Jean Bugatti

Jean Bugatti (1909 to 1939) was a French automotive designer and test engineer for the Bugatti company, and the eldest son of its founder Ettore Bugatti. Born in Cologne and baptised Gianoberto, he grew up near Molsheim in Alsace, where his father built the Bugatti factory, and became known in France as Jean. By the late 1920s he was an integral part of the firm. In 1932, aged twenty-three, he did most of the design for the Type 41 Royale, and he later drew four bodies for the Type 57, named Ventoux, Stelvio, Atalante and Atlantic. He also worked on independent front suspension to replace solid axles and on twin-cam engine applications. He often tested the firm's prototypes, and on 11 August 1939 he was killed near Duppigheim while testing the Type 57 tank-bodied racer that had just won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, when he swerved to avoid a cyclist and hit a tree.