Automobiles Ettore Bugatti has gone through major changes throughout the years. It was first a German, then French creator of ultra-luxury high-performance cars, followed by a transformation into a veritable Phoenix bird of the automotive industry.
Founded in 1909, almost 115 years ago, in Molsheim, Alsace, by Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti, the brand sure has a quirky German-French-Italian heritage. Alas, its cars quickly became exponents of ultimate automobile beauty, and they were also feistier than many others, given their numerous race victories. However, just like with any relevant story, disaster struck on more than one occasion.
First, in 1939, when the founder’s genius son, Jean Bugatti, died at the wheel of one of his creations. Then, in 1947, when Ettore himself went to reunite with his beloved heir – but that meant there was no one left to lead the Bugatti destiny in the real world. As such, the company went extinct, for the first time, during the early 1960s.
Then, in 1987, Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. was established by Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli as a modern revival but only had the prowess to create the Bugatti EB110 before running out of time, for a second time. Luckily, that was not the end of the story, as the modern era of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. kicked off in late 1998, almost a quarter of a century ago.
That is when Volkswagen AG took over and established the new subsidiary to act as the group’s flagship ultra-exotic division. The strategy worked out (as a charm or as a major disaster, according to different opinions), so far with two main reinvention series – Veyron and Chiron – as well as numerous other special models alongside and in between them, like the 16C Galibier concept, Divo, La Voiture Noire one-off, Centodieci, and Bolide.
However, right now there is a power void at the top of Bugatti after they ended Chiron production. And while in the real world, they are diligently preparing to pass the ICE-powered baton to the electrified lifestyle by way of the last W16 hurrah called Mistral, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators may never settle with the novel Bugatti Rimac ethos, no matter what the Rimac Group and Porsche AG want. But there is no need to take our word for granted, as we have an eloquent example.
The good folks over at Car Design World (aka cardesignworld on social media) recently tipped us off to artist Taras Gorbachev and his conceptual Bugatti GT ideation sketches. The news outlet, which is mostly dedicated to virtual style, was having a series of real-world spied and new model highlights when that happened, and it is certainly a breath of fresh air from the leaked 2024 MINI Cooper S, the 2023 Genesis GV80 Coupe Concept, or the 2024 Gordon Murray T.33 Spider.
Well, the last one is cool enough, but we would still rather have this Bugatti GT, if possible. Of course, there are slim chances of that ever happening, especially since the Germany-based car designer expressly mentions that all his projects are nothing but “free-time fun.” Plus, there is no 3D here, so we know it is just wishful thinking from the get-go. With that being said, the sleek lines of the Bugatti GT vision are nothing but spot-on for what the French automaker represents now – not the stratosphere, but rather the bleeding edge of space in the automotive industry.
Of course, several questions could be asked here. One: is it an ICE-powered hero or an EV 'villain'? Well, most likely it’s still an internal combustion engine affair, at least judging by the massive front vents and the minuscule exhaust outlets cut through the carbon fiber diffusor. Two: what type of engine? The most logical choice would be a quad-turbo W16, but since it’s a digitally slammed project, it could have anything under the rear glass or below the long front hood. Three: do we give it our CGI hall pass or not? Most likely, yes!
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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