Ettore Bugatti
Encyclopedia
Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (15 September 1881, Milan
– 21 August 1947, Paris
) was an Italian
-born and French
naturalized
citizen automobile
designer and manufacturer.
Ettore was from a notably artistic family with its origin in Milan
. He was the elder son of Carlo Bugatti
(1856–1940), an important Art Nouveau
furniture and jewelry designer, and his wife Teresa Lorioli. His younger brother was a renowned animal sculptor, Rembrandt Bugatti
(1884–1916); his aunt, Luigia Bugatti, was the wife of the painter Giovanni Segantini
; and his paternal grandfather, Giovanni Luigi Bugatti, was an architect and sculptor.
Before founding his Bugatti
automobile company, Ettore designed a number of engines and vehicles for others. Prinetti & Stucchi
produced his 1898 Type 1. From 1902 through 1904, Dietrich
built his Type 3/4 and Type 5/6/7 with the Dietrich-Bugatti
marque. In 1907, Bugatti became employed with the Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik, designing the Type 8/9.
On his own time, Bugatti developed the Type 2 (in 1900 and 1901), and the 1903 Type 5. While at Deutz, Bugatti built his Type 10 in the basement of his home. In 1913, Bugatti designed a small car for Peugeot
, the Type 19 Bébé.
Although he was born in Italy, Bugatti established his eponymous automobile company at Molsheim
in the Alsace
region. The company was known for the advanced engineering of its premium road cars and its success in early Grand Prix motor racing
, a Bugatti winning the first Monaco Grand Prix
.
While displaced from his home in Alsace by World War I, Bugatti designed aeroplane engines, notably the somewhat baroque 16-cylinder U-16
which was never built in any large number and only installed in some very few aircraft. Between the wars Ettore Bugatti also designed a successful motorized railcar, the Autorail, and an airplane, the Model 100, though this was never flown. His son, Jean Bugatti
, was killed on 11 August 1939 at the age of 30 years, while testing a Bugatti Type 57 tank-bodied race car near the Molsheim
factory. After that, the company's fortunes began to decline. World War II ruined the factory in Molsheim, and the company lost control of the property. During the war, Bugatti planned a new factory at Levallois in Paris
and designed a series of new cars.
To modern sensibilities, Bugatti's concept of customer relations was somewhat eccentric. To a Bugatti owner who complained that his car was difficult to start on cold mornings, he is said to have retorted, "Sir! If you can afford a Type 35, you can surely afford a heated garage!"
Ettore Bugatti was buried in the Bugatti family plot at the municipal cemetery in Dorlisheim
near Molsheim in the Bas-Rhin
département of the Alsace
region of France.
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
– 21 August 1947, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-born and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
citizen automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
designer and manufacturer.
Ettore was from a notably artistic family with its origin in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. He was the elder son of Carlo Bugatti
Carlo Bugatti
Carlo Bugatti was a notable decorator, architect , designer and manufacturer of Art Nouveau furniture, models of jewelry, musical instruments.- Biography :Son of Giovanni Luigi Bugatti, a specialist on internal decorations, Carlo studied at the Brera Academy...
(1856–1940), an important Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
furniture and jewelry designer, and his wife Teresa Lorioli. His younger brother was a renowned animal sculptor, Rembrandt Bugatti
Rembrandt Bugatti
Rembrandt Bugatti was an Italian sculptor, known primarily for his bronze sculptures of wildlife subjects.- Early life :...
(1884–1916); his aunt, Luigia Bugatti, was the wife of the painter Giovanni Segantini
Giovanni Segantini
Giovanni Segantini was an Italian painter known for his large pastoral landscapes of the Alps. He was one of the most famous artists in Europe in the late 19th century, and his paintings were collected by major museums. In later life he combined a Divisionist painting style with Symbolist images...
; and his paternal grandfather, Giovanni Luigi Bugatti, was an architect and sculptor.
Before founding his Bugatti
Bugatti
Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....
automobile company, Ettore designed a number of engines and vehicles for others. Prinetti & Stucchi
Prinetti & Stucchi
Prinetti & Stucchiwas an Italian maker of sewing machines,bicycles and motorized vehicles, established inMilano in 1883. It was owned by engineers and politiciansAugusto Stucchi andGiulio Prinetti ....
produced his 1898 Type 1. From 1902 through 1904, Dietrich
Dietrich
Dietrich is a German given and a family name, the German form of Theodoric.People * Albert Dietrich , German composer and conductor* Albert Gottfried Dietrich , German botanist...
built his Type 3/4 and Type 5/6/7 with the Dietrich-Bugatti
Dietrich-Bugatti
The Type 2 was a prototype automobile designed by Ettore Bugatti in 1901. It won an award at the Milan Automobile Exhibition that year and gained the notice of the Baron de Dietrich...
marque. In 1907, Bugatti became employed with the Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik, designing the Type 8/9.
On his own time, Bugatti developed the Type 2 (in 1900 and 1901), and the 1903 Type 5. While at Deutz, Bugatti built his Type 10 in the basement of his home. In 1913, Bugatti designed a small car for Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
, the Type 19 Bébé.
Although he was born in Italy, Bugatti established his eponymous automobile company at Molsheim
Molsheim
Molsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. The total population in 2006 was 9,382. Molsheim had been a very fast growing city between the French censuses of 1968 and 1999, passing from 5,739 to 9,331 inhabitants, but this increase came to a noticeable halt...
in the Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
region. The company was known for the advanced engineering of its premium road cars and its success in early Grand Prix motor racing
Grand Prix motor racing
Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver...
, a Bugatti winning the first Monaco Grand Prix
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
.
Bugatti U-16
|-See also:- References :...
which was never built in any large number and only installed in some very few aircraft. Between the wars Ettore Bugatti also designed a successful motorized railcar, the Autorail, and an airplane, the Model 100, though this was never flown. His son, Jean Bugatti
Jean Bugatti
Jean Bugatti was an French/Italian automotive designer and test engineer.Born Gianoberto Maria Carlo Bugatti in Cologne, Germany, he was the eldest son of Ettore Bugatti. Soon after his birth the family moved to the village of Dorlisheim near Molsheim in Alsace where his father built the new...
, was killed on 11 August 1939 at the age of 30 years, while testing a Bugatti Type 57 tank-bodied race car near the Molsheim
Molsheim
Molsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. The total population in 2006 was 9,382. Molsheim had been a very fast growing city between the French censuses of 1968 and 1999, passing from 5,739 to 9,331 inhabitants, but this increase came to a noticeable halt...
factory. After that, the company's fortunes began to decline. World War II ruined the factory in Molsheim, and the company lost control of the property. During the war, Bugatti planned a new factory at Levallois in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and designed a series of new cars.
To modern sensibilities, Bugatti's concept of customer relations was somewhat eccentric. To a Bugatti owner who complained that his car was difficult to start on cold mornings, he is said to have retorted, "Sir! If you can afford a Type 35, you can surely afford a heated garage!"
Ettore Bugatti was buried in the Bugatti family plot at the municipal cemetery in Dorlisheim
Dorlisheim
Dorlisheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-Economy:The headquarters of Bugatti Automobiles is located at the Chateau Saint Jean just outside of Dorlishheim.-References:*...
near Molsheim in the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
département of the Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
region of France.