No one would disagree if the cars built by Ettore Bugatti were compared to art. They were masterpieces of automotive history and are among the icons of the pre-war era. The Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic and, of course, the Bugatti Type 35 racing car are unforgettable. It goes without saying that people like to write books about cars like these.
"Art of Bugatti" has just been published, with René Staud and "auto motor und sport" veteran Bernd Ostmann as authors. They have divided the Bugatti story into three eras, namely the period from 1909 to 1963, the Artioli phase with the EB110 (1987 to 1995) and the modern era.
Of course, there is still no mention of the rumors that Bugatti is to be sold by Volkswagen to Rimac, which are currently circulating.
Three differently weighted eras
Although just over 90 pages of the total of 280 pages are devoted to the first era, this section is the least balanced. Only some of the vehicle types built are introduced, even important models such as the Type 101 are almost completely missing. The selection of pictures is not convincing in all areas and we would have liked to see more depth on the racing cars, but the focus was probably more on the road models.
However, it is nice that not only the famous and well-known models were given texts and pictures, but also the less popular models 64 and 252.
Nevertheless, the second part with the history of the EB110 (and the EB112), which Ostmann himself experienced, is more exciting. A lot of information is presented here on unfortunately very few pages.
Epoch III, with the Bugatti prototypes and production models created under the aegis of VW, is then given a really large amount of space. Well over half of the book is dedicated to the last 20 years of Bugatti. Anyone who is enthusiastic about the PS high-flyers of the modern era will certainly not see this as a negative point. This section also contains the best photos and, of course, lots of insider knowledge.
Driving impressions as an essential part
A relatively important part of the Bugatti book by Staud/Ostmann is taken up by driving impressions, which give the reader an understanding of both the pre-war and post-war models. Unfortunately, these are missing for the super sports car of the 1990s, the EB110, a gap that could certainly have been easily filled.
Instead, you can take a seat in the passenger seat, so to speak, of the Type 35, 51, 57, 64, 252 and even the Type 57 SC Atlantic (driven on the occasion of the Klausenrennen Memorial), a pleasure that is hardly ever granted to anyone else.
More coffee table than reference book
Anyone who likes Bugatti cars, especially the new models of the current millennium, and is not particularly interested in technical details, production figures, motorsport results or motor show presentations of special body series, will find the new book from Motorbuch Verlag an entertaining read. However, anyone with a specific interest in the earlier generations of cars from Alsace (or Italy) will probably want to look further afield or supplement it with additional books. And the editor (or layout designer?) should also be told that the coachbuilder D'Ieteren (page 39) is spelled with a capital "i" (like Ida) and not with an "l" like Lukas. But something like that can slip through during the final check, precisely because it is printed so large.
Another disadvantage of the concept is that the book was published in two languages, which of course halves the amount of text and pushes the work in the direction of a "coffee table". But it should be said that leafing through it is fun, after all, the beautiful cars from Molsheim and Co are also a pleasure to look at in pictures and are close to automotive art.
Bibliographical information
- Title: Art of Bugatti
- Authors: René Staud (picture) / Bernd Ostmann (text)
- Languages: German/English
- Publisher: Motorbuch Verlag
- Edition: 1st edition, August 2020
- Format: Hardcover with dust jacket, 240 x 305 mm
- Scope: 280 pages, 300 pictures
- ISBN: 978-3-613-04264-3
- Price: EUR 79.00
- Buy/order: Online at amazon.de, online at Motorbuch Verlag or in relevant bookstores
