Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a French car manufacturer of high-performance automobiles, founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars were known for their design beauty and for their many race victories. Famous Bugattis include the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Type 41 "Royale", the Type 57 "Atlantic" and the Type 55 sports car.

The death of Ettore Bugatti in 1947 proved to be the end for the marque, and the death of his son Jean Bugatti in 1939 ensured there was not a successor to lead the factory. No more than about 8,000 cars were made. The company struggled financially, and released one last model in the 1950s, before eventually being purchased for its airplane parts business in 1963.

In 1987, an Italian entrepreneur bought the brand and revived it as a builder of limited production exclusive sports cars based in Modena. In 1998, the Volkswagen Group bought the rights to the Bugatti marque and set up a subsidiary based back in Molsheim, Alsace.

1933  type 59

Founder Ettore Bugatti was born in Milan, Italy, and the automobile company that bears his name was founded in 1909 in Molsheim located in the Alsace region which was part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1919. The company was known both for the level of detail of its engineering in its automobiles, and for the artistic manner in which the designs were executed, given the artistic nature of Ettore's family (his father, Carlo Bugatti (1856–1940), was an important Art Nouveau furniture and jewelry designer).

Bugattis are noticeably focused on design. Engine blocks were hand scraped to ensure that the surfaces were so flat that gaskets were not required for sealing, many of the exposed surfaces of the engine compartment featured guilloché (engine turned) finishes on them, and safety wires had been threaded through almost every fastener in intricately laced patterns. Rather than bolt the springs to the axles as most manufacturers did, Bugatti's axles were forged such that the spring passed through a carefully sized opening in the axle, a much more elegant solution requiring fewer parts. He famously described his arch competitor Bentley's cars as "the world's fastest lorries" for focusing on durability. According to Bugatti, "weight was the enemy".

type 41

The Bugatti Type 41, better known as the Royale, is a large luxury car built from 1927 to 1933 with a 4.3 m  wheelbase and 6.4 m  overall length. It weighs approximately 3,175 kg  and uses a 12.763 litre  straight-eight engine. For comparison, against the Rolls-Royce Phantom VII (produced from 2003 onward), the Royale is about 20% longer, and more than 25% heavier. This makes the Royale one of the largest cars in the world.

Ettore Bugatti planned to build twenty-five of these cars and sell them to royalty as the most luxurious car ever, but even European royalty were not buying such things during the Great Depression, and Bugatti was able to sell only three of the seven made (six still exist, one destroyed in wreck).

Crafted by Ettore Bugatti, the Type 41 is said to have come about because he took exception to the comments of an English lady who compared his cars unfavourably with those of Rolls-Royce.

The engine build for the Royale had a displacement of 12.7 litres. The engine was built around a single huge block, and at approx. 1.4 m  long x 1.1 m high, is one of the largest automobile engines ever made, producing 275–300 hp. Its eight cylinders, bored to 125 mm and with a stroke length of 130 mm, each displaced more than the entire engine of the contemporary Type 40 touring car. It had 3 valves per cylinder (two inlet:one exhaust).

All Royales were individually bodied. The radiator cap was a posed elephant, a sculpture by Ettore's brother Rembrandt Bugatti.

type 46 and type 50

The Bugatti Type 46 and later Type 50 were large enclosed touring cars and along with the Type 50B racing version, were all produced in the 1930s. Their relative ubiquity and numbers, combined with their styling caused them to sometimes receive the appellation of being a Molsheim Buick.

The Type 46 used a 5.4 L  straight-8 engine with 3 valves per cylinder driven by a single overhead camshaft. Power was reported at 140 hp. The engine was undersquare like most Bugatti designs with an 81 mm bore and 130 mm stroke.

Type 46: This was a large car, weighing 1134 kg and riding on a 3505 mm wheelbase. 400 examples were produced from the end of 1929 through 1936. The three speed gearbox was in unit with the live rear axle, resulting in high unsprung weight, and a relatively harsh ride. Despite this, the model was a favourite of Le Patron, and it remained in production longer than might have been expected.

Type 46s: A supercharged version, the Type 46S, was introduced in 1930. With just 160 hp, from its Rootes-type blower, it was not a great success. 18 supercharged cars were made in all.

