Like every year, the weekend closest to Ettore Bugatti's birthday (he was born on September 15, 1881), Molsheim, in Alsace, is transformed into a great celebration thanks to the Bugatti Festival, organized by Enthousiastes Bugatti Alsace (EBA), which this year has reached its 40th edition. The objective of this global meeting of clients and collectors of the firm is to celebrate Bugatti's glorious past through its history and remember the life and work of its brilliant creator.
In 1909, when he was 28 years old, Ettore Bugatti founded his factory in a former dry cleaners in Molsheim and began producing the Type 13. Later, in 1928, he would buy the iconic château Saint Jean as a place to receive guests, clients, pilots of careers and personalities. Today, the castle – still with Ettore's initials on the railings – remains a unique place that welcomes guests from all over the world.
The park and adjacent grounds were transformed into an exhibition of Bugatti automobiles, while passing through the historic gates of Château Saint Jean revealed an exhibition featuring furniture by Carlo Bugatti, Ettore's father and renowned furniture and jewelry designer, and sculptures. by Rembrandt Bugatti, his brother.
The family's artistic inspiration translated into Ettore's cars, who once said, “Nothing is too beautiful.” Thus, Bugatti's legendary horseshoe-shaped grille was designed as a tribute to his father, who considered the most perfect shape in nature to be the egg. The subtle nod to his brother Rembrandt's was to incorporate his famous Dancing elephant sculpture as a hood ornament on the Type 41 Royale, the only time a Bugatti has ever sported an emblem on the radiator.
This year's guests and participants were able to admire several Grand Prix examples: a Type 57G, a Type 32 from 1923, a Type 35 and a Type 45/47, as a reminder of Bugatti's successful heritage in motor competitions. Also on display were, among others, a Bolide, the modern hypercar exclusive to the circuit; and an EB110, a model that paved the way for renaissance in the nineties.
