About Bugatti

Bugatti is a car company that was established in 1909 in Molsheim, France, by an Italian, Ettore Bugatti. The company was famous for manufacturing some of the fastest cars of the time, and later went on to make airplane parts. The Company was sold to Hispano-Suiza in 1963, and the name eventually became the property of Volkswagen in May, 1998. Today, Volkswagen uses the Bugatti name for the production of limited edition sports cars.

History

Ettore Bugatti built is first car in 1900, which went on to win the Grand Prix of Milan and a prize by the French Automobile Club. The Bugatti factory started production in 1910, and won its first race in 1920 at the Le Man's Grand Prix. Ettore Bugatti started designing plane engines in 1915. He died in 1947, and the company was eventually sold in 1963. In 1987, a new company by the name of Bugatti Automobili SpA was established, which filed for bankruptcy in 1995.

Design

The Bugatti cars were manufactured with the aim of keeping them as light a possible, by ensuring that there was no need for extra parts. Instead of bolting the axle to the springs, Bugatti manipulated their axles in such a way that the springs slotted into the axle. The company focused on the aesthetics of engineering to such an extent that the engines were carefully scraped by hand, so there was no need of a sealant.

Cars

The original company (up to 1963) manufactured a total of around 7900 cars, which included both race cars and road cars. The most popular Bugatti cars include: the Type 55 Roadster (sports car), the Type 35 Grand Prix, the Type 41 "Royale," and the Type 57 "Atlantic." The Type 35, one of the most successful race cars, had a 2-liter, 8-cylinder, 3 valves per cylinder, 90 HP engine.

Races

From 1924 to 1939, Bugatti cars won 31 Grand Prix titles. The Type 35, which won over 2000 races, was involved in eight of these Grand Prix victories. The most memorable victory for Bugatti was its last one at Le Mans in 1939, because the drivers had to make do with only one car and inadequate funds.

Volkswagen and Bugatti

As owners of the Bugatti brand name, Volkswagen established a new company by the name of Bugatti Automobiles SAS in 2000. The superstar of Volkswagen's Bugatti series is the Veyron 16.4, named after Pierre Veyron--one of the drivers involved in the final victory at Le Mans in 1939. It has an 8-liter, 16-cylinder engine, with a top speed of 253 mph, and can go from 0 to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds. Only 200 units have been produced so far. It also has a few limited editions, with the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès costing around $2.3 million.