Bugatti: German or French?

[Driiven]

Discuss.

Also, whats your favourite Bugatti of all time? Mine is the Type 252.

[MadManCK]

Bugatti is currently owned by Audi and part of the VAG concern. Can't be more German than that.

But Ettore Bugatti was Italian born French. The original Bugatti Factory has nothing to do with the current Bugattis except the name.
He started in Strassbourg on the German-French border. So if you want to call it either German or French will be up for debate. But he raced his cars under the French flag in French Racing Bleu, so French is probably your best answer.



PS The original Bugattis were sculptures on wheels and way more Artistic than the current models. In fact Ettore would probably turn in his tomb if he found out.

Like this one from the Shah of Persia

[eaustinn36]

If this is a troll topic, this is fail. If not though, i've already explained it before, but i'll quote myself:

Bugatti itself is complicated, as it is 3 individual companies in different times that have nothing to do with each other. This is why so much confusion results, as it would be like if Ford went under, and a Japanese man created a new company called Ford (after purchasing the rights to the name), only that the new "Ford" has nothing to do with the old one.

As for Bugatti, again, it is 3 different companies in 3 different times. Anything French about the company died in the 1950's when the company went under. Around 1987, an Italian man Romano Artioli founded his own company, Bugatti, and set up factory in Italy, producing the EB110. In 1995 he went under as well. Then, VW created a new company in 1998, Bugatti, in which VW made with 1 goal: make the fastest car (the Veyron). Therefore, "Bugatti" is 3 separate companies: French, Italian, and the modern German one. Each of the companies has nothing to do with each other, other than the badge and brand name reputation that comes with it.

This is not the same for other companies where "stock" is sold. If I bought a 50.1% share in BMW, and therefore took control of the company, that would not make it any less German. If however, the company went under, and years later after purchasing the rights to the name, I started my own company and called it "BMW", it would be an American car brand. Therefore, Lamborghini is still Italian despite its stock ownership by Audi, Bentley is British, and Rolls Royce is British. Mini I used to think was British, but I am now under a more accurate knowledge that the modern company is German (older was British), as it completely went under in the 90's, and BMW bought the title rights and created a new one (Mini didn't "exist" for a 3-5 year period, you can fact check that if you want).

As for Bugatti itself, the design and creation of it was completely by VW. Ask the joint Bugatti and Bentley CEO (appointed by VW), Wolfgang Durheimer: nothing happens without VW's approval, because they purchased the brand name in 1998, to make the fastest car in the world. It was strategic for VW to do this, as the brand name has a lot of reputation to make fast cars, like the EB110 under the Italian hands. VW created the car, and combined with the reputation of the name, its brand image was better, and therefore, more models were sold (Bugatti sells hundreds of the Veyron model). Purely enough it was a marketing decision to increase profit margins (taking the financial hit to acquire the right to use the brand name on their model, in hopes it would boost reputation), and it worked. This is why VW is the most profitable company in the world, making about $55 million per day, versus GM's ~$30 million per day.

Anyway, that's enough of a text wall from me. Hopefully, not just with you (but all forum members), everything makes more sense now.

So, it depends which "Bugatti" you are referring to. The modern one is German (founded by VW), early-mid 90's was Italian (founded and created it Italy, Romano Artioli), and the early pre-1950's Bugatti was French (founded by Italian man in France, and setup as a French company).


EDIT: And yes as Madman said, the first Bugatti company could be argued as either German or French (the pre-1950's one), as it was founded practically on the French-German border, and for a very brief time actually was part of Germany before the borders changed after the 1st world war. For argument sake though, I'll say it is French, although the debate i'm guessing isn't over the 1st Bugatti, but the 3rd Bugatti (modern one), in which there isn't really any debate to be had. Factually speaking, the 2nd and 3rd are clear; it is the 1st that is a little fuzzy though.

[MadManCK]

And on that bombshell here 3 pictures from 3 different Bugatti companies from 3 different era, all sharing the name and passion for Automobiles with the name giver, but also 3 completely different Bugatti's

[eaustinn36]

They are all so beautiful in their own way

[Driiven]

If this is a troll topic, this is fail. If not though, i've already explained it before, but i'll quote myself:

It's not a troll topic. Im interested in other peoples opinions on this topic since we debate about it so much. I wont put my opinion in here for the sake of keeping the thread 'friendly' as us 2 chattering on about it isnt ideal.

Also I've added a question to the OP.

[MadManCK]

My all time favorite Bugatti is the Type 57 s/c Atlantic