Bugatti Type 2

Though technically not the first car from the marque, the Bugatti Type 2 was the first four-wheeled automobile built by Ettore Bugatti. Exposed to early motorized mobility during an apprenticeship with bicycle builders Prinetti & Stucchi, Bugatti developed the vehicle with monetary support from one Count Gulinelli. Fit with a 3.1-liter inline-4 engine, the 1,433-pound […]

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Bugatti Type 2

1901 Bugatti Type 2

1901 Bugatti Type 2

Though technically not the first car from the marque, the Bugatti Type 2 was the first four-wheeled automobile built by Ettore Bugatti. Exposed to early motorized mobility during an apprenticeship with bicycle builders Prinetti & Stucchi, Bugatti developed the vehicle with monetary support from one Count Gulinelli. Fit with a 3.1-liter inline-4 engine, the 1,433-pound Type 2 could travel a ferocious 37 mph.

Displayed at an exhibition in 1901, the car was awarded by the Automobile Club de France (ACF) and garnered the then 20-year-old Bugatti a contract with the De Dietrich motor works in Alsace, France—where he was put in charge of production by the next year.