Direct automobile links of econic marques forever gone ? Messier-Bugatti-Dowty & Hispano-Suiza become Safran.
The French aerospace giant Safran recently published a press-release explaining that Hispano-Suiza is now renamed Safran Transmission Systems and Messier-Bugatti-Dowty now is Safran Landing Systems. Possibly not everybody realises, but the names Bugatti and Hispano-Suiza were still alive as suppliers of specialists aviation components. The direct links with the iconic names of Bugatti and Hispano-Suiza have now disappeared.
Of course the Bugatti name is still very much alive today, as part of Volkswagen group, but the modern supercar has no bloodline with the original company. After the death of Ettore Bugatti in 1947 the company went in decline and the original car manufacturing business of Bugatti ceased in 1952, but the production of aircraft components continued. In 1963, the Bugatti company was sold to Hispano-Suiza, which on its turn was bought by Snecma in 1968, who also acquired Messier and so the Messier-Bugatti branch was formed in 1977.
Since WWI I, Hispano-Suiza had, next to its exotic car production, a long history of aircraft engine manufacture, and when after WW II the French branch's car division was stopped, it went on to build aircraft landing gear and Rolls-Royce jet engines under licence. It was then integrated in the Snecma group who later merged with Sagem into Safran. The original Spanish company had faded already long before...It is sad news indeed when these old names are erased by our brave new world. However, the cars live on! The names will not be forgotten by those who care and who are passionate about important cars and their history.
Photos:
1913 Vauxhall 'Viper' special with V-8 Hispano-Suiza aircraft engine built under licence by Wright Bros in 1918. 12 litre V-8, 300hp, 700 ft-lb. 15 gallons fuel per hour.
1920 6 cyl Hispano-Suiza
1935 Bugatti
Words and pictures: Nick Jonckheere