Type 50: The Type 50 was a sporting coupe version of the Type 46. It rode on a shorter wheelbase, 3099 mm, and used a smaller 5.0 L  version of the engine. This engine had squarer dimensions, however, at 86 by 107 mm, and twin camshafts actuated two valves per cylinder. Power output was impressive at 225 hp. Many cars had landaulet roofs and Bugatti-style two-tone paint.

Type 50t: The Type 50 Touring was a sedan version of the Type 50. It used the same 3505 mm wheelbase as its predecessor, the Type 46, but shared the 5.0 L engine of the Type 50. The engine was tuned for torque, though, with just 200 hp  on tap. In total, 65 Type 50 and Type 50T Bugattis were produced between 1930 and 1934.

Type 50b: A racing version, the Type 50B, was also produced. It shared the 5.0 L 2-valve engine but was blown to produce 470 hp. It was used from 1937 through 1939. A pair of these engines were installed in the Bugatti P100 airplane, with specially cast magnesium crankcases.

type 57 and 57s/sc

The Bugatti Type 57 and later variants (including the famous Atlantic and Atalante) was an entirely new design created by Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore. Type 57s were built from 1934 through 1940, with a total of 710 examples produced.

Type 57s used a twin-cam 3,257 cc engine based on that of the Type 49 but heavily modified by Jean Bugatti, unlike the single cam engines of the Type 49 and earlier models. The engines of the Type 50, 51 used bevel gears at the front of the engine to transmit power from the crankshaft, whereas the Type 57 used a train of spur gears at the rear of the engine, with fiber gear wheels on the camshafts to achieve more silence in operation.

There were two basic variants of the Type 57 car:

• The original Type 57
• The lowered Type 57S/SC

The Type 57 chassis and engine was revived in 1951 as the Bugatti Type 101. A rediscovered Type 57 sold for 3.4 million euros at auction on 7 February 2009 at a motor show in Paris.

1934-1940

type 57

The original Type 57 was a touring car model produced from 1934 through 1940. It used the 3.3 L  engine from the Type 59 Grand Prix cars, producing 135 hp. Top speed was 153 km/h.

It rode on a 3,302 mm  wheelbase and had a 1,349 mm  wide track. Road-going versions weighed about 950 kg. Hydraulic brakes replaced the cable-operated units in 1938, a modification Ettore Bugatti hotly contested. 630 examples were produced.

The original road-going Type 57 included a smaller version of the Royale's square-bottom horseshoe grille. The sides of the engine compartment were covered with thermostatically-controlled shutters. It was a tall car, contrary to the tastes of the time.

type 57t

The "tuned" Type 57T pushed the performance of the basic Type 57. It was capable of reaching 185 kilometres per hour.

type 57s/sc

The Type 57S/SC variants are some of the most iconic Bugatti cars. The "S" stood for "Surbaissé" ("Lowered") and the "C" for "Compresseur" (a supercharger introduced by Bugatti as a result of customers' desire for increased power). It included a V-shaped dip at the bottom of the radiator and mesh grilles on either side of the engine compartment.

Lowering the car was a major undertaking. The rear axle now passed through the rear frame rather than riding under it, and a dry-sump lubrication system was required to fit the engine under the new low hood. The 57S had a nearly-independent suspension in front, though Ettore despised that notion.

Just 43 "Surbaissé" cars and only two supercharged Type 57SC's were originally manufactured. But most 57S owners wanted the additional power afforded by the blower. Therefore, most of the original Type 57S cars returned to Molsheim for the installation of a supercharger, pushing output from 175 hp  to 200 hp  and 190 km/h.

type 57S/SC "aérolithe" concept and atlantic production cars

The Type 57S Atlantic body featured flowing coupé lines with a pronounced dorsal seam running from the front to the back end of the vehicle. It was based on the 1935 Aérolithe concept car designed by Jean Bugatti which was built on a prototype chassis, more specifically, a standard Type 57 chassis shortened to what would eventually become the Type 57S chassis. Like the Type 59 Grand Prix car, the Aérolithe used Elektron composite for its body panels, known for being a very lightweight and durable material, but also for being extremely flammable when exposed to high temperatures. Therefore, being unable to weld the body panels, the engineers riveted them externally, a technique frequently used in the aviation industry, thus creating the signature seam.

