Founding a car company in any era is no mean feat. At the turn of the 20th Century, when Ettore Bugatti built his first car, the Type 2, it was a daunting task that required tremendous determination and considerable imagination.

Men with such qualities tend to be autocratic, with more often than not, a cantankerous streak. Thus, the one thing you can be assured of with a car company named after its founder is high drama.

Drama is certainly something the Bugatti brand has been associated with over the years. Ettore Bugatti made some of the most interesting cars the world has ever seen but, unlike Enzo Ferrari, that other inspired automotive genius from a later era whose life's work revolved around sports and racing cars, Bugatti managed to create imposing limousines as well as all-conquering racing machines.

Enzo Ferrari's roots were in machine tools, his father's family business. The art of the automobile came later. For Ettore Bugatti however, art and haute couture were always part and parcel of his lifestyle and, through his brother, the Bugatti name was attached to art and fine furniture. Bugatti's headquarters and home, the elegant Chateau Saint Jean near Molsheim, in France, speaks for itself.