Seldom does the term “automobile manufacturer” seem more inadequate than in the context of Bugatti.

Established in the picturesque Alsace town of Molsheim in 1909, the eponymous concern of Ettore Bugatti proceeded to manufacture some of the most exquisitely engineered and sublimely styled motor cars ever seen.

Major components—especially those employed in engine or transmission applications—typically featured an intricate guilloché (engine turned) finish, with completed chassis often sporting commensurately extravagant coachwork fashioned by the likes of Vanvooren, Gangloff, and Corsica.

Yet roadgoing models such as the Types 46, 50, 57 and Ettore’s masterpiece—the outrageous 12.7-litre Type 41 Royale—tell only part of the Bugatti story, for the company had previously been at the forefront of contemporary racing design with its Type 35 and 51 chassis.

Indeed, the former secured no less than five consecutive Targa Florio wins in the late-1920s, while Bugatti dominated the Monaco Gra...