However, the production Atlantics, just four built, used plain aluminum, but the dorsal seams were retained for style and have led to the car's present fame. Three of the original four Atlantics are known to survive and each had been restored to its former glory. Two of them have been honored with "Best of Show" awards at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1990 and 2003, respectively.

1935 bugatti type 57 aérolithe chassis no. 57331 prototype

Code-named the "Elektron Coupé" or "Competition Coupé" at launch, this Bugatti prototype had a very short existence. It was finished around the end of July 1935 and only four months later, it made its first public appearance at the Paris Motor Show. The car was a faithful recreation of Jean Bugatti's stunning Art Deco inspired "SuperProfile coupé" design, but due to its seemingly bizarre shape, the vehicle has brought attention to a very limited audience, thus there were only four Atlantics built the years after. A few people, however, had the chance to sit in the vehicle next to Bugatti race driver William Grover-Williams while he offered them a "quick" tour of Paris and were surprised by the vehicle's performance and looks, so they called it "La Aérolithe" after the phrase "Rapide comme une aérolithe" ("Fast as a meteorite"), a name that was later adopted by Bugatti.

type 57S/SC atalante

The Atalante was a two-door coupé body style similar to and built after the Atlantic, both built on the 57S chassis, but with a single-piece windscreen and no fin. The name "Atalante" was derived from a heroine of Greek mythology, Atalanta. Only 17 Atalante cars were made, four of which reside in the Cité de l'Automobile Museum in Mulhouse, France (formerly known as the Musée National de L'Automobile de Mulhouse).

One Atalante, chassis number 57784, a 3-seater vehicle version with aluminium bodywork made by Vanvooren of the iconic Bugatti Type 57S model, resides in the Museu do Caramulo in Caramulo, Portugal. Vanvooren would do two more bodies alike, one (Chassis 57808) for the French government, who gave it, in 1939, as a marriage gift for Prince Reza and Princess Fawzia, and another one (Chassis 57749). These two cars are in private collections in the United States.

type 101 c ghia roadster

The Bugatti Type 101 is a motor car made by Bugatti in 1951 and 1952 (one was built in 1965). In order to restart production after World War II and the deaths of Ettore Bugatti and his son Jean, the Type 101 was developed from the pre-war Type 57. Seven chassis were built; these were bodied by four different coachbuilders: Gangloff, Guilloré, Antem, and Ghia, the last to a design by Virgil Exner. The 101 was powered by the 3.3 L straight-8 from the Type 57.
Bugatti tried a comeback after WWII with a modified chassis of the type T57. The new model called "T101", had the same (although slightly updated) straight-8, 3257cc engine, which in its supercharged version "T101 C" (C=Compresseur) produced around 200 hp. Due to the heavy damage inflicted to Bugatti factory and the death of Ettore, la marque built only 7 chassis before going bankrupt, having the very last one (#101 506) been sold to Exner in 1961 for $2500. The chassis even says "Fini" (the End) in the end of the chassis number.

bugatti automobili s.p.a.

Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli acquired the Bugatti brand in 1987, and established Bugatti Automobili S.p.A.. Artioli commissioned architect Giampaolo Benedini to design the factory which was built in Campogalliano, Modena, Italy. Construction of the plant began in 1988, alongside the development of the first model, and it was inaugurated two years later—in 1990. By 1989, the plans for the new Bugatti revival were presented by Paolo Stanzani and Marcello Gandini, designers of the Lamborghini Miura and Lamborghini Countach.

The first production vehicle was the Bugatti EB110 GT which featured a 3.5-litre, 5-valve per cylinder, quad-turbocharged 60° V12 engine, a six-speed gearbox, and four-wheel drive. By the time the EB110 came to market, the North American and European economies were in recession. Poor economic conditions forced the company to fail and operations ceased in September 1995.

eb110

The Bugatti EB 110 GT was unveiled on 15 September 1991, at both Versailles and in front of the Grande Arche de la Défense, near Paris, exactly 110 years after Ettore Bugatti's birth. EB 110 Super Sport rear view A lighter and more powerful variant with 612 PS called the EB 110 Super Sport was introduced at the 1992 Geneva Motor Show just six months after the introduction of the EB 110 GT. The Super Sport variant was lighter than the GT by 150 kg  which was achieved by the use of carbon-fibre body panels on the exterior and in the interior. The Super Sport could attain a top speed of 355 km/h  and could accelerate from 0–100 km/h  in 3.2 seconds.

