Bugatti Veyron 16.4 enters production

The two stalls located to the south and the north of the castle, which in Bugatti’s day served as stables, were telemetrically surveyed, dismantled and, using as many of the original elements of the structure, such as wall segments and woodwork, as were still usable, reconstructed in a faithful copy of the original structures. In this new “Bugatti Era”, these structures will for the most part have an administrative character; in one of the spaces, clients will also be able to receive their Bugatti Veyron in an historical setting

The core of the investments made in Molsheim is the “Atelier” in which production of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is beginning in September 2005. In its architectural form, this modern production facility has been given stylistic features dipping back into the history of the automotive brand. With a southern exposure, the light- filled, glassed main hall is only partly evocative of an automobile-manufacturing operation in the classical sense of the term – it reminds the beholder more of a “Formula One laboratory”. The setting is dominated by clinical cleanliness and precision workmanship with highly developed component parts.

And yet the “Atelier” can still hold its own against the “major players”. A runway for the measurement of relevant functional-performance data and a generously proportioned water-spraying system for testing vehicle water tightness are to be found here, alongside a light chamber under the glaring lamps of which the slightest inconsistency in a car’s paintwork mercilessly catches the eye. A small test course has been laid out in the green spaces in front of the building. It can be used to supplement the road-test programme compulsory for all Veyrons and which concludes the vehicle’s production process. A logistics centre erected next to the “Atelier” rounds out the complex of buildings in Molsheim

Historic location

Thanks to Bugatti, Molsheim has been elevated from anonymity to find its own place on the map – not just of the automotive world. And this is certainly justified, both for the location of Ettore Bugatti’s production facilities and his private residence, which is located immediately adjacent. With the purchase of the Château Saint Jean and the property surrounding it, comprising some 140,000 m2 and the site of all other modern-day Bugatti activities as well, this has changed somewhat in purely geographic terms. To be precise, the property is situated in Dorlisheim which, while within sight of the former Bugatti factory, is nevertheless located on the other side of the Bruche River. This has been the source of inspiration for a “postal sleight of hand” on the part of the new management at Bugatti.

To be able to carry the historic value of the location in Molsheim into the Bugatti future while at the same time satisfying the administrative regulations of the Land, a compromise was negotiated with local authorities. A Solomonic solution was arrived at with the latter – who took a very favourable view of the entire Bugatti project right from the beginning, providing their active support throughout its development. The correct and complete address of Bugatti “Cru 2005” is: Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., 1, Château Saint Jean, Dorlisheim, F-67120 Molsheim

Bugatti is on the threshold of a new era. Its location is Molsheim. The company is international. Ettore Bugatti was born in 1881 in Italy. He completed his technological instruction in Germany, first with De Dietrich in Niederbronn in Alsace – at the time still a part of Germany – and then at Deutz in Cologne, before he built his first automobile in 1909 in Molsheim. Since 1998, Bugatti has belonged to the Volkswagen Group as a French company with a French headquarters

The modern-day Bugatti team – every bit as international as the company itself – views the legacy of Ettore Bugatti as both a challenge and an obligation. Thus, Dr. Bscher concluded his remarks to the assembled media in Tokyo with these words: “The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 will find its devotees here in Japan, we are sure of that”, concluded Dr. Thomas Bscher. “We have brought this fascinating super sportscar on to the roads of Japan, transforming it from a visionary sketch into the reality of today‘s automobile world. In doing so, we have laid the cornerstone for leading one of the most renowned and reputable makes of automobile from the virtuality of the past into the hard competition of the future. The Bugatti brand will rise to this competition. The Bugatti Veyron is the best sports car in the world, a car the likes of which the world has, in this form, never seen before. Its technical data are second to none. The Veyron closes the gap between myth and vision. We believe that we have interpreted Ettore Bugatti’s ideas in the 21st century in much the same manner as he himself may have done

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