‘Jean lived fast, designed beautifully, and left us all too soon.’
Jean Bugatti: a name that should conjure visions of genius, artistry and a tree.
Born 115 years ago, he wasn’t just Ettore’s lad tinkering in the shed — Jean redefined what a car could look like and how it should move.
His fingerprints are still all over every modern Bugatti. Sadly, fate — and a drunken cyclist — had other ideas.
On 15 January 1909, a Prodigy is Born
Jean Bugatti, son of the great Ettore, was born. From the start, he was destined to reimagine the automobile.
Between the 1920s and 1930s, there was a Design Revolution.
Jean introduced the iconic C-line swoop and the daring centre-line crease, lending Bugatti a sense of motion even at a standstill.
His passion for duotone colours and flowing forms redefined luxury on wheels — a heady mix of power, elegance, and sculpture.
Jean’s aesthetic brilliance remains the beating heart of Bugatti today; you can trace his fingerprints on the Chiron and beyond.
Jean treated cars like moving art — an ethos Bugatti still wears proudly on its very expensive sleeve.
On 11 August 1939, while testing the victorious Type 57C ‘Tank’, Jean swerved to dodge a drunken cyclist and crashed fatally into a tree.
His death devastated Ettore Bugatti and effectively closed the golden chapter of the Bugatti family dynasty.
‘Jean Bugatti proved that a machine could stir the soul — and his loss proved that genius, like life, is heartbreakingly fragile.’
