Welcome to the Bugatti Trust
Celebrating Bugatti History
A Charitable Trust whose objectives are to preserve and make available for study the works of Ettore Bugatti.
By joining the Bugatti Trust you help:
- Preserve the heritage of the original Bugatti marque and the technical and historic archives of the factory.
- Provide an accessible working archive to the Bugatti community and enthusiasts around the world. Bookings for group visits and talks are available.
- Preserve the heritage of the artists in the Bugatti family including Rembrandt, Carlo and Lydia.
- Support an active educational STEM outreach programme working with schools, colleges and universities throughout the UK as well as inspire the next generation of engineers and designers. Initiatives include Formula Student, STEM Racing, Formula SAE, VEX Robotics, DofE, drawing classes and bespoke collaborative projects.
Founded over 35 years ago, the Bugatti Trust is a UK registered charity, home to 27,000 technical drawings, over 10,000 historic photographs and thousands of historic documents. Above, a new display created around a Benoist trophy recently purchased for our permanent collection.
Above: We continue our support of the Cotswold School’s VEX Robotics Club sponsoring their teams and helping judge during the competition days they organise welcoming teams from all over the UK. For 2026 The Trust is increasing the amount of STEM Racing teams sponsored and welcomed the JCB Academy’s STEM Racing club in January.
UWE Racing, FS Team from Bristol, one of the 7 teams we sponsor for 2026 which include TBRe from Bath, Phoenix Racing from Coventry, Cardiff Racing, UoL Racing from Leicester, GCU Racing from Glasgow and London’s UCL Racing. We are also excited to start an Automotive and Transport Design challenge with Coventry’s MA course.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION PRIOR TO VISITING
The Bugatti Trust
Prescott Hill
Gotherington
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire GL52 9RD
The Bugatti Trust is normally open Monday to Friday between 10 am and 4 pm except on Tuesday when we open at 10.30 due to staff training.
Please telephone 01242 677 201 before visiting.
The last admission to the museum is at 3.30pm.
Please note the Bugatti Trust will be closed on the following dates:
Monday 30th March
Wednesday 1st April
Monday 13th April
Tuesday 21st April
Wednesday 13th May
Friday 5th June
Friday 21st August
Tuesday 1st September
Current Exhibitions
Historic Lalique Car Mascot Exhibition
Verre et Vitesse – Glass and Speed
to open at the Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre, Prescott April – May 2026
Gloucestershire, UK – The Bugatti Trust is proud to welcome a special guest exhibition devoted to the artistry of René Lalique’s automotive mascots as often seen adorning the hoods of Bugattis and other prestigious marques of the early 20th century. Bugatti and Lalique represent the pinnacle of early 20th century artistry though expressed through very different media and the new Lalique display will be complemented by the Bugatti Trust’s exhibits dedicated to the oeuvres of Ettore, Rembrandt, Jean and Carlo Bugatti. Opening on April 2nd, ‘Verre et Vitesse’ will be on display to the visiting public until May 29th with full admission details available on www.bugatti-trust.co.uk
Expertly curated by specialist John Nemeth, the new exhibition will present a privately owned collection of 46 exquisite historic Lalique mascots including the magnificent ‘Renard’ or Fox mascot dated 1931 and the rare ‘Hibou’ or Owl from the same year. The breathtaking ‘Petite Libellule’ or small dragonfly from c. 1928 and the ‘Tête de Paon’ or peacock head in blue glass from the same period to name a few more of the rarely seen pieces will sit alongside the iconic ‘Victoire’ or Spirit of the Wind and the more familiar cockerels from the late 20s and of course the famous ‘Vitesse’ or Speed glass mascot from ca. 1929. John Nemeth, who curated the collection on behalf of the owner, said “this is a unique opportunity to view an example of not only every model of car mascot or hood ornament produced by René Lalique in the 1920s and 30s but every variant of every model. Assembling and exhibiting a collection of R. Lalique car mascots on this scale has not been done before in the UK and likely not in the world. The heart of this collection (some 30 models) was previously shown at The Musée Lalique in Alsace as part of their ‘Lalique and the Art of Travel’ exhibition in 2016. This exhibition at The Bugatti Trusts adds a further 16 model types to fully showcase the catalogued works of René Lalique.”
For more information and images, please contact: Angela Hucke, Curator, The Bugatti Trust, Tel.: (44) 1242 677 201, angela@bugatti-trust.co.uk For more information regarding the works and car mascot designs of René Lalique please visit www.rlaliquemascots.com
From Race to Road: The Story of the Bugatti Type 30
A new exhibition highlighting the pivotal role of the Bugatti Type 30 in the evolution of Bugatti road and racing cars, the factory, and engineering innovation
Early Bugatti Type 30 outside the Paris Showroom 116 Avenue de Champs Elysées. Photo Courtesy The Bugatti Trust Archive.
March 2026: The Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre, Gloucestershire, is delighted to announce a new exhibition opening at the end of May, dedicated to exploring the importance of the Bugatti Type 30 in the development of the Bugatti marque and factory.
As Bugatti’s first production eight-cylinder model, introduced in 1922, the Type 30 marked a step change in performance, engineering sophistication and design, representing a vital link between the early four-cylinder models and the later Grand Prix legends such as the Type 35. Through carefully selected archive material including historic documents and photographs, original factory film footage and technical drawings from the Trust’s extensive collection, the exhibition will show how the Type 30’s advanced inline eight-engine, four-wheel braking and the modified chassis design helped shape Bugatti’s approach to both road and competition cars.
Visitors will discover how the Type 30 underpinned later developments at the
Molsheim factory and how its engineering solutions influenced some of the most successful racing Bugattis of the 1920s.
The Bugatti Trust’s established STEM outreach work which already includes initiatives such as Formula Student, STEM Racing and VEX Robotics as well as collaborative design challenges, will be complemented by new learning resources developed specifically around the Type 30 exhibition.
'Bugatti and The Targa Florio' at The Bugatti Trust May 2025 to April 2026
THE CURRENT EXHIBITION looks at the historic presence and victorious dominance of Bugatti racing cars from 1925 to 1929 competing in this iconic road race with a spotlight on Elisabeth Junek, the legendary ‘queen of the racing wheel’. Later in the year this will be followed by a special feature about aviator and racing driver Meo Costantini. Close friend of Ettore Bugatti and head of the racing team, he brought the factory its first Targa Florio victory on May 3rd, 1925, then again in 1926. The exhibition includes cars, photographs, archive documents, artefacts and 15 minutes of original historic film footage bringing the success story of Bugatti at this most gruelling of road races to life. During special weekend open days, the Bugatti Trust team runs regular illustrated PowerPoint presentations with a deeper dive into the race. Please don’t hesitate to contact info@bugatti-trust if you are interested in organizing a group or corporate visit to the museum.