The car has a 60-valve, quad-turbocharged V12 engine fed through 12 individual throttle bodies, powering all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. The EB110 GT had a power output of 560 PS. The performance oriented Super Sport version had the engine tuned to a maximum power output of 612 PS.

Official performance numbers for the Bugatti EB 110 GT are 0–100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 342 km/h.

Dauer Sportwagen in Nuremberg, Germany, bought the remaining stock of EB 110 parts from the Bugatti factory after the company went bankrupt in 1995. A complete spare parts catalogue, with exploded diagrams and part numbers was made by the company. Three Super Sport models and a GT model were finished between 1999 and 2000 with the Bugatti logo and minor modifications.

In 1992 Bugatti announced a new version of the EB110 called the Supersport. It was lighter and more powerful than the standard model which helped it reach 347km/h. In 1992 Michael Schumacher purchased a yellow EB 110 Super Sport and it became one of the most famous cars.

bugatti automobiles s.a.s.

On December 22, 1998, Volkswagen AG, a German company owned by Porsche SE, established Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. as a French-registered, wholly owned subsidiary. On the same day, the company took over the design and naming rights to Bugatti from Italian businessman Romano Artioli, who built supercars such as the EB 110 and EB 112 with Bugatti SpA in Italy between 1987 and 1998. Since 2000, the Bugatti automobile brand has officially existed as Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., still abbreviated to Bugatti. Since then, the company's headquarters have once again been located in Molsheim, France.

On 22 December 2000, Volkswagen officially incorporated Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., with former VW drivetrain chief Karl-Heinz Neumann as president. The company purchased the 1856 Château Saint Jean, formerly Ettore Bugatti's guest house in Dorlisheim, near Molsheim, and began refurbishing it to serve as the company's headquarters. The original factory was still in the hands of Snecma, who were unwilling to part with it. At the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August 2000, VW announced that they would instead build a new modern atelier (factory) next to and south of the Château. The atelier was officially inaugurated on 3 September 2005.

In July 2021, it was announced that Bugatti Automobiles and the sports car operations of Rimac Automobili will be merged to form Bugatti Rimac. The newly formed Rimac Group will be a major shareholder with 55% stake in Bugatti Rimac, while Porsche AG will hold the remaining 45% stake, as well as a 24% stake in Rimac Group. The formation of the Bugatti Rimac is due to take place in the fourth quarter of 2021.

eb118

The Bugatti EB 118 is the first concept car developed by Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.. The 2-door coupé was presented at the 1998 Paris Motor Show.  Bugatti commissioned the design of the EB 118 to Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign. The EB 118 is powered by a W18 engine and has permanent four wheel drive. The design of the car is intended to echo the 1931 Type 50 and the 57SC Atlantic. The EB 118 has a longitudinal rib that echoes the Atlantic's longitudinal body seam.

The EB 118 W18 engine is composed of three banks of six cylinders with a sixty degree offset between each cylinder bank. In contrast, the W16 engine in Bugatti's first production car, the 2005 Veyron EB 16.4, features four banks of 4 cylinders in Volkswagen double VR (narrow vee) configuration. and 4 turbochargers, hence the "16.4" name of the engine. The EB 118 also features permanent four wheel drive taken from the Lamborghini Diablo VT.

eb218

The Bugatti EB 218 saloon is the second concept car presented by Bugatti under the ownership of the Volkswagen Auto Group. The EB 218 was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who also designed the EB 112, the car's predecessor and the EB 118, the car's 2-door variant. The EB 218 can be considered as an update of the EB 112, a concept saloon introduced by Bugatti Automobili SpA in 1993. The EB 218 features Volkswagen's unconventional W18 engine and permanent four-wheel drive borrowed from the Lamborghini Diablo VT.

