A Christmas between tradition and vision

“Bugatti has deep roots in Alsace, a historic relationship that we not only want to strengthen but also to expand,” says the President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., Stephan Winkelmann. Both Bugatti and the Strasbourg Christmas market are real products of the region, which are popular far beyond our national frontiers. It was therefore only logical that we should show our presence here.”

“For the first time the visitors of Strasbourg, the capital of Christmas, will be able to admire a Bugatti on our Christmas market. I rejoice at the fact that excellence is being honoured here,” says Roland Ries, Mayor of Strasbourg. “Next year, Bugatti is celebrating its 110^th anniversary, while our Christmas market is heading into its 450^th year. These two brands have both successfully combined tradition with modernity.”

There is no short cut to tradition

Present-day Christmas markets are the descendants of late mediaeval markets that people visited to stock up with meat and other goods for the winter at the beginning of the cold season. From the 14^th century onwards, craftsmen such as toymakers, basket weavers and confectioners were allowed to set up stalls at the market. They offered presents for children beside stalls with delicacies such as roast chestnuts, nuts and almonds, which were already available then. The world’s oldest Christmas market is generally considered to be the Christmas market on the Vienna Rathausplatz. This goes back to the December market which Albert I held for the first time in 1296. The Strasbourg “Christkindelsmärik“ on Place Broglie is seen as France’s oldest Christmas market and has received many accolades as the world’s most beautiful Christmas market over the years.

Bugatti can also look back on a long tradition. Among the French carmakers, only Peugeot was established earlier. Just before the start of the winter in 1909, Ettore Bugatti moved near to Strasbourg with his family; they settled in Molsheim and he established his own company. The headquarters of France’s only super sports car producer are still located in Molsheim, where the Chiron, the world’s highest-performance production car, is being made in a strictly limited series of 500 vehicles at the Bugatti Atelier.

Heading for the future with a clear vision

its size and its location at the heart of Europe’s capital make the Strasbourg Christmas market not only the oldest but also the most famous Christmas market in France and far beyond the national borders. It is not only that efforts are made every year to improve and modernize the Christmas market in all areas, without sacrificing a sense of tradition. Within the framework of the campaign “Strasbourg Capitale de Noël“, the Strasbourg Christmas market has also been exported to Tokyo, Moscow, Beijing, Taipei and Seoul since 2009, giving people there an opportunity to experience something of the Alsatian Christmas with this innovative concept.

Innovation is also a top priority in the Bugatti design brief. It is the only way of continually exceeding and redefining your own limits. This was also the mission of Stephan Winkelmann when he took up office as the President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. at the beginning of the year. Less than eight months later, at Pebble Beach, he proudly presented the first project completed under his leadership, the Bugatti Divo² – at a price of €5 million, the limited series of 40 units was already sold out when the model was presented. However, Bugatti customers can still select a Chiron, in the variants Chiron or Chiron Sport, for their Christmas present. And Bugatti enthusiasts can admire the Chiron at the Strasbourg Christmas market on Place des Tripiers from 23 November to 28 December.