From June 20-26, 2016, Montreux was for once not in the light of music, but in the smoke of the Alsatian car brand Bugatti. The song "Smoke on the water" by the legendary rock band "Deep Purple", which was written in Montreux, was fully honored with lightly smoking exhaust pipes and the rich scent of castor oil.
90 cars from 15 countries
The Bugatti scene from all over the world came to Montreux last week. Around 90 cars from 15 countries were accommodated at the "Fairmont le Montreux Palace" hotel. The two teams from New Zealand had the longest journey. Even a team from Russia found its way to Lake Geneva. Of course, most of the vehicles came to Montreux on trailers, but some of the more intrepid drivers also arrived on their own wheels.
Well-known and lesser-known vehicles
Bugatti is also known to "non-experts" primarily because of three vehicle types: First and foremost the Type 35, the most successful racing car of the 1920s. The Type 57, the coupé known as the "Atlantic", is one of the most expensive and most beautiful cars in the world. And finally, probably the longest, but certainly the most feudal car of its time, the "Bugatti Royale", also known as the Type 41.
The fact that not all Bugattis exhibit the visual perfection of these three vehicles was immediately apparent to onlookers at the meeting on Lake Geneva. The front view of the vehicles, which were built over several decades, looks surprisingly uniform due to the characteristic radiator grille, but the rear views show major differences.
As Ettore Bugatti often only supplied the chassis and drive unit to external coachbuilders, some very special and unusual vehicles were created as a result.
THE Bugatti
The Type 35B is and remains the Bugatti par excellence. The well-designed teardrop shape from a bird's eye view, a perfect side view and the wide aluminum spoke wheels are a work of art in themselves.
The fleet of cars was certainly diverse, ranging from racing cars to concours cars. It was interesting to note that not a single one of the coveted Type 35s was in concours condition. All of them were patinated and showed traces of their long or even short life, because hardly anyone washed their car after the first totally rainy day.
The first stage through the Vallée de Joux left real battle scars on the beautiful cars. Thank goodness the bad weather, which the crews stoically defied in the open car, didn't last, and the remaining stages of the day took place in bright sunshine and great heat.
The temperatures were hard on man and machine. Fortunately, in addition to additional fans to protect the equipment, some of the participants had fixed caps to prevent sunstroke.
Rider natures
The "International Rencontre Bugatti" is not for people who like to sit around and show off their cars. This is a driving event. Although many of the participants were already of an age that was not substantially different from that of their cars, they stepped on the gas and braved the pitfalls of modern traffic. The evening traffic in Montreux was particularly stressful for some.
Repairs were also carried out, with a dedicated maintenance service always on hand, but the cars often endured the ordeals better than the crews.
Of course, we also feasted, in the evening at the gala dinner, at lunchtime with cheese and Gruyère heavy cream.
Beautiful views
Of course, the region of western Switzerland showed itself from its very best side and the Bugattisti were more than rewarded for their exertions. The organizers showed the foreign members many sights of French-speaking Switzerland.
In addition to the fantastic region, which was driven through with all the Bugattis, there were stops at the Jaeger-le-Coultre watch manufacturer, the Etivaz cheese dairy, the amphitheater in Avenches, the private car collection of C.G. Renaud, the Grande Dixence dam and, of course, Chillon Castle.
With humor
Slogan of the week on the windshield of a Type 35: "Life`s too short to drive scrappy cars and to kiss ugly chicks". Of course, this has to be considered subjectively in detail.
The international Bugatti meeting takes place in a different country every year, so every seven years it`s Switzerland`s turn. The strapping ladies and gentlemen in their mostly blue vehicles also attract a lot of attention, but this cannot be compared with the public interest of a Mille Miglia, perhaps also because the organizers are so discreet.
Editor's note
We normally attach great importance to the correct and complete labeling of the vehicle data in our photos. And with these Bugatti rarities in particular, the information on the type, coachbuilder and year would have been especially valuable.
However, the organizer was unable to provide us with a complete list of this information, allegedly for data protection reasons. Of course, this does no service to the fan community and it is more than annoying for us, as we have put a considerable amount of effort into the recordings.