The EB 218 uses the same W18 engine and permanent four wheel drive powertrain that debuted in the 1998 EB 118. The same technology was used in the 1999 18/3 Chiron concept car. Power comes from a Volkswagen-designed, 563 PS  and 479 lb⋅ft , W18 engine.

galibier 16c

As the climax of its centenary celebration ceremonies, Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. presented customers and opinion-makers with the Bugatti Galibier Concept, intended to be the most exclusive, elegant, and powerful four door automobile in the world last weekend in Molsheim. At the historic site where Ettore Bugatti once laid the cornerstone of his company, Bugatti’s current president, Dr. Ing. Franz-Josef Paefgen emphasised that the Bugatti Galibier 16C is one of several concept studies with which the company is considering for the future of the Bugatti marque.

Beneath the bonnet, which folds back from both sides, there resides a 16-cylinder, 8-litre engine with twostage supercharging. What makes this engine special is that it was developed as a flex-fuel engine and can optional be run on ethanol. Four-wheel drive, specially developed ceramic brakes and a new suspension design enable the agile, always-sure handling of a saloon of this size.

“Galibier” is not just the name of one of the most difficult alpine passes along the Tour de France but, in its time, was a version of the four door Type 57 unequalled in sportiness and elegance.

veyron 16.4

The original version has a top speed of 407 km/h (253 mph). It was named Car of the Decade and best car award (2000–2009) by the BBC television programme Top Gear. The standard Bugatti Veyron also won Top Gear's Best Car Driven All Year award in 2005.

The Super Sport version of the Veyron is one of the fastest street-legal production cars in the world, with a top speed of 431.072 km/h. The Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse was the fastest roadster in the world, reaching an averaged top speed of 408.84 km/h  in a test on 6 April 2013.

The Veyron's chief designer was Hartmut Warkuß and the exterior was designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen, with much of the engineering work being conducted under the guidance of chief technical officer Wolfgang Schreiber. The Veyron includes a sound system designed and built by Burmester Audiosysteme.

Several special variants have been produced. In December 2010, Bugatti began offering prospective buyers the ability to customise exterior and interior colours by using the Veyron 16.4 Configurator application on the marque's official website. The Bugatti Veyron was discontinued in late 2014, but special edition models continued to be produced until 2015.

special editions

les légendes de bugatti

The “Les Légendes de Bugatti” (Bugatti Legends Veyrons) were a number of very limited edition Veyron variants that paid homage to the historical figures and legends associated with the brand. They honored the more important people in the company’s history by producing the Legend cars and naming them after these people. Only three units of each were produced and all the models were based on the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse.

chiron

2016

The Bugatti Chiron is a mid-engine two-seater sports car designed and developed in Germany by Bugatti Engineering GmbH and manufactured in Molsheim, France by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.. The successor to the Bugatti Veyron, the Chiron was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show on 1 March 2016. The car is based on the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept car. The car is named after the Monegasque driver Louis Chiron. The car shares the name with the 1999 Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car.

The main carry over component from the Veyron is the 7,993 cc (8.0 L) quad-turbocharged W16 engine, though it is heavily updated. The engine in the Chiron has a peak power output of 1,479 hp. The engine in the most powerful variant of its predecessor, the Veyron Super Sport generates 300 PS less than the new Chiron, while the engine in the original Veyron generates  499 PS less power.

The Chiron can accelerate from 0–100 km/h  in 2.4 seconds according to the manufacturer, 0–200 km/h  in 6.5 seconds and 0–300 km/h  in 13.6 seconds. In a world-record-setting test at the time in 2017, the Chiron reached 400 km/h  in 32.6 seconds, after which it needed 9.4 seconds to brake to standstill.

la voiture noire

2019

The La Voiture Noire is a one-off special introduced at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Based on the Chiron, the design of the car harkens back to the Type 57 SC Atlantic and is a celebration of the company's distinctive design history. The car has a hand-built body made from carbon fibre designed by Bugatti designer Etienne Salomé which has an elongated nose (similar to that on the Divo) and an elongated rear section. Other notable features include unique wing mirrors, LED taillight strip, and wheels. Unlike the original, the car retains the mid-engine layout.

