110 Years of Bugatti in Molsheim

Secret Classics is often to be found where emotions around automobiles are found. And so it was no question that on the first weekend of September we went to Molsheim to the Grand Fête de Bugatti, which was a rendezvous of lovers and enthusiasts around the Bugatti brand. Strictly speaking, the Grand Fête wasn’t just a single event, but split into three events. Firstly, there was a meeting of the EBA (Enthousiastes Bugatti Automobile) who occupied the city center of Molsheim. At the same time, the celebrations of the 110th anniversary took place at the Chateau and on the Bugatti SAS headquarters, and finally, on Saturday afternoon, the Bugatti Grand Tour arrived at this destination, which had started a few days earlier in Milan.

In short, there was an abundance of Bugatti and you had to think carefully about where you wanted to be in order not to miss anything. While on Saturday it was still relatively quiet and leisurely both in the center and at St. Jean caslte, on Sunday it looked quite different. From 10:00 a.m. the historic Bugatti arrived in their birthplace Molsheim and were invited to a Concours d’Elegance. From almost every model type from the house Bugatti, beginning with the Type 13 up to the Type 41 Royale Armand Esders Roadster, at least one vehicle was present. The Type 57 found its way to Molsheim in its probably most famous version as the Atlantic. This was the replica vehicle from the ZeitHaus of the AutoStadt in Wolfsburg.

At the same time the Bugatti SAS area was open for non-Bugatti drivers on Sunday, at least for those who were well informed and had already secured their tickets long before. At Bugatti itself it started at 9:00 a.m. and some of those who didn’t get tickets had at least a camping chair with them and were equipped with a camera ready to shoot various cars. On the grounds of the Bugatti factory one found not only a cross section through the history of the brand, which was also well visible for the onlookers, but also a bridge into modern times. So not only some EB110 and EB110 Super Sport stood around on the area, but also the two famous racing cars from Le Mans and the American IMSA series. In the section ‘Records & Achievements’ there was another EB110 SS, which was the fastest road car on ice back in the days, next to a Veyron Super Sport World Record Edition. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the real record car, which was indicated by the registration number from Wolfsburg and missing four-point harnesses.

The main part of the parked vehicles were of course Bugatti Chiron in different versions. So several Chiron Sport but also the first customer copies of the ‘110 Ans’ special edition were around. A special eye-catcher was certainly the yellow ‘Hellbee’ called car from the USA, but also a Chiron in the style of the Veyron Pur Sang with a specially designed radiator grille managed to secure additional attention.

But the highlights were certainly the presence of the latest Bugatti creations. In addition to the Bugatti Divo, the La Voiture Noire and the Centodieci also found a special place on the area. Usually, however, it is not only the vehicles but also special coincidences that turn such an already special event into something unique. The editor of Secret Classics took the time to visit the graves of the Bugatti family at the cemetery in Molsheim-Dorlisheim. During this visit a Chiron 110 Ans drove up and the owner brought Ettore Bugatti’s first racing machine Type 1 from the year 1899 to the family’s grave. Pure goose bumps and something unique that you’ll never experience again.

But to be honest: A picture says more than a thousand words. Let the pictures speak for themselves. We hope that the emotions will come out for you as a viewer as well.

Images: Oliver Kühlein