The content of the article:
- France, Germany or Italy
- On martial law
- Bugatti in sports
- Few numbers and big names
- Mini factory for hypercars
- Maintenance cost
- Bugatti and Porsche
- Bugatti and Bentley
- The most unprofitable
- Abandoned Bugatti
There are cars, the very fact of their existence already makes the world more beautiful. These include the wonderful French Bugatti models that have made a huge contribution to the automotive industry, motorsport and even art.
What the company is now is just a shadow of the once legendary brand. His cars were called extraordinary, tasteless, amazing, at the same time progressive, patriarchal and exotic. Definitely, each of the 7,500 models released was ultra-technological for its time, carefully thought out and perfectly assembled, and also the most expensive in the world. Unfortunately, now it is unrealistic for any manufacturer to live off luxury products, because any Bugatti car is not a transport, but an absolute masterpiece.
What are the most exciting and iconic events for this brand?
1. France, Germany or Italy
Bugatti is headquartered in the family chateau Saint-Jean in northeastern France, and it is subordinate to the German Volkswagen. So what is the “nationality” of the models produced by the manufacturer?
If you do not take into account the same type of modern Veyron, but talk specifically about the legendary, incredible cars of the brand, in which engineers and designers put their whole souls, then they are purebred Italians.
The ancestor of the company is Ettore Bugatti, a true painter and architect of automotive construction. He received his talent and artistic flair from his father, a sculptor, cabinetmaker and designer. Everything disposed him to follow the path of his family: the architect of his grandfather, the artist uncle, the sculptor-animal painter brother. He even studied at the Academy of Fine Arts until he got sick with cars.
Already at the age of 16, he took a job at the Prinetti car factory, and at the age of 17 he assembled his first tricycle, equipped with four motors. Moreover, it is worth noting that the young man had absolutely no technical education - apparently, engineering knowledge was gifted to him from above.
After Ettore became the winner of three competitions at once on his creation, his father finally accepted his hobby and financially helped in opening his own workshop. It created the first full-fledged car with a 4-cylinder engine, reaching speeds of up to 65 km / h. At the Milan exhibition, the novelty made such an impression that the German manufacturer De Dietrich immediately bought the rights to it. By the way, this creation, which saw the light of day in 1901, is still kept intact and in the Automobile Museum of Turin.
For almost 10 subsequent years, the talented engineer wandered around different car factories, since each manufacturer wanted to get his hands on the young man's innovative ideas. At the same time, he did not stop experimenting with his own developments, exclusively technical. The appearance of the future model was prompted by the race for the Small Car Cup, after which Isotta-Fraschini became his beloved muse. It was she who served as the prototype for the Bugatti Type 10, assembled right in the basement of his own house. The incredible history of the most luxurious and incredibly expensive Italian cars began with this model.
2. On martial law
Bugatti's talent did not give him an abyss during the war years. During the First World War, he actively worked on aircraft engines, which he supplied to the American and French armies. At the end of the battles, Bugatti received a good license award, which allowed him to move to French Molsm and resume production of his cars. Now its production had more than a thousand employees, and the capacity allowed to increase the number of assembled models.
But the Second World War can be fully called the beginning of the collapse of the company. A few days before it began, Bugatti's son, Jean, died during a test drive. His death came as a shock to the inventor, especially given the fact that he recently triumphed at Le Mans 24 Hours.
With the outbreak of hostilities, the plant remained unclaimed: Bugatti did not know how to produce military equipment, and cars were not needed at that time. At its end, the participating countries lay in such ruins that people were unable to purchase luxury cars. Only by 1947 did the company manage to develop and prepare a new model for release, but another disaster struck - at the age of 65, the founding father of the brand died. His family, having lost at first a successor in the person of Jean Bugatti, and then the owner himself, could not cope with the company.
The Type 101, which came out of the workshop, did not attract the attention of the public and was frankly uncompetitive, uninteresting and outdated from a technical point of view. The company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, went to the Spanish firm "Hispano-Suiza", which also tried its hand at producing luxury cars.
3. Bugatti in sports
One of the first models of the newborn Bugatti company, created by mechanic Ernest Frederick, finished in second place at the French Grand Prix in 1911. Then came the fantastic 30s, during which the company's cars won almost 2 thousand victories. For 5 years, the Type 35, 35a, 35b, 35t, super-maneuverable, 95-strong, emerged as absolute winners from any competition.
Then, in 1937, the Type 57 was produced with a lowered chassis and a 3.3-liter engine. He takes a landslide victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, beating big names like Alfa Romeo and Lagonda. In the same year, the ill-fated Type 57 was published, which caused the tragedy with Jean Bugatti.
4. Few numbers and big names
How much does it cost for lovers of speed and luxury to own an incredible car like a Bugatti?
