Welcome to the Bugatti Trust
The Bugatti Trust is an independent Charitable Trust whose objectives are to preserve and make available for study the works of Ettore Bugatti.
The Bugatti Trust is a UK registered charity home to 27,000 technical drawings, over 10,000 historic photographs and thousands of historic documents.
Our aim is to promote the works of Ettore Bugatti and to raise awareness of the importance of aesthetics and integrated design in engineering by his example.
The Bugatti Trust was formed in 1987 by the late Hugh Conway supported by a small group of Bugatti enthusiasts.
Hugh Conway was an acknowledged expert on Bugatti history and well known internationally through his books, other writings and personal contacts. His remarkable collection of period photographs, technical drawings, letters and articles form the basis of the Bugatti Trust archive which we continue to expand and develop.
Access to our archive was significantly enhanced in 1990 through the opening of our Prescott Visitor Centre by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. Since then we have been able to put on display many examples of Ettore Bugatti’s work.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION PRIOR TO VISITING
The Bugatti Trust
Prescott Hill
Gotherington
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire GL52 9RD
The Bugatti Trust is normally open Monday to Thursday 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.
The Bugatti Trust will be closed on the following dates due to private visits, essential site maintenance & public holidays
Monday 4th November
Wednesday 6th November
Thursday 7th November
Wednesday 4th December (closed morning only)
Monday 13th January (closed from 12 noon)
Christmas Holiday Closures
The Bugatti Trust will be closed to visitors with effect from Monday 23rd December 2024 until Monday 6th January 2025.
The Trustees and staff would like to take this opportunity to thank every member and ‘friend’ of the Trust for their valued support during 2024.
Celebrating 100 years of the Grand Prix Bugatti Lyon, August 3rd, 1924
A special exhibition at The Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre
Part of the Grands Prix de l’A.C.F., the Grand Prix d’Europe, Lyon. 3 August 1924. Car line up: No. 7: Jean Chassagne, No. 13: Ernest Friderich, No. 18: Pierre de Vizcaya, No. 21: Leonica Garnier, No. 22: Meo Costantini.
Exhibition now open
The Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre, Prescott, England, is delighted to announce that its 2024 exhibition is dedicated to the celebration of the centenary of the birth of the Grand Prix Bugatti.
The exhibition focuses on the Bugatti Type 35 as first presented by Ettore Bugatti to the international motoring community in August 1924 for the Grands Prix de l’Automobile Club de France weekend held in Lyon, France.
From The Bugatti Trust archive, the exhibition includes the earliest original sketch as drawn by Ettore Bugatti himself when he wrote to racing drivers Vincenc “Čeněk” Junek and his wife Elizabeth Junek presenting his concept of the Type 35 racing Bugatti. Gifted by Elizabeth Junek to The Bugatti Trust founder Hugh G. Conway in 1968, it is the most important document of the ‘origin story’ of this famous model.
The archive also includes what is believed to be the first blueprint for the Bugatti Type 35 carrosserie and some original film footage from the actual Lyon race which will be screened at the Trust.
Car No. 18 Pierre de Vizcaya
Car No. 13 : Ernest Friderich
All images from The Bugatti Trust Archive
Join The Bugatti Trust
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.
- 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 and inspire the next generation of engineers and designers. Initiatives supported include FS Formula Student, F1 in Schools, Formula SAE, VEX Robotics, DofE and bespoke collaborative projects.