One of the world’s most exclusive motoring events, Passione Engadina in St. Moritz, this year celebrated the achievements of Bugatti. A unique ‘Pavillon Bugatti’ gathered 13 rare and special icons in the heart of St. Moritz, while a collection of Bugatti cars embarked on the Julius Baer rally along mountain roads and through the alpine passes of Bernina, Umbrail and Fuorn.
Passione Engadina, now in its eleventh year, is a gathering of rare classic cars built up until 1992. In recognizing Bugatti as its featured marque, the Passione Engadina looked to Ettore Bugatti’s roots, born in Milan to a family of artists. He would later undertake a number of apprenticeships before establishing a company in his own name in France. His artistic upbringing and natural talent for engineering would lead Ettore to build some of the most beautiful and innovative cars of all time, and his vision continues to inspire Bugatti to this day. As he once said: “If comparable, it is no longer Bugatti.”
The story of Ettore’s journey, and the evolution of the Bugatti brand, was told through a special exhibition located just outside the famous Kulm Hotel in St. Moritz. The ‘Pavillon Bugatti’ displayed 13 cars, from the Type 1 Prinetti Stucchi – a motorized tricycle recognized as the first Ettore Bugatti-engineered project – to the track-only Bolide hyper sports car, scheduled for delivery to customers in 2024.
On Saturday 27th August, more than 130 classic Italian cars and Bugatti icons lined up at the Signalbahn parking in St. Moritz, ready for the start of Passione Engadina’s Julius Baer Rally, with a route twisting and turning through Switzerland and Italy, along mountain roads of extraordinary beauty and through the alpine passes of Bernina, Umbrail and Fuorn.
Among the line-up was a number of early Bugatti Grand Prix cars, including Type 35, Type 51 and Type 59. Once the dominant force on motor racing circuits throughout the world, these marvels of engineering are now enjoyed by their owners on the road, providing a pure distillation of Ettore Bugatti’s engineering genius.
One collector also brought a particularly special example of the Bugatti EB110 Super Sport; the car that held the ice driving speed record from 1995 until 2013. Even with standard road tires, the four-wheel-drive Super Sport was able to set an FIA-approved speed of 296.3km/h on a frozen lake in Finland.
Early on the morning of Sunday 28th August, Bugatti Pilote Officiel Andy Wallace headed to the nearby Samedan Airport, a spectacular runway located 1,707 m (5,602 ft) above sea level, for a dynamic presentation of the Chiron Super Sport, supported by three customer cars. It was the perfect location to unleash the full force of Chiron Super Sport’s 1,600 PS W16 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged engine.
Passione Engadina competitors then arrived at the airport for the first in a series of time trials, challenging the precision and time-keeping of the drivers. A second set of time trials then took place for the first time in St. Moritz city center, located in Dal Bagn, before the cars enthralled the public with an exhibition at the Kulm Country Club, with awards presented by a panel of expert judges.
