For 2022 the Bugatti Trust is honoured to dedicate its main exhibition to Jean Bugatti, a celebration of his life and his influence on the Bugatti Type 57. Christened Gianoberto Maria Carlo Bugatti but always known as Jean, he was the third child of Ettore and Barbara Bugatti and destined to be the future of the Bugatti company.

Copyright Noel Skeats Photography

The exhibition will offer a unique and personal insight into the life of the gifted and charismatic Jean whose exceptional talents led him to be an apprentice aged twelve and head of the Bugatti company by age 24. To add to his achievements for the Type 57 programme at the factory, he was a driving force for the Bugatti Autorail successes. The exhibition welcomes several distinct types of 57 models throughout the year, including the iconic Atlantic Type 57 S, and the majestic Stelvio Type 57.

From the Bugatti Trust film archives, the exhibition will share previously unseen film footage of Jean at home and at work frequently in company of other members of the family.

Jean Bugatti alongside the record-breaking Bugatti railcar in 1933

On loan from the Musée national de l’Automobile – Collection Schlumpf, Mulhouse (France), the Trust welcomes the remarkable personal diary of Jean Bugatti dated 1939 and previously unseen in the UK. Jean had a strong association with the United Kingdom and Prescott especially having brought the legendary Type 59/50B to the hill climb in 1939 with Wimille at the wheel. The exhibition will remain open until the end of the year.