performed wonders on the track and also earned the company's first big race win in the 1920 Grand Prix de Le Mans. The following year the four Type 13s took the top four spots at Brescia in Italy. Until 1926 the Brescia Bugatti was produced. In keeping with Ettore Bugatti's feelings for his designs, road cars became known as 'pur-sang' ('thoroughbred'). After World War I the car was brought back with multi-valve engines. Much needed money was also brought in by the production of the 'Brescia Tourer' .

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Bugatti Type 22 Bottom of Lake

For the locals around Lake Maggiore on the Italian-Swiss border, the mythology surrounding the Bugatti in the Lake was well known. This particular 1925 Bugatti Type 22 Brescia Roadster used to belong to Golden Age of Grand

Prix driver René Dreyfus, who lost it in a drunken poker game to Swiss playboy Adalbert Bodé in Paris in 1934; Bodé soon left for home with his new machine, but with no cash in pocket, he was unable to pay its import duties when he was stopped at the Swiss border. Bodé walked away, leaving Swiss officials to dispose of his prize however they saw fit. In those days, a ten-year-old Bugatti wasn't of significant value, so officials chose to roll it into the lake; its eventual resting spot was 173 feet below the surface of the water.

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Yet it wasn't until the summer of 1967, when deep-diving technology was able to overcome the 29 fathoms of water pressure, that the Bugatti tale ceased to be a myth; a local diving club was able to see it for the first time. For more than four decades, amateur divers plunged the depths of the lake to catch a

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glimpse. Hey, if Nantucket can -have the Andrea Doria, why can't Lake Maggiore have its own Bugatti?

An unforeseen, unconnected event led to its eventual exhumation and sale. In 2008, a local boy was killed at a street fair, a victim of a brutal, random beating; the local diving club elected to raise the long-sunken Bugatti and donate the proceeds to a non-profit foundation established

in the victim's name to combat youth violence. A crowd of thousands witnessed the long-sunk Type 22 emerge from Lake Maggiore on July 12, 2009. (Famously, there was still air in the remaining Englebert tires as it was raised to the surface.) The half of the car that retains its body and tires rested in the silt at the bottom of the lake for decades; the remainder, exposed to the lake, is a solemn reminder of the effects of the elements. Suitably prepped, it sold for around $370,000 at the Bonhams auction at Retromobile in Paris in January 2010; the buyer was Peter Mullin, he of the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California. Today, the Bugatti is displayed in its own room, walled off from the rest of the collection; the space is designed to invoke intimacy, and to roughly replicate the (minimal) light levels available at the bottom of the lake. All the better to help a viewer concentrate on the endless details that make the Brescia a must-see work of art. Art is open to interpretation,

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and art is designed to make you think and feel. The Brescia scores on all counts. "This is a car that's had many different lives," says museum curator Andrew Reilly. "Here's a twin-plug competition car, rebodied to carry its current torpedo body. It's known to have belonged to René Dreyfus, then lost in a card game in Paris. It was pushed into the lake, it became a part of local lore, it became a tourist attraction. Depending on what part of its lifespan you focus on, you come away with a different appreciation. If the focus is on the young man who lost his life, it's a somber part of the story. The faded grandeur of great pre-war cars suffering certain indignities is another. The watery crypt and silence and darkness this car survived in lends itself to another solemn experience."

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Bugatti Type 55

While the four seater Type 43 was a big hit, Jean Bugatti's increasing influence persuaded his father Ettore to do something different for the Type 51 road car.

The twin-cam engine was carried over from the new racing car, but fitted in a ladder frame chassis similar to the ones used for the sixteen cylinder Type 45/47 and the 4.9 litre Type 54 Grand Prix car. The chassis was slightly wider and a lot stronger, making it ideal for the road

going Type 55. In good Bugatti tradition the chassis was suspended by solid axles and leaf springs. Slightly detuned for reliability reasons, the straight eight produced around 145 bhp. It was

mated to the same four-speed gearbox used in the Type 43.

