Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. is a French high-performance luxury automobiles manufacturer and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, with its head office and assembly plant in Molsheim, Alsace, France. Volkswagen purchased the Bugatti trademark in June 1998 and incorporated Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. in 1999. Bugatti presented several concept cars between 1998 and 2000 before commencing development of its first production model, the Veyron 16.4, delivering the first Veyron to a customer in 2005.
History
At the urging of then-chairman Ferdinand Piëch, Volkswagen purchased the rights to produce cars under the Bugatti marque in June 1998. This followed the earlier Volkswagen purchases of the Lamborghini marque, the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe, United Kingdom, 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 next to and south of the Château. The atelier was officially inaugurated on 3 September 2005. Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen AG After the Veyron's discontinuation in 2014, the new Bugatti model was revealed to be the Chiron in 2016. With an 8-liter W16 engine delivering 1500 horsepower, an electronically limited top speed of 261 miles per hour, and a price of about €2,400,000, the Chiron attempts to vastly surpass the Veyron's performance.
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.
All of these early concepts featured a 18-cylinder engine. This was the first-ever W-configuration engine on a passenger vehicle, with three blocks of 6 cylinders each. It shared many components with Volkswagen's modular engine family.
16C Galibier
The 16C Galibier was unveiled during Celebration of the Centenary of the Marque in Molsheim. The presentation was only for Bugatti customers. The car show in Molsheim showed the car in blue carbon fibre and aluminum parts. One year later Bugatti showed the world the 16C Galibier Concept at "VW Group Night" at the Geneva Auto Show in a new black and aluminum color combination. The Galibier, a 1000 HP sedan, was first shown as a concept in 2010 and when they planned to put it into production in 2015, it would have cost about $1.4 million. It would use the same 16-cylinder 8.0-litre engine as the Veyron but instead of four turbos, the 16C Galibier would instead use two superchargers to deliver better torque. Production would require new facilities in Molsheim, France, to be refitted, which pushed back potential deliveries until 2015. In 2013, it was announced that the car will never be produced as they wish to focus on a Veyron replacement.
Production cars
In the 1980s the Bugatti brand was brought back as Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. in Italy. The company produced the EB110 in the 1990s, which put Bugatti back on the modern super-car scene. The company was then bought by Volkswagen at the end of the 20th century.
Veyron
Development of this vehicle began with the 1999 EB 18/4 "Veyron" concept car, which itself had a chassis based on that of the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car. It was similar in design and appearance to the final Veyron production car. One major difference was the EB 18/4's use of a W18 engine with three banks of six cylinders. The Veyron's chief designer was Hartmut Warkuss, and the exterior was designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen, rather than Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, who had handled the three prior Bugatti concepts. The then – Volkswagen Group chairman Ferdinand Piëch announced the Veyron at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show. It was promised to be the fastest, most powerful and most expensive car in history. Instead of the W18, it would use a VR6/WR8-style W16 engine. First seen in the 1999 Bentley Hunaudières concept car, the W16 would have four turbochargers and produce a quoted 1001 horsepower. Top speed was promised at 407 km/h, and the price was announced at €1 million. 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 Veyron 16.4", would go into production in 2003. Piëch retired that year as chairman of the Volkswagen Group 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 a former VW engineer, Bugatti Engineering chief Wolfgang Schreiber. The Veyron costs €1,100,000 ; prices vary by exchange rates and local taxes. Prices for the UK or the US are over £880,000, or around $1,400,000. It was noted in an April issue of Live magazine that customers are free to order additional extras which can push the price up by the cost of a Rolls Royce Phantom. During an episode of Top Gear, the car was compared to the Concorde as a feat of technology.
Chiron
At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, Bugatti premiered the Bugatti Chiron as a successor to the Veyron. The pricing is set at 2.4 million euros. It is powered by a quad-turbocharged W16 engine with a peak power output of at 6,700 rpm and of torque starting from 2,000 to 6,000 rpm. It can accelerate from in 2.4 seconds according to the manufacturer and has an electronically limited top speed of for safety reasons, mainly arising from the tyres as the manufacturer concluded that no tyre currently manufactured would be able to handle the stress at the top speed the Chiron is capable of achieving. The base price is , and buyers were required to place a deposit. Production is limited to 500 units. Unlike the Veyron, the Chiron is expected to make a profit.
Divo
At the exclusive automotive event “The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering“ in Monterey, California, Bugatti premiered its latest model as a world premiere. The Divo 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 is 8.0 seconds quicker than the Chiron around the Nardòtest track according to the manufacturer and generates of downforce at top speed, more than the Chiron. The top speed is, however, reduced to, 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 at 6700 rpm and of torque from 2000 to 6000 rpm. The production of the Divo is limited to 40 units and the car will be built alongside the Chiron at the Bugatti factory. The base price for the Divo was €5 million, around twice the price of what the standard Chiron cost.
La Voiture Noire
The La Voiture Noire was a special edition car built and sold by Bugatti in 2019. It was presented at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. The car pays homage to the legendary 'missing' Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic of Jean Bugatti. Only 1 of these cars were built and sold for a price of $12.5 million; making it the most expensive new car ever sold.
Centodieci
The Centodieci was unveiled by Bugatti in August 2019 and was made as a tribute to the EB110. Only 10 will be made and will be priced at 8 million euros each.
