Bugatti Automobiles Information
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. is an automobile manufacturer located in Molsheim, Alsace, France. It is owned by the German automobile manufacturing group Volkswagen Group as a subsidiary of Volkswagen France.[1] It was founded in 2000[2] as a successor to the Bugatti Automobili SpA.
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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, 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 (factory) next to and south of the Château. The atelier was officially inaugurated on 3 September 2005.
Cars
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 hello 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.
EB 16.4 Veyron
Main article: Bugatti Veyron| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be and removed. (April 2008) |
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 (metric) 1001 horsepower (see engine section for details on the power output). Top speed was promised at 407 km/h (253 mph), 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. Taking great pride in the making of the Veyron, the production plant (where cars are also ordered) is affectionately called the "Atelier" which means an artists workroom.
A silver and black pre-production Veyron on display at the 2004 Paris Motor ShowPiëch 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 (net price without taxes);[citation needed] prices vary by exchange rates and local taxes (like value added 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 (weekly mens magazine with the Sunday Times) 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.[citation needed].
16C Galibier
The December 2007 issue of Australia's Motor Magazine stated that a second Bugatti model would share its platform with the new Bentley Mulsanne, 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.
A concept version of the car, the Bugatti 16C Galibier Concept, was unveiled during, but outside of, the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.
References
- ^ a b "A Legendary Brand Is Reborn". Bugatti. http://www.bugatti.com/en/tradition/history/bugatti-today.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- ^ "Volkswagen AG - Annual Report 2000" (PDF). Wolfsburg: Volkswagen AG. 2001. pp. 31/33. http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/publications/2000/GB_2000.-bin.acq/qual-BinaryStorageItem.Single.File/VW_GB_2000_e.pdf. Retrieved 15 October 2008. "With effect from 22 December 2000, Groupe VOLKSWAGEN France s.a. established BUGATTI AUTOMOBILES S.A.S. as a 100 % wholly owned subsidiary."
External links
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