This year's Bugatti Festival was held in Molsheim, Alsace, in the fall in memory of the car manufacturer Ettore Bugatti, who was born in Milan in 1881, and his legendary vehicles. Martin Waltz, head of the Volante classic car museum in Kirchzarten near Freiburg in southern Germany, invited the Bugatti participants to take a trip on their own wheels to the Black Forest and make a stop at his museum.
For obvious reasons, there were of course many German Bugatti owners among the participants, but there were also a few Swiss vehicles among the colorful starting field. French and Dutch license plates were also spotted.
Pit stop in Kirchzarten
In the small Black Forest town of Kirchzarten, around 60 kilometers north of Basel, more than 40 classic cars caused a stir in front of the classic car museum. Particularly impressive for the spectators were some Bugatti Type 35s from the 1920s. The French car manufacturer established its legendary reputation with these open-top racing and road sports cars. The vehicle type was also the most successful racing car of its era.
In Kirchzarten, visitors were able to marvel at vehicles that had been restored to almost new condition. Some untouched examples of the Type 35 also showed off their impressive patina. These almost unrestored examples allowed spectators to experience a journey back in time to a bygone automotive era. Early examples of the Type 13 Brescia and later Type 37 A models, as well as coupés and convertibles from the 43, 44 and 57 series, were also on display.
Even a Bugatti youngtimer of the type EB 110 took part. However, this super sports car with over 500 hp and four turbochargers was built in Italy in the 1990s.
Special bodywork from Vanvooren
A rare Bugatti with special Vanvooren bodywork was also of particular interest to Volante Museum Director Martin Waltz. Unlike other luxury car manufacturers of the time, Bugatti also offered four types of body designed in-house for its own chassis in the 1930s. The Bugatti sports cabriolet with Vanvooren bodywork on display in Kirchzarten is therefore an absolutely rare example.
Waltz is an expert on the vehicles of the Parisian luxury coachbuilder Vanvooren and houses the world's largest collection of these unique vehicles in his Volante Museum. Vanvooren, a former coachbuilder, fitted luxury cars from Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Delage, Rolls-Royce and Bentley with his custom-made bodies, particularly in the 1930s.
The participants of the international Bugatti Festival had previously commemorated the company founder, who died in 1947, in Molsheim (in nearby Alsace). Ettore Bugatti was regarded as an absolute all-rounder: as is well known, he not only designed cars, but also produced luxury trains for the French railroads and racing boats in his factory.