- American actor and singer Chris Brown did not regret for a bright red sports car Veyron, accelerating to 407 km / h, one and a half million dollars.
- British model and singer Katy Price, like a real lady, loves pink. A car of this color cost her $ 1.6 million.
- American actor, singer, producer and businessman Solja Boy not only bought himself a Bugatti for $ 1.7 million, but even dedicated a song to this car.
- But the popular TV presenter of American and British shows Simon Cowell first bought himself a model for 1.7 million dollars, capable of accelerating to a hundred in 2.5 seconds and developing speeds of up to 430 km / h, and then sold it. Apparently, Rolls-Royce, Phantom and Ferrari in his garage are more dear to him.
- The rapper The Game gave himself a luxury car for his birthday for 1.7 million dollars, and then retrofitted it for another 2.4 million dollars.
- Another rapper Flo Rida decided to distinguish himself in front of colleagues in the shop - he ordered a gold car. Moreover, he not only received a gilded case, but also installed rims made of real 24-carat gold.
- But the most expensive member of the Bugatti family was the 1936 Type 57SC Atlantic. It was auctioned off for $ 40 million to the Mullin American Automobile Museum.
5. Mini-factory for hypercars
The fastest, most unique, most expensive cars on the planet are assembled by only 52 employees of the Bugatti plant. Moreover, there is no modern robotics in production, and the only electrical tool is used during assembly - a wrench. It takes about 2 months to assemble each copy, of which the chassis is assembled only for a week. Another 3 weeks is spent on hand painting the car in one of 23 possible colors.
The release of the Veyron takes a little longer, because only the production of a radiator takes 15 hours, and the model has a dozen of them.
6. Cost of maintenance
The Veyron is the most expensive car in the world in terms of cost of ownership, with annual operating costs of up to $ 300,000. For example, it is advisable to change tires every 4000 km, and one set of "2s Michelin Pilot Sport", suitable in size and performance, costs 42,000 dollars. Another $ 69,000 will cost to replace the wheel disks, which is recommended after 16 thousand km. The "cheapest" procedure should be recognized as an oil change - "only" $ 21,000.
Not even all millionaires - Bugatti owners are ready for such expenses on an expensive toy. So, the rapper T-Pain sold his car after he was estimated at $ 90,000 to replace a broken radiator. Another American businessman prefers to travel by private helicopter or airplane, and to transport a luxury car with him in a special trailer. So he can save on mileage and still show off at business meetings in a magnificent Bugatti.
7. Bugatti and Porsche
The Veyron owes its birth to the grandson of the great Ferdinand Porsche. Ferdinand Piëch, in addition to owning 10% of the shares of his grandfather's company, was also on the board of Volkswagen, which bought out the bankrupt Bugatti.
In the same way, admiring power and speed, as his relative, he wanted to create a car with a thousand "horses" under the hood. Designers and engineers assured him that the idea was completely impossible, either from the technical or financial point of view. However, Piëch stood his ground and managed to find a team of desperate craftsmen who took on the development of the car now known as the Veyron.
8. Bugatti and Bentley
On behalf of Ferdinand Piech, his engineering team was impressed by the powerful Bentley Hunaudieres, which at that time was also owned by Volkswagen. Its perfect looks, technical equipment, power, acceleration time were perfect and perfectly suited to the basis of the newest hypercar.
However, the company's marketers decided that it would be wrong and unprofitable to release a new model under the Bentley brand, which traditionally produces cars of the Grand Turismo class. Thus, the unusual order of Piëch went to Bugatti, which just had to rise from the ashes and be realized again in the automotive world.
9. The most unprofitable
Despite the wide popularity of the brand, despite the struggle between billionaires and sheikhs for each unique model, luxury cars are becoming more and more unprofitable for their manufacturer every year. If we consider the popular Veyron, then even the multimillion-dollar selling price is only 20-30% of the cost of manufacturing, finishing, assembling and advertising this car. Analysts estimate that each copy "ruins" the company nearly $ 7 million.
This is not surprising when you consider that in the Veyron only the drivetrain is more expensive than the entire Porshe 911. Up to 20 skins of elite Alpine cows grazing at an altitude of 2000 meters are used for high-quality interior finishing materials.
10. Abandoned Bugatti
If someone literally grabs the throat of a competitor at an auction for the right to own an exclusive model, then some refer to the eminent brand as "Zhiguli".
For example, one Russian businessman on a metropolitan street had an accident in his Bugatti. He was thoroughly crushed by an Aston Martin that drove into the rear. The victim, apparently, immediately figured out how much it would cost him to repair an expensive supercar, and simply left the car worth $ 1.5 million on the street ...
Bugatti
