Bugatti celebrates 100 years with four Centenaire specials at Villa d'Este
Although decades have separated the modern Bugatti from its heritage, the Alsatian exotic marque is one that prides itself on its racing pedigree. So to bridge that gap and celebrate its 100th anniversary, Bugatti rolled in to the Villa d'Este auto show on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy, as promised, with a quartet of special edition Veyrons.
Each of the four one-offs bares a different color to contrast with the chrome fenders, and each honors a different driver from Bugatti's glory days by taking their names. To more clearly emphasize the cars historical linkages, the four Veyrons arrived in Italy accompanied by matching historic Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix racers.
One of the most successful race cars in history, the Type 35 racked up some 2,000 race victories over the course of a decade of competition in the inter-war period. Thanks to its advanced lightweight construction and pioneering client-racer availability, the Type 35 was one of the most popular and indomitable racing machines of its day. Alongside its identically-colored historic counterpart, the Bugatti Veyron Jean-Pierre Wimille edition appeared in bright blue, the Achille Varzi in dark red, the Malcolm Campbell example in dark green and the Hermann zu Leiningen in off-white. No official word so far if these specials will be for sale or if they'll remain at Bugatti's headquarters in Molsheim, but if they do find their way to market, you can expect them to be marketed at a considerable premium.
The presentation at Villa d'Este is the second of many celebrations which Bugatti has lined up to celebrate its centenary this year, following the Bleu Centenaire edition presented at the Geneva show and ahead of Pebble Beach in August and the grand finale in Molsheim on September 12.
[Source: Bugatti]
