Archive for the 'Bugatti' Category
A new Bugatti piece of art for Pebble Beach
The « Sang Bleu » to honour the 100th anniversary of the marque
Carmel, California, 14th August 2009. – Continuing this year’s 100th anniversary celebrations Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. has chosen the prestigious Pebble Beach weekend to present a further highlight to pay tribute to this legendary brand : The company proudly unveils the Bugatti « Sang Bleu » – an exclusive, one-off Grand Sport, honouring the marques precious heritage.
Innovation and Harmony
The « Sang Bleu » has ventured into new areas. Instead of applying two paint colours or paint and material to highlight the two tone design the « Sang Bleu » exclusively concentrates on materials – carbon fibre and aluminum – an innovative combination never realised before. This unique approach opens a new dimension of « Art – Forme – Technique », the company’s core values.
The colour combination commissioned for the Pebble Beach car is blue carbon fibre with polished aluminum. The visual carbon fibre is tinted in royal blue to emphasize the refined volumes and surfaces of the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport. The rear airscoops are tinted in the same nightblue – offering a dramatic view from above – and thus fluidly integrate into the overall design philosophy of this unique model.
The rims are inspired by the Grand Sport Roadster and are highlighted in a Midnight Blue and Diamond Cut two tone finish. The interior, specially and tastefully selcted for the Pebble Beach event, is trimmed in a newly developed Gaucho leather which blends with the intriguing and pure exterior materials creating an elegant and harmonious overall appearance.
Featured Marque
In the year of its100th anniversary Bugatti has been selected to be one of the featured marques at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Ettore Bugatti started his business in the Alsacian town of Molsheim in 1909. The name of the company: „Ettore Bugatti Automobiles i. Els.”. In 1956 the company ceased its activities. Exactly 50 years later, in March 2006, the first Bugatti Veyron built by Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. was delivered – after the Volkswagen Group had aquired the rights of the Bugatti marque in 1998 and started the re-launch of this famous brand. To date over 250 of the planned Bugatti Veyrons are sold, 215 of them have been delivered to customers worldwide. In June 2009 Bugatti started production of the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, the open roadster. The sales results are encouraging over 20 Grand Sports have been sold, with first deliveries already started.
The Bugatti « Sang Bleu » is the latest in a line of centenary Bugatti models which have won worldwide acclaim in 2009. This unique car stands – like the others – for the commitment of the Bugatti of today to carry the values and the philosophy of Ettore Bugatti, the founder of this unique marque, into a successful future.
100 years of Bugatti at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este
Bugatti Automobiles Pays Homage with four special Veyron models to Ettore Bugatti’s Masterpiece: The Type 35 Grand Prix
In a further highlight on this year’s agenda of centennialcelebrations, Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. presented four Bugatti Veyron specials at Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza. These one off models are reminders of Bugatti’s glorious motor-racinghistory which played a central role in popularising and ultimately establishing the myth which the brand continues to enjoy to this day.
The Bugatti brand is almost inextricably linked to the Type 35. The Type 35 Grand Prix was by far themost successful racing model. The unmistakable radiator grille and eight-spoke aluminium wheels of the Type 35 have become defining features of the Bugatti automobile. In its day, the Grand Prix was also well ahead of its time in terms of engineering ingenuity. The front axle design of this vehicle, which, for reasons of weight minimisation, is hollow, is a true masterpiece of workmanship and was deemed nothing less than revolutionary. Its springs were passed through the axle to produce a high level of stability. The Grand Prix’s brake drums were integrally fitted into its lightweight aluminium wheels. Unfastening the central wheel nut allowed the wheel to be easily removed within a matter of seconds and the brake to be exposed. This was a crucial advantage at the pit stop.
2000 wins in ten years
The blue racers made their first appearance on the race track at the Grand Prix held by Automobil Club de France in Lyon in 1924. In the decade that followed, they remained practically unchallenged thanks to sophisticated manufacturing efforts, their lightweight design and easy handling. During that ten-year era, they won almost 2000 races – more than any other model ever has. Grand Prix races were highly fashionable events in those days, and Bugatti was not the only brand with considerable interest in substantiating the reputation of its products by winning races. In fact, in the 1920s, Europe was regularly host to a number of different races in different countries on a single weekend. The teams set up by different automobile manufacturers competed at popular race circuits such as Targa Florio, Le Mans, Monza and Spa as well as in Rome, Nice, Antibes and even a village in Alsace.
The main reason Bugatti won such an enormous number of races – on the back of which successes the rand was also able to forge its image – was the fact that Bugatti sold not only its normal sports and touring cars to private buyers, but its racing cars too. Thus it was that its automobiles took part in such a large number of Grand Prix events.
This bestowed upon Ettore Bugatti a double success. He was able on the one hand to sell his racing cars expensively to wealthy private buyers with a keen sporting ambition and, on the other, to capitalise on their successes on international racing circuits – without actually having to make a single investment in these “marketing activities”. This stroke of genius by “Le Patron” not only brought him immortal fame, but a substantial fortune as well. A total of 350 legendary Type 35-series automobiles were ultimately built – in a wide variety of versions. Those that survived their racing days, accidents, World War II and all other risks over the years, have become coveted and highly priced collectors’ items.