A trim piece running from the front of the car to the rear spoiler recalls the dorsal fin present on the Type 57 SC. The car features a floating windscreen and has masked A-pillars.

The La Voiture Noire will be powered by the same 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine from the Chiron having the same power output figures but the 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox and the all-wheel-drive system are heavily revised in order to allow for a more relaxed driving experience. Softer dampers and a revised chassis contribute to the factor. The car features six exhaust pipes recalling the innovative design of the past.

divo

2019

The Bugatti Divo is a mid-engine track-focused sports car developed and manufactured by Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. The car is named after French racing driver Albert Divo, who raced for Bugatti in the 1920s winning the Targa Florio race twice. The car takes inspiration from the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic along with the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept in terms of design and has track performance as its main focus. The car includes a redesigned exhaust system featuring quad exhaust pipes, a 1.8 metre wide fixed rear wing (23% wider than the retractable wing on the Chiron), a NACA duct on the roof that channels air to the rear of the car on a central fin and ultimately on the rear wing for improved downforce, a large front chin spoiler, more refined side skirts, larger air intakes on the front, new head lamps and tail lamps, a vent in the bonnet for improved radiator cooling and vents on the front wheel arches to cool the brakes.

The car is 8.0 seconds quicker than the Chiron around the Nardò test track according to the manufacturer and generates 456 kg  of downforce at top speed, 90 kg  more than the Chiron. The top speed is, however, reduced to 380 km/h, owing to the extra drag produced by the aerodynamic elements and due to excessive pressure on the tyres resulting from a lower ride height. Power output is unchanged from the Chiron, with 1,479 hp. Acceleration from 0–100 km/h  is also unchanged from the Chiron at 2.4 seconds but the Divo has a higher lateral acceleration (1.6 g vs 1.5 g in the Chiron). The Divo lacks the top speed mode unlocked with a special key as present on the Chiron. The Divo also has the record for worst fuel efficiency.

The production of the Divo is limited to 40 units and the car will be built alongside the Chiron at the Bugatti factory. All of the 40 cars were pre-sold.

centodieci

The Bugatti Centodieci (Italian for "110") is a limited production mid-engine sports car produced by French automotive manufacturer Bugatti. The car is an homage to the Bugatti EB110 and a celebration of the Bugatti marque's 110th birthday. The Centodieci is 20 kg lighter than the Bugatti Chiron, and has a 8,000 cc  quad-turbocharged W16 engine, rated at 1,578 hp at 7,000 rpm. Production of the Centodieci will be limited to 10 units priced at 8 million euros (~$8.9 million) each.

Based on the Chiron, the car takes design cues from the EB110 such as the five round air intakes which resemble a diamond and the wedge shaped design language. A small horse shoe radiator grille present below the headlamps further harkens back to the EB110. Narrow headlights with LED daytime running function and sharp grooves are used to create an aggressive appearance. The rear consists of eight tail lights along with matt-black quad exhaust pipes placed on either side of a large diffuser, complete with an underbody spoiler and a fixed overhanging rear wing. Due to the use of computer assisted 3D design techniques and the use of Virtual Reality technology, the design team was able to complete the design of the Centodieci in six months.

Only 10 units of the Centodieci will be produced. The Centodieci will be hand-built in Bugatti's Molsheim factory and deliveries to customers will start in 2021.

vision grand turismo

The Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo is a single-seater concept car developed by Bugatti and was manufactured in Molsheim, Alsace, France. The car was unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, a month after its teaser trailer was released, which was titled #imaginEBugatti. It was built under the Vision Gran Turismo project, and with its looks, influenced the Bugatti Chiron's design language. The color scheme of the car is based on the 1937 Le Mans-winning Bugatti Type 57G Tank racer.

Only one Vision Gran Turismo exists. The car's price is estimated to be from US$5,160,000 up to US$18,000,000.

