Thursday 15th September 1881

Born on this day, Ettore Bugatti, designer and builder of the legendary cars which bear his name. Although born in Italy, Bugatti established his eponymous automobile company, Automobiles E. Bugatti, in 1909 in the then German town of Molsheim in the Alsace region of what is now France. Automobiles E. Bugatti was known for some of the fastest, most luxurious, and technologically advanced road cars of its day. Exceptional engineering led to success in early Grand Prix motor racing, a Bugatti being driven to victory in the first Monaco Grand Prix. Bugatti’s concept of customer relations was somewhat eccentric. To a Bugatti owner who complained that his car was difficult to start on cold mornings, he is said to have retorted, “Sir! If you can afford a Type 35, you can surely afford a heated garage