Bugatti: Memory of the son of the founder

An unmistakable silhouette and exceptional technology for its time is typical of the Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic of 1936 (center gallery). The creator of this stunning vehicle was Jean Bugatti, the eldest son of the brand's founder Ettore.

Jean Bugatti was born in Cologne on January 15, 1909, the eldest son of the brand's founder Ettore Bugatti. His full name was Gianroberto Carlo Rembrandt Ettore Bugatti, in honor of his father's Italian roots, from whom he later took the French call sign Jean.

Important name in the automotive industry
Jean became interested in cars as a child and in the business of his father, who opened his manufacturing plant in Molsheim in January 1910. Jean spent most of his time in the workshop and in the production facilities of the young company.

Soon the combined expertise of Jean and Ettore Bugatti made the company one of the most important names in the automotive industry. At the age of 27, Jean then took over the management from his father.

Passion and flair for shapes and aesthetics
In addition to automotive engineering, Jean's particular passion was design. With a keen sense of form and aesthetics, he created models that would influence the automotive industry for decades to come. He designed the first Bugatti models at the age of 21.

With the Type 41 Royale, Ettore Bugatti presented the most powerful, largest and most luxurious car in the world in 1926. Two years later, Jean Bugatti designed the six-meter-long, two-seater Type 41 Royal Roadster Esders convertible.

Monument on the Bugatti site in Molsheim
ean Bugatti died on August 11, 1939, at the age of only 30, in a car accident in Duppigheim, not far from the Bugatti factory. Today, a small monument stands in his honor at the site of the accident.

However, the legacy of Jean and his father Ettore lives on to this day at the Château St. Jean and the Bugatti site in Molsheim.

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