Designed by Achim Anscheidt, Sasha Selipanov, Etienne Salome, and Frank Heyl, the Vision Gran Turismo is a two-door concept car combining the looks of a road car and a LMP1 prototype. The Vision Gran Turismo belongs under the project of the same name. The Vision Gran Turismo contains an 8.0 L quad-turbocharged W16 engine, heavily modified. The top speed has never been calculated in a real circuit, but using a virtual Circuit de la Sarthe simulator, the approximate top speed is 447 km/h. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is used, which delivers the power to all four wheels, therefore making the Vision Gran Turismo an all-wheel drive car.

The car uses the pre-production Bugatti Chiron chassis #6. The car also uses a carbon fiber structure for the body, and independent suspension.

Many aerodynamic features, primarily carbon fiber, are present along the Vision Gran Turismo body, with a LMP1-style shark fin and active rear wing, large front splitter, side air intakes, multiple NACA ducts, and DTM-style dive planes.

bolide

2021-present

The Bugatti Bolide is a track-focused hypercar developed and manufactured in Wolfsburg, Germany by Bugatti Engineering GmbH, revealed online on October 28, 2020. According to Bugatti, the Bolide is using the W16 engine with a weight-to-power-ratio of 0.67 kg/PS. Bugatti Announced the Bolide would be the last car ever made with their W16 engine. The Bolide's name comes from the term le bolide, which literally means "the racing car" in French. The fundamental concept of the Bolide is based on a technical draft of Bugatti chief engineer and "Technical Guru" Frank Goetzke.

The Bolide is built from the ground up using the framework of the same 8-liter quad-turbo W16 engine and the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission used in the Chiron. Further development of the W16 engine allows the Bolide to generate well over 1,824 hp and 1,850 nm of torque, 277 hp more than the Chiron Super Sport 300+. This increase in power can be attributed to bigger blades in the turbochargers and the different orientation of the turbochargers themselves, allowing for maximum power. Combining the fact that the curb weight of the car is only 1,240 kg, the Bolide can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 2.2 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 4.4 seconds, 0-300 km/h in 7.4 seconds, 0-400 km/h in 12.1 seconds, and 0-500 km/h in 20.1 seconds, along with a top speed projected at more than 500 km/h.

mistral

The W16 era is ending as Bugatti is bidding adieu to the quad-turbo, 8.0-liter engine with the Mistral. The Chiron-based roadster is named after a wind blowing from the Rhône River valley that also served as inspiration in the 1960s for a namesake coupe/convertible sold by Maserati. The roofless machine from Molsheim boasts design cues derived from the Type 57 Roadster Grand Raid. At the heart of the Mistral is the same 1,577-horsepower engine found in the Chiron Super Sport 300+, which hit 490.484 km/h in 2019.

Bugatti will make only 99 units of the Mistral and plans to kick off deliveries in 2024. All of them have already been spoken for.

tourbillon

The Bugatti Tourbillon is a mid-engined V16 hybrid sports car which is the successor to the Chiron and is limited to 250 units. It was revealed on 20 June 2024. It comes in at a price tag of €3.8 million or US$4.1 million. The vehicle is named after the tourbillon mechanism, a balancing structure used in mechanical watches.

Bugatti states that the Tourbillon is a completely new design and does not share any components with the outgoing Chiron, but that, in keeping with the Bugatti brand lineage, it does share many of that model's key design cues, including the horseshoe grille, central spine, C-shaped side body lines, and two-tone body color.

The Tourbillon is powered by a naturally aspirated 8.3 L V16 engine developed by Cosworth, combined with 3 electric motors, with 2 at the front axle and 1 at the rear. The engine produces 1000 PS and 900 N⋅m of torque, while the electric motors produce a combined 800 PS, for a total of 1800 PS. Bugatti says that the choice to replace the quad turbocharger setup of the Chiron with a naturally aspirated engine was to make the experience "more emotional" and allow for higher rpms, with the engine redlining at 9000 rpm. 

The Tourbillon can accelerate from 0–100 km/h in 2.0 seconds, 0–200 km/h in under 5.0 seconds, 0–300 km/h  in under 10.0 seconds and 0–400 km/h in under 25.0 seconds. It features a top speed of 445 km/h with the speed key, and 380 km/h without it.

