Now, nearly 50 years later to the day, the production of Bugatti automobiles in Molsheim is resuming, making Molsheim once again the hub of the Bugatti world. As a centre for reminiscence, picturesque town near Strasbourg has never lost its significance. The area’s “Enthusiasts Bugatti Alsace,” together with their friends in the various Bugatti clubs throughout the entire world, are in large measure responsible for keeping the brand alive over the decades – even in the absence of the product itself. This is an experience in which various other prestigious automobile brands with melodious names have not shared. It is in this fact that the strength of the Bugatti brand values is expressed most clearly.
The admiration for “art on wheels.“ the bold pursuit of the aesthetic conviction of Ettore Bugatti, a man who was first and foremost an artist, not a technician. The grandeur of the victories in the glorious years of dirt-encrusted heroes on the racetracks of this world and, not least, the suitability of these racing cars for everyday driving – which made Bugatti cars accessible to a broader clientele. The prestige of inspired design and the exclusiveness of individual models that helped catapult certain Bugatti models into the astronomical price classes.
1998 through 1999: Four design studies in 15 months time
In April 1998, the Volkswagen Group took over the Bugatti trademark, presenting the brand to the public for the first time at the International Motor Show in Paris with a study for a two-door coupé it had commissioned Italdesign to create: the Bugatti EB 118. A few months later, in March 1999, at the Geneva Motor Show, a design of the EB 218, itself also created at Italdesign, caused a sensation with a four-door saloon using the same 18-cylinder, 6.3 litre engine with 555 hp.
This was followed the same year, at the IAA in Frankfurt, by the centre-engine design, the Bugatti EB 18/3 Chiron; once again Giugiaro was responsible for the design. And shortly thereafter, in Tokyo, the Bugatti EB 18/4 Veyron celebrated its world premiere, a model designed at the “Volkswagen Centre of Excellence Design” under the directorship of Hartmut Warkuss. Less than a year later, in autumn 2000 in Paris, the Veyron 16.4 was shown for the first time.
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 with the ultimate in performance features, the 1,001 hp, 8-litre, 16-cylinder engine and its technological specifications – 1,250 Nm at 2,200 rpm, top speed of more than 400 km/h, four turbochargers and permanent four-wheel drive, features that have remained in place to this day – celebrated its debut at the IAA in Frankfurt in September 2001.
2003: New team – new objectives
In 2001, the decision was made to go into series production of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 with a maximum of 300 cars. In December of the following year, “Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.” was established, a subsidiary of “Volkswagen France” with headquarters in Molsheim. And nearly a year to the day thereafter, at the end of 2003, Dr. Thomas Bscher took overall charge of the Bugatti project as the new President of “Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.” Appointed to assist him was Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber, serving as technical director and simultaneously as head of “Bugatti Engineering GmbH” in Wolfsburg, where all of the development work for the new Bugatti is co-ordinated and, in part, carried out. His task was to put the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 on the road.
The new team subjected the entire project to a technological and financial feasibility study commissioned, among other things, to develop a realistic timeframe for the launch of production of the new Bugatti. Shortly before the 2004 Geneva Motor Show, the Executive Board at the Group approved plans for the “new” Veyron project, scheduling production to begin in September 2005. This schedule has been met to this day.
The Veyron: An unrivalled synthesis of top performance and the everyday
This is made all the more remarkable by the fact that the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, despite its very limited production, is called upon to meet all of the specifications of the VW Group in their entirety. This means innumerable time-consuming trials and tests throughout the entire world, all devoted to the fulfillment of a single objective: to measure up to the strict, indeed relentless quality and quality-assurance standards the company has laid down.
This ensures that this super sports car will be suitable for everyday driving as well, to a degree never before witnessed in any other series-production vehicle of this type. In the world of modern, series-production automobiles, the synthesis which has been brought to fruition in the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is between easy and problem-free operation in day-to-day traffic and breathtaking driving in the high-performance area. A reference which would be music to the ears of Ettore Bugatti, whose early successes were themselves rooted in this unique combination.
