Passion, Vibration and the Roar of Engines.

In the early days, motor sports were a truly sensual experience - glittering events that captured the imagination of the masses and left the ruling classes spellbound. Rivalry between competing brands and constructors created an environment where exceptional performance was a matter of survival. The car had only just been invented when along came a man who was determined to turn this self-propelled contraption into a work of art on wheels. That man was Ettore Bugatti.

Immortality was virtually assured after one of the most sensational results in motor racing history. At the Brescia Grand Prix in 1921, the Bugatti T13 (1.5 liters, 4 cylinders, 16 valves) achieved the incredible feat of taking first, second, third and fourth places. A legend was born - the Bugatti name was elevated to new heights and the T13 was affectionately christened the Brescia. The T35 (2.3 liters, 8 cylinders) was launched in 1924 at the French Grand Prix in Lyon, and remained unbeaten on circuits around the world until 1929. In terms of total victories, the T35 still ranks as the most successful Grand Prix racing car of all time. Bugatti came to be regarded as the ultimate automotive "thoroughbred": le pur sang de l’automobile.

Experience Style - in new Dimensions.

The story of the Royal - the largest, most expensive luxury automobile ever built - began at a dinner. An English lady stated that, although no one doubted Ettore Bugatti’s ability to build very good looking and, above all, very fast automobiles, the true luxury class of automobile was, as it always had been, best exemplified by Rolls-Royce. Spurred by this ‘insult,’ Ettore Bugatti created his vision of the ultimate luxury car for the crowned heads of Europe.

"Nothing is too beautiful, nothing is too expensive" - Ettore Bugatti

With a 12.7 liter engine, almost 300 hp, and a proud 6.5 meter length, the Royal was far ahead of its main competitors, Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza. Between 1929 and 1932, only six of these majestic vehicles were built. The conspicuous silver hood ornament - an elephant rising on its hind legs - was made by Ettore’s brother, Rembrandt, a gifted sculptor. As it turned out, fate and the Great Depression made sure that no king was to buy a Royal. Only three automobiles were sold. One of them to the ‘prince’ of the French textile industry, Armand Esders. Production during the 1930s was heavily influenced by the work of Jean Bugatti, Ettore’s talented son, who designed some of the most elegant bodies ever to roll out of the Molsheim plant. One of his masterpieces is the T 57 S Atlantic, with its tear-shaped windows, harmoniously flowing lines, the typical horseshoe shaped Bugatti grill, edged roof - an automobile of breathtaking beauty and incredible elegance. The body of the Royal that was built for Armand Esders, a roadster, was likewise designed by Jean Bugatti.

"The 3.3 litre Bugatti 57 S, a car in a class of its own" - Sir Malcolm Campbell

 

57 SC Type Atalante.

On 4 September, 1937, the famous record-holding racing driver Sir Malcolm Campbell wrote that if anyone were to ask him to name the best all-round super sports car, he would answer without hesitation: ‘The 3.3 litre Bugatti 57 S, a car in a class of its own." Jean Bugatti created a new generation of street version sports cars from the type 57. At the Paris Motor Show of 1935, he presented the 57 S Aerolith with a shorter, lowered chassis, a reinforced engine with dry sump lubrication and a spectacular body. This was the basis for the legendary ATLANTIC and ATALANTE Bugattis, designed personally by Jean.

Ettore Bugatti. His name is a legend, a symbol for the fine art of automotive engineering, technical prowess and breathtaking design - to mention just a few of his main attributes.

Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti was born into a family of established artists in Milan one 15 September, 1881. But rather than pursuing a career in painting or sculpture as his family originally intended, he poured all his energies into the art of automobile construction.

By 1909, Ettore had opened the production center in Molsheim, Alsace. His cars were meticulously planned down to the very last detail. Even the engines were built according to aesthetic principles. Every Bugatti that left the factory in Molsheim bore the hallmarks of excellence - outstanding engineering quality, perfectly balanced proportions and consummate design.

Building on Tradition.

The jewel in the Molsheim crown was Ettore Bugatti’s idyllic residence at Château St. Jean. It was here that "le Patron" - as Ettore Bugatti was known to many of his contemporaries - held court. This was where he received his guests and customers. His supreme automobiles were handed over at the foot of the chateau’s grand flight of steps while fresh ideas for new Bugattis were dreamed up inside the house.