The Type 13 was the first true Bugatti car. Production of the Type 13, and later Types 15, 17, 22, and 23, began with the company's founding in 1910 and lasted through 1920, with 435 examples produced. Most road cars used an eight-valve engine, though five Type 13 racers had 16-valve heads, some of the first ever produced. The road cars became known as pur-sang ("thoroughbred") in keeping with Ettore Bugatti's feelings for his designs.

The new company produced five examples in 1910, and entered the French Grand Prix at Le Mans in 1911. The tiny Bugatti looked out of place at the race, but calmly took second place after seven hours of racing.

World War I caused production to halt in the disputed region. Ettore took two completed Type 13 cars with him to Milan for the duration of the war, leaving the parts for three more buried near the factory. After the war, Bugatti returned, unearthed the parts, and prepared five Type 13s for racing.

A Grand Prix for Voiturettes at Le Mans was the only French event of 1920, and Bugatti entered the two completed cars from Milan and one more from the remaining parts. Ettore's illegal act of placing a hand on the radiator cap during the race brought disqualification to the leading car, however.

The Type 13 was unbeatable. Bugatti's cars finished in the top four places at the Brescia Grand Prix in 1921, and orders poured in. Capitalizing on this victory, all subsequent four-valve Bugatti models bore the Brescia moniker.

These were the only Bugatti models to locate the carburettor on the left side of the engine and the exhaust on the right. Front-wheel brakes were added in 1926.

type 57g tank

The famous, 57S-based, 57G Tank won the 1936 French Grand Prix, as well as the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans. Three 57G Tanks were produced. Chassis number 57335, the Le Mans winner, is the only one known to exist and is currently on display at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia.

In June 1936 the Automobile Club of France Grand Prix allowed the participation of “Grand Touring Cars.” This category included their definition of a sports cars. A few months before that Bugatti designed a special racing type 57S engine with a lighter crankshaft. They called it the 57G. A car with an unusual streamlined all enveloping body and 57G engine was tested on June 7, 1936 at Montlhéry. They sometimes referred it to as “the aerodynamic mule” which became the prototype of the three 57G Tanks.

The car has an 8-cylinder, 3.25 l producing 200 bhp.

The name Bugatti and motor racing were practically one in the same throughout the first couple of decades of the 20th century. Whether it was sportscar endurance racing or single-seaters, Bugatti was a brand to have, so to have the name gone from motor racing, especially the Formula One World Championship seemed wrong, almost sacrilegious. Therefore, just the mention of Bugatti and the World Championship together just made the world seem right again.
The original Automobiles Ettore Bugatti would cease operations in 1952 after a long decline that was only made worse by the Second World War and the death of Ettore in August of 1947. Bugatti had lost its soul, and therefore, its way.
But the Bugatti name just could not disappear, especially from motor racing. Therefore, in 1955 Roland Bugatti would attempt to bring the famous name back to the fore in single-seater grand prix. And the best setting for that comeback would be in the Formula One World Championship.

Bugatti would set to work designing the car. It was to be called the Type 251 and was to feature an engine arrangement that would make it possible for the engine to be tuned specifically to the circuit. Work would continue and work progress closer and closer to completion. The goal was to have a design with an engine producing some 275 bhp at near 10,000 rpm.

The Type 251 just didn't have the power to help driver Trintignant move up the order. Unfortunately the Bugatti just didn't have the power and the sportscar-like Mercedes W196s practically dominated on the circuit between 1954 and 1955.

The 1956 French Grand Prix would be the once and only time in which Bugatti would take part in a Formula One World Championship race. The poor performance even brought to an end thoughts concerning an assault on Le Mans later on in the year. Instead of a return to glory, the Bugatti name would again return to extinction.

2020  typ 251 evo concept

Conceived by Automotive Designer Alessio Minchella and virtually brought to life in KeyShot by Luigi Memola, the Bugatti Type 251 EVO is a one-off, bespoke design inspired by the classic Bugatti racer. The duo shared with us how the project came together and how they used KeyShot throughout the iterations to evaluate the shape and create the final renders you see below.

The exterior design styling of the 251 EVO concept takes cues from the 1955 Bugatti Type 251 inspiring the oval front, accentuated top air box ducts, and central intake and spine. This racer was the first rear-engine F1 car, "remotely" designed by independent Italian engineer, Gioacchino Colombo.