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.
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:
Friday 21st August
Monday 31st August – Bank Holiday
Tuesday 1st September
Wednesday 16th September
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.
Slipstream STEM Racing Team from the Crypt School who performed brilliantly at the national finals this year.
Coventry University Automotive and Transport Design students during a visit to the Trust to kick off their post-war Bugatti design challenge
for 2026.
Prescott Engineering & Innovation Festival Launched as New Joint Venture Between the Bugatti Owners’ Club and The Bugatti Trust
A unique celebration of motorsport engineering, innovation and education comes to Prescott, Gloucestershire, UK, on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October 2026.
Friday 14th August 2026, The Bugatti Owners’ Club (BOC) and The Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre are delighted to announce the launch of the Prescott Engineering & Innovation Festival, on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October 2026. This new co-promoted event will combine the excitement of competitive hill climbing with a vibrant showcase of engineering excellence, technological innovation and educational engagement.
Held alongside Prescott’s traditional October hill climb meeting which will feature over 150 competition cars each day, ranging from top flight single seater racing cars to road-going daily commuters, the new festival will transform Prescott Hill Climb into a dynamic engineering showcase, offering visitors the opportunity not only to experience the thrill of motorsport but also to discover the technology, creativity and expertise that drive performance on and off the track.
Designed as a celebration of ingenuity, speed and innovation, the Prescott Engineering & Innovation Festival will bring together engineers, restorers, manufacturers, students, educators and motorsport enthusiasts for a day of competition, learning and inspiration. An essential element of this inaugural edition of the Festival will of course be Bugatti engineering.
A key feature of the event is its collaborative approach, marking a significant milestone in the partnership between the Bugatti Owners’ Club and The Bugatti Trust. The Festival has been developed as a long-term joint venture, with both organisations working together to create a distinctive event that showcases the heritage, present and future of engineering and motorsport.
Visitors can look forward to a wide range of attractions beyond the hill climb action, including:
Free-to-attend engineering and innovation talks hosted at The Bugatti Trust
An enhanced Formula Student presence showcasing the next generation of engineering talent
A dedicated Bugatti Restorers and Engineers Zone
Educational and careers-focused displays from universities, colleges and industry organisations
Participation from engineering and automotive heritage bodies
An exciting Innovation Row, featuring historic and contemporary vehicles that have redefined engineering boundaries
The Festival aims to showcase the remarkable engineering achievements behind Bugatti, hill climbing and the wider motorsport industry while creating opportunities for learning, inspiration and career exploration for visitors of all ages.
The Bugatti Owners’ Club and The Bugatti Trust share a vision of establishing the Prescott Engineering & Innovation Festival as a fixture in both the motorsport and educational calendars. Organisers intend for the event to grow year on year, developing into a flagship showcase that celebrates engineering excellence and heritage while strengthening Prescott’s reputation as one of the UK’s most distinctive and inspirational motorsport venues.
Colin Bullock, Bugatti Owners’ Club Chairman and Allan Rippon, Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre Chairman commented: “The Prescott Engineering & Innovation Festival represents an exciting new chapter for both organisations. By bringing together the sporting spectacle of hill climbing with the educational and inspirational opportunities offered by engineering innovation, we are creating an event that celebrates not only what motorsport achieves on the track but also the ingenuity and expertise behind it. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to preserving engineering heritage while inspiring future generations of engineers and innovators.”
Further details, programme announcements and exhibitor information will be released in the coming months
For further information please contact
The Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre
Angela Hucke
Curator & Education
01242 677201
Current Exhibition
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.
The Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre, Gloucestershire, is delighted to announce a new exhibition opening in June, 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.
