{"id":357451,"date":"2020-02-24T03:22:35","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T03:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/?p=357451"},"modified":"2024-02-25T18:15:26","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T18:15:26","slug":"the-iconic-bugatti-veyron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/the-iconic-bugatti-veyron\/","title":{"rendered":"Bugatti Veyron – A Deep Dive"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bugatti Veyron – Origins of the Supercar<\/h2>\n

Since the birth of the automobile in 1886, when German inventor Karl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen, <\/span>the pursuit to build a better automobile has fueled the imaginations of engineers and designers around the globe.<\/b>\u00a0 Since the dawn of the 20th century, the vision that fueled those early automotive pioneers to push the envelope of speed and handling has resulted in the creation of some truly remarkable driving machines.\u00a0 Now, at the dawn of the new millenia, <\/span>the evolution of the <\/b>\u201csupercar\u201d<\/i><\/b> has given birth to machines that our automotive forefathers could never have imagined.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

While the crown of <\/span>\u201cfastest production car\u201d <\/span><\/i>continues to shift from manufacturer to manufacturer even today, <\/span>there was a supercar that emerged in the first decade of the 21st century<\/b> that captured the attention and the imagination of the automotive community and set a whole-new standard of elegance, performance and exclusivity in the supercar market –<\/span> the Bugatti Veyron.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Before the Veyron – Origins of Bugatti<\/h2>\n
\"Ettore
Ettore Bugatti and his Bugatti Type 10 Automobile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bugatti Veyron is a mid-engined sports car that was <\/span>first introduced to the world in 2005 by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti.<\/b>\u00a0 The Veyron, named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, was designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and later manufactured at Bugatti\u2019s assembly plant in Molsheim, France.<\/span><\/p>\n

To more fully appreciate the origins of the Veyron, it is important to understand the relationship between Volkswagen and Bugatti Automobiles.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a French car manufacturer who specialized in the production of high-performance automobiles.<\/b>\u00a0 The company, which was founded by Italian-born automobile designer and manufacturer Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti in 1909, was known for building some of the fastest, most luxurious and technologically advanced road cars of its day.\u00a0 In fact, <\/span>Bugatti\u2019s excellent engineering program led to the company\u2019s success in early Grand Prix motor racing,<\/b> including a Bugatti victory at the first-ever Monaco Grand Prix.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Bugatti Molsheim Estate. Molsheim is the home of the Bugatti family, the birthplace of the brand and the modern headquarters of the Bugatti company.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ettore Bugatti founded his company in the then German town of Molsheim.<\/b>\u00a0 Although Molsheim is located in the Alsace region of France today, the area was recognized as part of the German empire between 1871 and 1919 and again between 1940 and 1944.\u00a0 Despite being a French city today, the area is predominantly populated by German-speaking citizens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bugatti continued to manufacture cars<\/b> (including such famous Bugatti’s as the Type 41 \u201cRoyale\u201d<\/em>, the Type 57 \u201cAtlantic\u201d<\/em> and the Type 55 sports car) <\/span>until his death in 1947<\/b>.\u00a0 The Bugatti company had already been on a slow financial decline that started (possibly coincidentally) after the death of Ettore\u2019s son, Jean Bugatti in 1939.\u00a0 Without a successor to lead the factory in the wake of Ettore\u2019s passing, <\/span>there was a great deal of uncertainty as to the company\u2019s future.<\/b><\/p>\n

The Bugatti Company attempted a brief comeback in the mid-1950\u2019s under the direction of Roland Bugatti Ettore\u2019s twenty-five year old son. During that time, <\/span>Bugatti manufactured the 1955 Type 251 race car.<\/b>\u00a0 Unfortunately for all involved, the car failed to perform to the expectations that would-be racers\/consumers expected of a Bugatti, and the company ceased production of the car later that same year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The
The 1955 Bugatti Type 251 Race Car<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recognizing the surmounting economic struggles of the company, combined with his own failures in developing successful automobiles, <\/span>Bugatti instead turned to manufacturing airplane parts until 1963,<\/b> when the company was sold to Hispano-Suiza, a former automotive manufacturer-turned aircraft supplier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. (1987\u20131995)<\/h3>\n

In 1987<\/a>, Italian entrepreneur <\/span>Romano Artioli acquired the Bugatti brand and established Bugatti Automobili S.p.A<\/b>.\u00a0 Artoli commissioned a factory to be built in Campogalliano, Modena, Italy with the sole intent of building the best and fastest supercars in the world.\u00a0 Because Artioli recognized that Modena, Italy possessed many highly-qualified employees (afterall, he built his plant in the neighborhood of Ferrari, Maserati, De Tomaso and Lamborghini), he manufactured a state-of-the-art automobile manufacturing plant<\/strong> there and set to work producing his first car – the Bugatti EB110 GT<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The
The Bugatti EB110 GT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The EB110 GT is, in many respects, a direct predecessor to the Veyron, <\/b>despite being an Italian engineered and manufactured automobile whose appearance shares only a passing resemblance to the younger car.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the EB110<\/a> had some commercial success internationally, it came to market during a time when both North American and European economies were in recession.\u00a0 <\/span>Poor sales of their car combined with poor economic conditions globally forced Bugatti S.p.A. to fail.<\/b>\u00a0 Operations ceased in October, 1995<\/a> and the state-of-the-art factory was ultimately sold to a furniture-making company, which itself went defunct prior to physically moving into the factory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

German Engineering and the Birth of the Veyron<\/h2>\n

Although there is some debate among automotive enthusiasts as to the Veyron\u2019s official country of origin, it is important to note that <\/span>the car was released under the Bugatti Automobiles\u00a0 marquee,<\/b> a French high-performance automobile manufacturer.\u00a0 Moreover, the car was physically manufactured in Molsheim, one of the easternmost regions of France.\u00a0 However, it was<\/span> designed and developed by a team of German engineers<\/b> and financed under the parent company of Bugatti Automobiles – German-based company Volkswagen AG.<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he story of the Bugatti Veyron really begins in May\/June, 1998<\/b> when Volkswagen AG, at the urging of then-chairman Ferdinand Piech, purchased the rights to produce cars under the Bugatti marquee.\u00a0 <\/span>Piech had been instrumental in guiding Volkswagen to purchase other luxury marquees<\/b> including Lamborghini, the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe, United Kingdom and the Bentley Marque.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ferdinand
Ferdinand Piech, former chairman of Volkswagen AG.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the urging of then-chairman Ferdinand Pi\u00ebch, <\/span>Volkswagen purchased the rights to produce cars under the <\/b>Bugatti<\/b><\/a> marque<\/b><\/a> in June 1998.<\/b> This followed the earlier Volkswagen purchases of the <\/span>Lamborghini<\/span><\/a> marque (by VW’s <\/span>Audi<\/span> subsidiary), the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe, United Kingdom, and the Bentley marque.\u00a0 As part of the acquisition, Volkswagen AG purchased the rights to use the Bugatti name and formed Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. in June, 1999<\/a>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the financial collapse of the earlier Bugatti S.p.A. in 1995, <\/span>Volkswagen A.G. recognized the success of the EB 110 automobile on the world automotive stage<\/b> and set about developing a series of concept cars whose technological advances would culminate in the creation of the Veyron 16.4.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first of these concepts was developed between October 1998 and September 1999.<\/strong>\u00a0 Bugatti S.A.S. (or simply Bugatti from here on out) introduced a series of three Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed concept vehicles:<\/span><\/p>\n