Jean Bugatti, just 22 years old at the time. added his magic touch by designing an absolutely -stunning looking two-seater Roadster bodywork that has gone into history as one of the all time greats. Its lovely lines were further accentuated by a two-tone finish. The eight-spoke cast-aluminium wheels with integrated brake drums were directly lifted from the Type 51 and revealed the car's competition-

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roots. In addition to the Roadster body, the Type 55 catalog also featured a Coupe design along similar lines. Most of these bodies were built by the factory with the exception of a few Roadsters that were constructed by Gangloff to relieve the work-load in Molsheim. With such a spectacular 'standard' design, it was not surprising that less than a handful were clothed by other coach-builders.

Even though the last one was not built until 1935, more than half of all Type 55s were constructed in 1932. Compared to the Type 43, the Type 55's production figure of just 38 examples might sound disappointing. However, considering it was a substantially different car and aimed at the richest of customers, the number constructed and sold is still relatively high, especially after the commercial failure of the Type 41 Royale. A true supercar in its era, the Type 55 Super Sport is still a highly desirable car thanks to its design and great driving characteristics.

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Bugatti Type 251

BUGATTI Type 251 (1955 - 1956): Bugatti introduced its very last 'Type' models in 1955, the Type 251. This exotic 2-door roadster was designed by Gioacchino Colombo and featured a quite unique engine configuration - transversely mounted behind the driver. It had a 2.5L

displacement and could deliver up to 230 hp. The Type 251 also featured a newly-developed de Dion tube non-independent rear suspension aimed to add to car's sports capabilities. This model was discontinued a in 1956, but not before competing for 18 laps in the French Grand Prix (driven by Maurice Trintignant).

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Bugatti EB 110

As we all know, today Bugatti is owned by the Volkswagen Group, which is why it is powered by an insane quad-turbo W16 engine. The EB110 came about in the early 1990s, before VW had a hand in the brand. A few years before

its debut, Italian billionaire and Ferrari dealer Romano Artioli acquired the rights to the storied Bugatti name and attempted a revival of his own. As Gulf news tells it, Artioli's goal was to make a car that was more badass than anything Ferrari or Lamborghini made. How did he do it?

By recruiting a bunch of former Lamborghini engineers, that's how. The car that would become the EB110 was extremely advanced for its time, packing a 3.5-liter V12 engine with four turbochargers good for 560 horsepower and all-wheel-drive. And unlike its porkier little brother the Veyron, this car kept the weight down with aluminum body panels mounted to a carbon fiber monocoque chassis. Zero to 60 mph times were in the low 3-second range.

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Bugatti Veyron 16.4

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is an exotic sports car. Without seeing one in person, it's a little hard to judge the car's size, but in terms of dimensions the Veyron is actually a little bit shorter in length than a Porsche 911. To help reduce weight,

carbon fiber and aluminum have been extensively utilized for the car's bodywork and structure, though the Veyron still checks in at close to 4,500 pounds.

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Assigned to the task of getting that mass up to speed is a quad-turbo, 8.0-liter W16

-engine mounted amidships. (The Veyron's "16.4" refers to cylinder and turbocharger count.) In simplified terms, the engine's W layout could be described as being two Volkswagen narrow-angle V8s joined together. It's rated at 1,001 hp and 922 pound-feet of torque. To put that output into perspective, think of the Bugatti Veyron as having two Corvette Z06 engines.

Power is sent to all four wheels through an F1-style, seven-

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speed automated manual gearbox whose design is similar to that of VW's well-regarded DSG transmission. Thanks to all-wheel drive and massive wheels and tires, the Veyron is ferociously quick, with published reports indicating a 0-60-mph time of approximately 2.5 seconds and a quarter-mile time in the low 10-second range.

And when placed into a special top-speed mode that primes the car for minimum aerodynamic drag, the Veyron is indeed capable of 252 mph. Naturally, one might find it hard to locate a long enough

straight to achieve this, so Bugatti kindly limits the Veyron's normal top speed to a "mere" 230 mph.

According to those who've had the pleasure of seat time, the Bugatti Veyron is a relatively easy car to drive. Handling, though not as visceral or engaging as other exotic sports cars, is still monumentally impressive. Meanwhile, the car coddles its occupants with leather upholstery and special aluminum trim, while interior measurements are in fact quite roomy. Outward forward visibility, however, is noticeably poor due to the car's very thick A-pillars.

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