AUTOMOTIVE
DECEMBER 7, 2021
Bugatti Automobile Timeline
Check out this Bugatti automobile timeline to have better understanding of a carmaker company that producing supercars over decades.
Bugatti automaker was founded in 1909 by Ettore Bugatti in Molsheim, Alsace, France. Ettore was born in Milan, Italy, his father, Carlo Bugatti was an Art Nouveau designer for furniture and jewelry.
Famous Bugatti models include the Type 35 Grand Prix, Type 41 Royale, Type 57 Atlantic and the Type 55 sports car. The first owner of Bugatti was Fritz Schlumpf. He bought his first Bugatti car in 1928 when he was 22 years old. A press release from Bugatti reported that Schlumpf was once bought 30 Bugattis at once.
The most expensive and exclusive car from Bugatti today is the Bugatti Chiron. It is the fastest and most powerful super sports car in the world. This most luxurious car is assembled from more than 1.800 parts by 20 employees, working by hand, putting the part one by one. The engine of this car is so big and powerful that it weighs almost 1.000 pounds, about a quarter of the entire car’s weight.
Bugatti company enjoyed great success in racing during 1924-1939. Grand Prix motor racing, Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans 24 hours were the proof of their superiority at the time.
On August 11, 1939 Jean Bugatti, son of Ettore Bugatti died while testing a Type 57 race car near the Molsheim factory. This led as a turning point in the company’s fortunes. Ettore died later on August 21, 1947 and the company declined further. The last appearance of Bugatti was at the Paris Motor Shown in 1952, after that it ceased operations.
Some attempts to revive Bugatti brand were made during 1950’s to 1960’s. Roland Bugatti designed Type 251 race car in the mid 1950’s but it failed to perform as expected. In the 1960’s Virgil Exner designed a Bugatti and was shown at the 1965 Turin Motor Show. This didn’t turned out well too as the financial was not adequate enough to continue mass productions. Bugatti was then sold to Hispano-Suiza. Snecma took over Hispano-Suiza and merged Messier and Bugatti into Messier-Bugatti in 1977.
In 1987, Italian entrepreneur, Romano Artoli bought the Bugatti brand and established Bugatti Aitomobili S.p.A. A factory was built in Campogalliano, Modena, Italy. the first car produced here was the Bugatti EB 110 GT.
In 1998 Volkswagen purchased Bugatti, they bought the sports car brand for $50 million after acquiring Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce. Under Volkswagen ownership Bugatti launched their most remarkable model : the Bugatti Veyron (2005 to 2015) and Chiron (2016 – present). The Chiron is considered as the most expensive car in the world. It costs almost $3 million per unit for a 2020 Bugatti Chiron.
If the price tag is too high for you then check the cost of oil change alone. The oil change usually costs from $20.000 to $25.000. This price is due to the exclusivity of a Bugatti, the labor and the materials used. And for note, this figures can vary based on the model and other services you need for the car.
According to cityam.com website, in July 2021 Volkswagen announced that they are selling Bugatti supercar business as the German giant is shifting their productions to electric vehicles.
Rimac Automobili, an automobile car maker from Zagreb, Croatia, bought the Bugatti brand. With 55% share, Rimac will become the majority owner in a new joint venture with Porsche AG – a member of the Volkswagen Group. The new company will be called Bugatti Rimac LLC.
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