A flippant expose of the country and people hosting this year’s Paris Olympics. Senior correspondent Mike Osborne looks under the hood of French sports cars.
Noah Lyles has proved himself the world’s fastest man after winning the Olympic 100m sprint, but what is the fastest car in France?
Europe is home to the sports car: Italy produces Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati; Germany makes BMW, Porsche and Mercedes; Britain has Aston Martin and Jaguar; while France is home to the elusive Bugatti.
Never heard of Bugatti?
That’s probably because they produce less than 100 cars a year and sell them at astounding prices.
The cheapest model is the Bugatti Veyron, which you can buy for a lazy $A2.5 million, while the most expensive model is the Bugatti La Voiture Noire at more than $A18 million. In between is the Bugatti Chiron which starts at $A5 million.
They make Fords and Holdens look pedestrian.
And many of the world’s super rich have a Bugatti – capable of 420km per hour on the Autobahn. Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, rapper JAY-Z, and Hollywood royalty Arnold Schwarzenegger and Top Gun Tom Cruise among them. Cruise even arrived at the premiere of Mission Impossible III in a Bugatti Veyron
While the French town of Molsheim is home to Bugatti, the car has strong German and Italian influences.
The company was founded in 1909 in what was then the German city of Molsheim by Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. His company went broke after World War II (when Molsheim became part of France) and collected dust until another Italian named Romano Artioli revived the brand in 1987 before selling to Germany’s Volkswagen group in 1998.
But Bugatti, now a joint venture between Volkswagen’s owner Porsche and the Croatian auto manufacturer Rimac, retains its French base where all its bespoke super cars are produced.
France also has some other well-known car brands in Renault, Peugeot and Citroen. Peugeot, founded in 1810 and regarded as the world’s oldest car company, actually owns Citroen.
While mostly known for sedans and even trucks and vans, both Peugeot and Renault have had major success in world motorsport over the decades.
Renault, which introduced the turbo engine to Formula 1 racing in 1977, has featured in elite racing for many years both in its own right as a team, but also providing engines for other competitors.
Founded in 1908 by three brothers – Louis, Marcel and Fernand – Renault is now a global car brand based just outside Paris.
Andre Citroen founded his company in 1919 and the cars found great success in motor rallying during the 1960s, and later in the 2000s by which time Peugeot had taken control (from 1976).
Like Citroen, Peugeot had positive results in rallies but also in touring and sports car racing, but failed in its short stint in Formula 1 during the 1990s.
While Bugatti had some early racing success – winning the first ever Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 and taking out the Le Mans 24 hour race twice in 1937 and 1939 – the brand has since focused on high-performance road cars to set it apart in the automobile universe.
High performance, and apparently, exceptionally high price!
NOTE – This is the latest in a series of “Frivolous facts about France for Olympic bon vivants”. You can read other Frivolous Facts stories by clicking on these topics: French Art, French Architecture, The French Language, French Wine, French Heroes, French Inventions, French Olympic History, Famous French Athletes, The French Pacific, French Cafe Culture.
Michael Osborne has been a journalist for more than four decades including 35 years with the national news agency Australian Associated Press, rising from junior reporter to Editor.
He was AAP Editor for 11 years and served four years as Head of Sport and Racing. He was also posted to London and Beijing as AAP’s Bureau Chief and Foreign Correspondent.
He has worked at six Olympics and five Commonwealth Games, covered tennis grand slams, golf majors, international cricket, rugby world cups and numerous sporting world championships. He also co-ordinated and managed AAP’s teams and coverage at three Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
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