Bugatti Automobiles

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Coordinates: 48°31′43″N 7°29′53″E / 48.528681°N 7.498100°E / 48.528681; 7.498100

Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.

Type	limited, Subsidiary of Volkswagen Group
Founded	1909
Founder(s)	Ettore Bugatti
Headquarters	Molsheim, Alsace, France
Area served	Worldwide
Industry	Automotive
Products	Automobiles
Owner(s)	Volkswagen France[1]
Parent	Volkswagen Group
Website	Bugatti.com

Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. is an automobile manufacturer located in the French town of Molsheim, Alsace, France. It is owned by Volkswagen Group as a subsidiary of Volkswagen France.^[1] It was founded in 2000^[2] as a successor to the original Bugatti company and to Bugatti Automobili SpA.

Contents 1 History 2 Cars 2.1 Giugiaro concept cars 2.2 EB 16.4 Veyron 2.3 Possible second model 3 References 4 External links

[edit] History

At the urging of then-chairman Ferdinand Piëch, Volkswagen purchased the rights to produce cars under the Bugatti marque in 1998. This followed the purchase of Lamborghini (by VW's Audi subsidiary), the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe, England, and the Bentley marque.

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.

[edit] Cars

[edit] Giugiaro concept cars

Volkswagen commissioned ItalDesign's Giorgetto Giugiaro to design a series of concept cars to return the marque to prominence. The first example, the EB 118, was a two-door coupé and was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 1998. It was followed by the four-door EB 218 touring sedan, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1999. Later that year, the 18/3 Chiron was shown at the IAA in Frankfurt. The final Bugatti concept was not designed by ItalDesign: the VW-designed EB 18/4 GT was introduced at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show.

All of these early concepts featured a 555 PS (408 kW; 547 hp) 18-cylinder engine. This was the first-ever W-configuration engine on a passenger vehicle, with three banks of six cylinders. It shared many components with Volkswagen's modular engine family.

[edit] EB 16.4 Veyron

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Piëch announced the production Bugatti model at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show. To be called the EB 16/4 Veyron, it was intended to be the fastest, most-powerful, and most-expensive car in history. Instead of the large and complex W18 engine of the concept cars, the Veyron would use a VR6-style W16 engine. First seen in the 1999 Bentley Hunaudières concept car, the W16 would get four turbochargers, producing an expected 1001 metric hp (736 kW). Top speed was promised at 407 km/h (253 mph), and pricing was announced at €1 million (US$1.3 million at the time).

Development continued throughout 2001, and the EB 16/4 Veyron was promoted to "advanced concept" status. In late 2001, Bugatti announced that the car, officially called the Bugatti EB Veyron 16.4, would go into production in 2003. The car experienced significant problems, however. High-speed stability was difficult, with one prototype destroyed in a crash and another spun out during a press demonstration at Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca. Production of the Veyron was delayed indefinitely.

Piëch retired that year as chairman of Volkswagen, and was replaced by Bernd Pischetsrieder. The new chairman promptly sent the Veyron back to the drawing board for major revisions. Neumann was replaced as Bugatti president by Thomas Bscher in December 2003, and substantial modifications were made to the Veyron under the guidance of former VW engineer, Bugatti Engineering head Wolfgang Schreiber.

The final version of the Veyron was presented at Château Saint Jean on 3 September 2005.

Volkswagen AG designed and built a brand new production facility in the French town of Molsheim (48°31′43.25″N 07°29′53.16″E / 48.5286806°N 7.4981°E / 48.5286806; 7.4981), the marques' original hometown.

[edit] Possible second model

The December 2007 issue of Australia's Motor Magazine stated that a second Bugatti model would share its platform with the next generation Bentley Arnage, with the Bugatti powered by a detuned version of the Veyron's W16 engine while the Bentley would be mostly powered by the venerable 6.75 V8 Twin Turbo from the current Arnage, though the Bugatti motor would be offered for a limited run of ultra exclusive Bentleys.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.

Links to related articles v • d • e Volkswagen Group — companies, subsidiaries, brands, marques Current Volkswagen Group main companies and subsidiaries Passenger cars: Volkswagen Passenger Cars • Audi AG • (quattro GmbH) • SEAT, S.A. • Škoda Auto • Lamborghini S.p.A. • Bentley Motors Ltd • Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. • Porsche Large vehicles: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles • Scania AB International: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. • Electronics Research Laboratory • Volkswagen do Brasil • Volkswagen Group China Major interests: MAN AG Defunct Volkswagen Group marques Auto Union • DKW • Horch • NSU • Wanderer Volkswagen Group executives (former and current) Heinrich Nordhoff (former Managing Director) → Dr Kurt Lotz (former CEO) → Dr Rudolf Leiding (former CEO) → Toni Schmücker (former CEO) → Dr Carl Hahn (Chairman Emeritus) → Ferdinand Piëch (Chairman of the Supervisory Board) → Dr Bernd Pischetsrieder (former CEO) → Prof Dr Martin Winterkorn (current Chairman of the Board of Management) See also: List of Volkswagen Group platforms Lists of VW Group engines: North American Volkswagen engines Petrol: current • discontinued Diesel: current • discontinued Technologies: TDI • SDI • Pumpe Düse • Digifant • FSI • BlueMotion • DSG • ETKA • VAG-COM Founder: Deutsche Arbeitsfront • Volkswagen Group corporate website • Autostadt v • d • e Bugatti road car timeline, 1910–present – a marque of the Volkswagen Group since 1998 Type 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1963–86 1980s 1990s 2000s 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Company Bugatti Bugatti Automobili S.p.A Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. Owner Ettore Bugatti / Roland Bugatti Romano Artioli Volkswagen AG Touring car Type 30 / Type 49 Type 57 Type 46 Limousine Type 41 Royale Roadster Type 13 / Brescia Tourer Type 55 Coupé Type 101 Sports car Type 13 Type 18 Garros Type 252 EB110 Veyron Founder: Ettore Bugatti • Bugatti corporate website • A marque of the Volkswagen Group