Four Type 35 Grand Prix models – Four distinct personalities – Four Veyrons
Tradition being what it is, the Bugatti Veyron Specials built to mark the 100th anniversary of the brand feature the racing colours of the respective countries: blue for France, red for Italy, green for England and white for Germany. Each of the four new Veyrons has a specific “predecessor” in the form of an original Grand Prix Bugatti on which it was modelled. These four historic race cars represent the generation of legendary Bugatti Grand Prix racers which were piloted by world-famous race-car drivers and which scored countless racing victories in the 1920s and ‘30s. Each of the four Veyron Specials is named after a Bugatti race-car driver of the 1920s and 30s. Jean-Pierre Wimille has given the blue Veyron its name, Achille Varzi the red one, Malcolm Campbell the green one and Hermann zu Leiningen the white Veyron.
Jean-Pierre Wimille was one of the longest-serving drivers at Bugatti. He only joined the team in Molsheim in 1933, but subsequently remained loyal to the brand, ultimately driving home Bugatti’s last-ever victory in 1947 at Bois de Boulogne in a 4.7-litre Monoposto Type 59/50 B. Wimille’s many previous successes included winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1937 and 1939. Achille Varzi was a member of the official Bugatti team from 1931 to 1933. He had already achieved many successes since 1928 driving a private Type 35 C, then later went on to win the Monaco Grand Prix, an event on Berlin’s Avus circuit and other races. As the setter of numerous world records for speed, the name Malcolm Campbell is firmly established in racing history. He also competed in countless “normal” races from 1911 and 1936, often piloting a Bugatti Type 39 A or Type 35, and he owned one of the legendary Type 57 S street sports cars. Prinz Hermann zu Leiningen’s career driving Bugattis began in 1927 when he purchased a Type 40 chassis, for which he had a racing body built. He went on to win a number or races in a privately owned Type 37 A before eventually standing in the spotlight of the international racing scene in a 35 C for several years from 1930 onward.
“We have put a lot of effort into translating colour and material, the defining characteristics of our historic role models, into the designs of the modern-day Veyrons,” explains Alasdair Stewart, Director Sales & Marketing at Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. “We have taken extreme care to match the original colours of the original race cars, exterior and interior”
On Sunday, the four historic racing Type 35s and the four modern-day Centenaire EditionVeyrons will be exhibited alongside each other in the park of Villa Erba for the first and only time.
Ahead of that presentation, Bugatti will on Saturday be prominently represented in the park of Villa d’Este by a special-display-class exhibition of models, which will serve to portray the 100-year history of the brand. Bugatti’s participation in the classic Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como will be the second highlight event to mark the carmaker’s centennial celebrations after it took part in the International Geneva Motor Show in early March. This latest event will be followed by the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California in mid-August and the main celebratory event on 12 September in Molsheim (Alsace), which has been the home of this unparalleled automobile brand for 100 years.
LINEA Vincerò – Mansory refines the Bugatti Veyron 16.4
“Vincerò! Vincerò! - I will win”, that is the self-confident exclamation from Nessun Dorma, probably the most famous tenor aria from Giacomo Puccini´s opera Turandot. And Vincerò is also the name of the latest automobile accessory line by refining specialist Mansory. Mansory already finds many parallels for the new name: The plot of the aria stems from a Persian tale of 1001 days which also relates to the standard motorisation of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 with 1,001 hp. On the other hand, it should also refer to the origin of Kourosh Mansory, the founder and CEO of Mansory Corporation. And the opera has another reference to the offered product portfolio by ending after three acts. The LINEA Vincerò edition is also not infinite – the project is strictly limited.
It goes without saying that such a sonorous name is only suitable for an absolutely high-quality programme. Already the Bugatti Veyron serial edition sets standards in terms of price, maximum speed and engine power and leaves its competitors far behind when a contender for the super sports car is to be crowned. Whoever now thinks that everything possible has been achieved, can be proved wrong. Already visually, the changes clearly show. The front part gets a comprehensive face-lift including modified wings, a shorter hood and a striking front apron. The LED daytime running lights integrated in the front mount and the implemented stylised “V” as a special tribute to the name “Vincerò” draw even more attention to the car. The newly developed side skirts are the visual and aerodynamic connection between the axles. Larger air outlets at the sides and at the back render optimal engine cooling and in combination with the new diffuser, they underline the powerful car design. Mansory manufactures nearly all auto body parts from ultra-light and high-strength carbon. The applied hardening technique with strong pressure and high temperatures in the autoclave thereby enormously improve the material quality.
In order to perfect the entire visual appearance, Mansory devised new, striking fully-forged turbine-design wheels for the Linea Vincerò in serial dimensions.
Also, the power engine is refined by Mansory. Technical innovation is combined with technical expertise and thereby, an increased cooling air supply and optimised exhaust system produce an unbelievable 1109 hp and 1310 Nm.
The interior is exclusive and yet functional. Also here, Mansory understands how luxury and technology can be harmonically combined. When traditional craftsmanship, selected materials and stylish design merge, the result is an interior of automobile excellence.
This mainly shows by the LED lights of the new Ambiente-Illumination-System which are fitted in the seats, door linings and the dashboard. The entire passenger compartment glows in a soft light which does not only render a comfortable feeling, but also emphasises the high-quality carbon applications and the especially grained leather. The ergonomically designed airbag steering wheel is both sportive and particularly pliable and is equipped with rocker switches.
The Mansory individualisation programme for the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is offered in a limited edition via the Middle East partner “Prestige Cars Abu Dhabi”.
The Mansory Cooperation GmbH solely offers proprietary developed modification accessories under the name LINEA Vincerò. They do not market entire automobiles and also do not sell any such vehicles.
