Bugatti as a car brand was established by a young entrepreneur named Ettore Bugatti. Ettore Bugatti had the genes of an artist in his DNA as his father Carlo Bugatti was an expert painter, wood carver, silversmith and sculptor. Ettore’s creativity and love for engineering were evident when he went on to construct some of the most iconic car designs in the world. Bugatti as a car brand was a result of bold vision of Ettore Bugatti, a man driven by sheer passion and resolve.
The First Ever Bugatti Car
Ettore Bugatti was sent to study sculpture at Brera Art Academy, but soon figured out his limitless passion for engineering and automobiles. Following his instinct, he decided to become an engineer at seventeen and from there on, the road to the first ever Bugatti car begun. Ettore started working on the first prototype and just within a year, constructed a vehicle with three wheels that was supported by two engines. This was the first ever Bugatti that proved to be a stepping-stone towards a sublime Bugatti Era. The first ever Bugatti took the racing world by storm with 8 wins in 10 racing events. This was a defining moment in the life of Ettore Bugatti and in the evolution of Bugatti as a car brand.
The Rich History of Bugatti Cars
The success of the first ever Bugatti built by Ettore Bugatti paved the way for a speedy progress towards manufacturing new cars with better specifications and features. Ettore’s passion and commitment towards making Bugatti a leading car brand made Bugatti one of the fastest evolving car brands of the early 1900s. The evolution of Bugatti as a brand had more than its fair share of problems, but a strong foundation laid by Ettore Bugatti always remained the reason for its success over the years.
Let’s look at how the present supercars by Bugatti, including the Bugatti Chiron and Veyron, were evolved into such modern day technological marvels.
Bugatti’s First Real Car
In the start of the 1900s, Ettore Bugatti built his first real vehicle that laid a strong foundation for the future of Bugatti. It was an astonishing achievement by Ettore at that time and the thought-provoking engineering technology of the Bugatti’s first real car grabbed considerable appreciation from everywhere. The car had a 4-speed gearbox and a V4 overhead valve engine along with other significant technical advancements.
Bugatti Type 18 and Type 19
With the success of the first real car of Bugatti, the passion of Ettore Bugatti drove him into taking bigger strides. Ettore purchased a new factory in Molsheim, Germany and started building the first generation Type 18 and Type 19. In 1911, he came up with a dwarf, but a highly efficient racing machine and took it to the LeMans race to compete against some gigantic vehicles. The small, but swift vehicle by Bugatti got the second place at the competition and showed everyone the potential of Bugatti as a car brand.
Bugatti Type 29/30 and Type 32
In 1922, a revolutionary Bugatti car was introduced that had a distinctive Cigar-like shape. The Type 29/30 had a V8 engine and hydraulic brakes. This powerful Bugatti came in second place at the AFC Grand Prix in 1922. In 1923, Bugatti built a Type 32 that was somewhat similar in its technical specifications to Type 29/30. It had a redeveloped V8 engine that was shaped like a tank. The car got famous for its peculiar design and body.
Bugatti Type 35
An open-wheel design came into limelight with the launch of the Bugatti Type 35. The car made its way to the French Grand Prix and received accolades for its contemporary design. It had the traditional V8 engine.
Bugatti Type 41 Royale
It was the most expensive Bugatti car introduced in 1926. To the misfortune of the brand, it had a poor launching time with global economic crises at its peak. Bugatti Type 41 Royale proved to be a financial threat to Bugatti’s progress as a brand. Bugatti could only sell three units in total. In the middle of this financial crisis, Bugatti was lucky enough to receive a much needed financial help from the Government. As a part of the Government deal, Bugatti was asked to develop a high-speed train. The contract breathed a new life into the company’s financial stream. The massive engine of the Type 41 Royale was used in the high-speed train that later went on to make a new world record for speed in the segment of railed vehicles with combustion engine.
The Rough Patch in Bugatti’s Evolution
The fame and success of Bugatti dropped severely after the success it received for the production of a high-speed train supported by the Type 41 Royale engine. The only success it acquired after that was through the production of Type 57 in 1939, which was built on the request of Ettore Bugatti’s son, Jean Bugatti. The car did wonders at the LeMans race and won the first prize. But later, on August 11 in 1939, Jean Bugatti died during a test run of the same vehicle. The Second World War further added to the miseries of Bugatti and after the death of Ettore Bugatti in 1947, the demise of Bugatti as a car brand seemed inevitable.
The car brand Bugatti saw some hope after it was purchased by aircraft company Hispano-Suiza in 1963. In 1987, a famous entrepreneur, Romano Artioli bought the rights of the car brand Bugatti and built his new factory in Italy. The only high Bugatti saw under Artioli was the accolade that it received for the production of Bugatti’s EB 110 supercar, which was unveiled in Paris in the ceremony of the 110th birthday of Ettore Bugatti. Later in 1995, Artioli went bankrupted and Bugatti was taken over by Volkswagen.
Re-Emergence of Bugatti as a Premium Car Brand
Once Bugatti was taken over by Volkswagen, its growth and success started a new era for the brand. Volkswagen worked on the first real supercar of Bugatti and launched the concept model of Bugatti Veyron in 2001. The concept model had a W16 quad-turbo engine that clearly made it one beast of a car.
Production of Bugatti Veyron in 2006
The first production-ready Bugatti Veyron was launched in 2006. The car had more or less similar features and specifications to its concept version.
The final specifications of the production-ready version of Bugatti Veyron were as following:
Engine: Quad-Turbo W16
Horsepower: 1001hp
Torque: 922 lb-ft
Top Speed: 253 mph
Acceleration: 0-62 mph in 2.5 seconds
With its exceptional power and speed features, Bugatti Veyron remained the fastest production car for two years. Bugatti Veyron proved to be a huge success for the company and a number of variants of the Veyron were launched over the years.
Listed below are the most popular Bugatti Veyron models launched till date:
- Bugatti Veyron (2005-2011)
- Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport (2009-2015)
- Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (2010-2011)
- Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse (2012-2015)
With its breath-taking speed and acceleration, Bugatti Veyron spawned a new era of fast cars. From here onwards, cars like Bugatti Veyron were not classified as Supercars; a new term of “Hypercars” was coined to differentiate between the fast and insanely fast cars like Bugatti Veyron.
Also read: The Bugatti Veyron Takes a Bow in Geneva
Launch of Bugatti Chiron
In 2016, the Bugatti Veyron was finally replaced by a car that was worthy of being its successor and was able to carry on the legacy of Bugatti, the Bugatti Chiron.
The hypercar not only boasted of its power and speed, but also had a fascinating design and iconic curves of Bugatti. With its design update and performance upgrade, the Bugatti Chiron mesmerized the senses of car enthusiasts.
The astounding specifications of Bugatti Chiron are as following:
Engine: Quad Turbo 8.0-litre W16
Power: 1480hp
Torque: 1106 lb-ft
Top Speed: 288 mph
Acceleration: 0-62 mph in 2.3 seconds
Bugatti Chiron is available in the markets worldwide and clearly represents the rich history of Bugatti as one of the most popular premium car brands in the world.
What to Expect from Bugatti in the Years to come?
With its resilience and hard work, Bugatti has remained one of the top car brands in the world for more than a century. The launch of hypercars like Veyron and Chiron has added to the solid reputation of Bugatti as a car brand worldwide. Going by the expectations, car enthusiasts across the globe are now keeping their fingers crossed for the next big thing from Bugatti.
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