Just this past weekend, the town of Molsheim in Alsace, France was transformed into a living celebratory tribute to Bugatti as the iconic French marque celebrated its founder Ettore Bugatti’s birthday on 15th September 1881, honoring his namesake brand’s unequaled legacy spanning over a 100 years of automotive innovation. In this 116th year of Bugatti’s journey, it also marks another especially significant anniversary recognizing both Ettore’s enduring vision & Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Karl Piëch’s transformative impact on the marque’s trajectory: 2 decades of the Bugatti Veyron.
The story goes that shortly after World War II, a fateful flight had it that 2 men happened to be seated besides each other, with one of them being a doctor who harbored a deep-seated passion for the car brand with a horseshoe shaped grille as its hallmark. He joyfully found that his flying companion was none other than Ettore himself, and delightedly asked him, “Will Bugatti ever build a car with a thousand horsepower?”
Ettore apparently responded with a smile, “No, but with 1,001 horses, yes.”
Snapping forwards through time to 2005, twenty years ago the automotive landscape was a very different one indeed. The idea of commercially producing a hypercar to sell at beyond 1 million Euros was wildly unthinkable, as was the notion of four-figure power outputs or 400 km/h velocities; such fanciful notions were more often the preserve of hot-rodded tuner cars that could hardly be expected to live up to the incomparably lofty standards of perfection that Bugatti had long been known for. It was into this atmosphere that Ferdinand Karl Piëch launched his audacious vision to irrevocably alter automotive high performance forevermore. The Bugatti Veyron that he conceived indisputably redefined the very notions of engineering possibility.
Even against the odds and facing doubtful challenges both without & within, it successfully nailed all of Ferdinand’s targets including 1,001 PS, a top speed of comfortably more than 400 km/h, and meticulous craftsmanship with the kind of reassuring robustness that made it as effortless to drive every day as a VW Golf. Bringing it to fruition demanded hitherto unprecedented levels of revolutionary engineering & the marque reportedly lost money on every Veyron it sold; yet as a symbol of excellence it simply had no challenger, firmly reestablishing Bugatti’s place at the pinnacle of perfection while showcasing its enduring artistic dedications. Twenty years later, the Veyron has now aged and matured into a modern classic motoring masterpiece highly sought after by enthusiastic drivers and collectors alike, celebrated as an icon of triumph contrary to expectations even today.
It thus still stands as the perfect union of two legendary individuals’ visions: the brilliance of Ettore Bugatti in melding artistic inspiration with technical perfection, and Ferdinand Karl Piëch’s relentless drive in bringing Bugatti back to its days of glory, even while honoring both Pierre Veyron’s name & racing spirits that enduringly live on in the EB 16.4 itself.
With all this in mind, esteemed Veyron owners came together in Bugatti’s home amid this year’s Festival revelries of the annual Bugatti Festival for Le Petit Tour, a grand affair paying tribute to this four-wheeled wonder that quite literally created the modern hypercar genre as we know it. Over a warm evening’s welcome at their weekend luxury retreat, they raised a toast to their collective passion for the Veyron; sharing individually unique stories and memorable drives alike while partaking in the region’s finest gastronomy.
The next day’s dawning brought them the opportunity to experience their extraordinary Veyron masterpieces through their Alsatian home ground’s heartlands with the highest of jubilant spirits, with a road tour carving through the Vosges mountains’ majestic sweeps of tarmac. This featured stunning vistas along with the kind of welcomingly open roads on which the world’s first hypercar could begin to stretch its legs. After gathering with the Bugatti Club in the grounds of Château Saint Jean, the Veyron convoy embarked on the well curated route that awaited cars & drivers alike.
With every turn through the region’s rolling hills and verdant forests, more striking scenes revealed themselves as the Veyron collective made its way through heritage settlements to the 12th century Château de Haut Barr lunch venue with its stunning view: the. Towering above the surrounding plains as the renowned ‘Eye of Alsace’, this majestic site richly steeped in culture proved ideal for celebrating the region’s historic cuisine while highlighting Bugatti’s rich local roots.
Culinary appetites duly sated, an invigorating afternoon of elegant exploration & hypercar performance then awaited the Veyron drivers. Revelling in their hypercars’ incredible capabilities while cruising across the Vosges, they steered their steeds through lushly forested winding routes to another site holding special significance to Bugatti’s history; while also being a countryside haven for refreshing relaxation.
This turned out to be the magnificent Villa René Lalique, built in 1920 by René Lalique as a standing testament to the finely precious qualities that first drew Bugatti to partner with his house of glassmaking known throughout the world. Both brands’ shared values of exceptional creativity and traditional craftsmanship and exceptional creativity have often culminated in unparalleled works elegant finesse. These include the gorgeous crystal-glass tribute to Rembrandt Bugatti’s Dancing Elephant, a manifestation of quality permanence & timeless beauty which also continually define the Veyron’s unfading allure right to the present time.
After making their return drive to the Château Saint Jean over equally spectacular country roads, a night of celebration awaited the Veyron owners right in Bugatti’s home itself. A cocktail reception within the Château preceded a luscious banquet within the verdant Orangerie; while a three-act operatic experience by the Opéra de Strasbourg perfectly complimented dinner as a tribute to Ferdinand Karl Piëch’s vision of the Veyron being equally capable of phenomenal driving performance by day, and a decadently majestic drive to the opera by nightfall. Through this evening’s melodious symphony of equal parts engineering beauty & auditory art, each Veyron owner truly basked in their car’s unique magnificence as achievements made real when the perceived limits are not just surpassed, but shattered altogether.
With the sun’s rising on the following day, the spirit of Bugatti passion flowed through Molsheim with the unmistakable sound of Bugatti engines coming to life, reverberating through the cobbled streets even as the Enthousiastes Bugatti Alsace (EBA)’s strongly anticipated Bugatti Festival commenced at the Parc des Jésuites. Here, the rich spectrum of Bugatti’s heritage was first embodied through various historic and contemporary models alike including multiple Veyrons, as a masterful display of design & engineering brilliance for visitors to enjoy taking in.
Following a private lunch in the historic town’s center, the Veyron drivers themselves partook of the festivities’ immersive joy by joining the parade through streets at the heart of Molsheim, as this celebration of all that makes Bugatti utterly iconic and unique reached its climactic crescendo.
It’s true that most of us will almost never get the chance to see a Bugatti Veyron, let alone drive or ride in one to feel everything that it’s truly capable of. Yet, this does not mean that the world’s first hypercar is irrelevant in any way; rather, it still stands as a truly emblematic inspiration to us all to live purposefully, constantly pushing, breaking and redefining even our own perceived limitations to reach new heights of success every day. Thus, it is right up there with Concorde, the SR-71 Blackbird, and Apollo 11 as one of mankind’s finest achievements; certainly deserving of every part of this celebration in the limelight.
