Bugatti

Ettore Bugatti founded the company in 1909 in Molsheim, then part of the German Empire, now in France. Born in Milan in 1881, Ettore came from an artistic family and was largely self-taught as an engineer. He designed his first vehicle at age twenty and soon after established a workshop in a decommissioned dye works. The original Bugatti quickly became known for combining engineering precision with artistic flair, producing cars that were as beautiful as they were fast. The Type 35, introduced in the 1920s, won over a thousand races including five consecutive Targa Florio victories from 1925 to 1929, making it one of the most successful race cars ever built. Other celebrated models from the pre-war era include the colossal Type 41 Royale and the streamlined Type 57 SC Atlantic, both now among the most valuable classic cars in the world.

The original company faced a series of calamities. Ettore's son Jean Bugatti, who had taken over much of the design and engineering, died in 1939 while testing a car. Ettore himself died in 1947, and without a clear successor the automobile side of the business gradually wound down. The brand lay dormant for decades until Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli revived it in the 1980s as Bugatti Automobili S.p.A., producing the EB 110 supercar in the early 1990s. That venture collapsed, but in 1998 Volkswagen AG acquired the design and naming rights and established Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. Under Volkswagen, Ferdinand Piëch championed the Veyron project, which launched in 2005 and became the first production car to exceed 1,000 horsepower and 400 km/h, effectively creating the hypercar segment.

In November 2021, Bugatti became part of Bugatti Rimac, a joint venture between the Rimac Group and Porsche AG, with Mate Rimac serving as CEO of the joint venture and Christophe Piochon as President of the Bugatti brand. The current lineup includes the Tourbillon, a 2026 model producing 1,775 horsepower, the W16 Mistral roadster limited to 99 units and sold out at around €5 million each, and the track-only Bolide. Bugatti has also expanded into luxury lifestyle products, such as bicycles priced near $24,000 and collaborations with Lego. The brand unveiled a refreshed corporate identity in 2022, featuring a vibrant Bugatti Blue and the iconic EB logo, signaling its evolution from a hypercar maker to a broader luxury house. [edit]