Racing cars produced by this French manufacturer from Alsace won several thousand competitions between 1920 and the mid-1930s alone.
One of them was the legendary, agile and light Bugatti Type 35 - all thanks to the many successful Bugatti racing drivers of the “golden era” who were former pilots.
During those days, aviation was developed in parallel with the motor car, both of which were driven forward in France at the start of the 20th century.
The first motorised aircraft took off in 1906, developed by a Brazilian living in Paris.
Frenchman Louis Charles Breguet developed the first helicopter in 1907 and Frenchman Louis Blériot became the first man to fly across the English Channel in 1909.
Italian-born Ettore Bugatti decided to settle in Molsheim, Alsace that same year.
The young developer loved extraordinary technology and was just as fascinated by aviation and pilots as he was by the motor car, which was still in its infancy.
So it was hardly surprising that Bugatti didn’t just restrict himself to developing and designing light and powerful automobiles and thoroughbred racing cars, but developed speedboats, high-speed trains and aircraft as well.
“Bugatti has been closely associated with motorsports and aviation for over 110 years. Early models demonstrate clear parallels to these two technical areas. This includes open mechanical systems, consistent lightweight construction a good power-to-weight ratio and initial attempts to improve aerodynamics,” said Bugatti president Stephan Winkelmann.
Winkelmann added that Ettore Bugatti also designed and produced a wide variety of high-precision, light, powerful and technically demanding machines.
In addition to the uncompromising racing cars, this also included aircraft engines and an own constructed aircraft.
The first aircraft engine built by Bugatti around 1915 was a massive eight-cylinder in-line engine producing 250PS.
These were followed by 16-cylinder engines with two blocks of eight cylinders, each positioned vertically side-by-side on a shared crankcase.
The French government had no interest in these aircraft engines, but the Americans did.
The further-developed King Bugatti 16-cylinder aircraft engine delivered 420PS at about 2,000rpm.
It was planned to build at least 2,000 of these engines, but this plan was rendered obsolete when the First World War came to an end in November 1918 with around 40 produced.
Bugatti then devoted himself increasingly to his vehicles in the years that followed, but in 1925 he still built a 16-cylinder aircraft engine - the Type 34, which he later used in a modified form in the Type 41 Royale.
Ettore Bugatti was also interested in aviation on a personal level: he maintained close contact with former First World War pilots throughout his life.
They wanted to transfer the allure of speed from the air to the road and this was an idea that particularly appealed to Ettore Bugatti leading to the future designs associated with the brand.
