Ettore Bugatti facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti
|
|
|---|---|
Bugatti in 1932
|
|
| Born | 15 September 1881 Milan, Italy
|
| Died | 21 August 1947 (aged 65) Paris, France
|
| Resting place | Dorlisheim, France |
| Citizenship | Italian, French |
| Occupation | Automotive engineer |
| Years active | 1898–1947 |
| Employer | Automobiles E. Bugatti (founder) |
| Parent(s) |
|
| Relatives |
|
Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (born September 15, 1881 – died August 21, 1947) was a famous car designer and maker. He was born in Italy but later became a French citizen.
Ettore Bugatti is best known for starting his own car company, Automobiles E. Bugatti. He founded it in 1909 in a town called Molsheim. This town was in Germany at the time, but it is now part of France. Bugatti passed away in Paris and is buried in Dorlisheim, France.
Contents
Ettore Bugatti: A Car Legend
Early Life and Family
Ettore Bugatti was born into a very artistic family in Milan, Italy. His father, Carlo Bugatti, was a well-known designer of furniture and jewelry. Ettore's younger brother, Rembrandt Bugatti, became a famous sculptor of animals. His grandfather, Giovanni Luigi Bugatti, was also an architect and sculptor.
Ettore's father wanted him to learn a traditional trade. But Ettore quickly showed a natural talent for building cars. In 1898, he built his very first car, the "Bugatti Type 1," with the help of a company called Prinetti & Stucchi.
Starting His Career
With some financial help, Bugatti created his second car, the Type 2. This car won an award in 1901. Its design caught the attention of Baron Adrien de Turckheim. The Baron offered Bugatti a job designing cars at his factory in Niederbronn-les-Bains.
From 1902 to 1904, the De Dietrich company built several of Bugatti's car designs. These cars were known as "De Dietrich, Licence Bugatti."
While working for De Dietrich, Bugatti met Émile Mathis. They became friends and then business partners. In 1904, they left De Dietrich to make their own cars. These cars were called "Mathis-Hermes (Licence Bugatti)." This partnership lasted until 1906. After that, Bugatti started his own "Research centre" near Strasbourg. He worked on new car ideas and also collaborated with the Deutz company.
In 1907, Bugatti became a Production Director at Deutz. He designed more cars there, including the Type 8 and Type 9. He even built the Type 10 in his home's basement! In 1913, he designed a small car called the Type 19 Bébé for Peugeot.
The Bugatti Car Company
Ettore Bugatti started his own car company, Automobiles E. Bugatti, in 1909. The company became famous for making some of the fastest, most luxurious, and most advanced cars of its time. Bugatti cars were also very successful in early Grand Prix motor racing. A Bugatti car even won the first Monaco Grand Prix.
During World War I, Bugatti designed airplane engines. Between the wars, he designed a successful motorized train car called the Autorail Bugatti. He also won a government contract to build an airplane, the Bugatti Model 100. This plane was designed with two powerful Bugatti engines but never flew because World War II started.
Sadly, Ettore's son, Jean Bugatti, died on August 11, 1939. He was only 30 years old and was testing a race car near the factory. After this, the company began to face difficulties. World War II also damaged the factory in Molsheim. During the war, Bugatti planned a new factory in Paris and designed new cars.
Ettore Bugatti had a unique way of dealing with customers. Once, a customer complained that his car was hard to start on cold mornings. Bugatti reportedly replied, "Sir! If you can afford a Type 35, you can surely afford a heated garage!" Another time, when a customer complained about the brakes, he said, "I make my cars to go, not stop!"
In 2000, Ettore Bugatti was honored by being added to the Automotive Hall of Fame.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1907, Ettore Bugatti married Barbara Maria Giuseppina Mascherpa. They had two daughters, L'Ébé and Lidia, and two sons, Jean and Roland. Barbara passed away in 1944. Ettore married again in 1946 to Geneviève Marguerite Delcuze. They had a daughter, Thérèse, and a son, Michel.
Ettore Bugatti became very ill and passed away in August 1947 in a hospital near Paris. He had been unwell for several months. Just before he died, a court decided to return his property in Alsace to him. It had been taken by the government for a while because of his Italian background after the war.
Bugatti is buried in the family plot in Dorlisheim, near Molsheim. The Musée de la Chartreuse in Molsheim has a special section dedicated to his life, work, and the amazing cars he created.
See also
In Spanish: Ettore Bugatti para niños
