From Horsepower to AI: How the Spirit of Bugatti Inspires a New Generation of Innovators in Ferrara
There is a certain magic that lingers in the air of Ferrara. It’s a city of Renaissance walls and quiet canals, but beneath the cobblestones runs a current of audacious innovation—a history of believing in nascent genius. Here, at the Smiling International School, my colleague Mr. Arun and I often feel like we are tapping into that very current. In our "Robotics and Behaviour" club, a group of bright, ambitious students are not just learning about the future; they are building it, one line of code and one 3D-printed chassis at a time. They are prototyping their own self-driving vehicles.
What makes this project truly profound is not just the advanced technology they are grappling with, but the ghost of innovation that watches over them. For it was here, in this very city, in this same building almost exactly 125 years ago, that a young, visionary mechanic received the backing that would change the world of automobiles forever. His name was Ettore Bugatti.
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| Bugatti Gullinelli Prototype 2, 1901 |
A Legacy Forged in a Ferrara Stable
The turn of the 20th century was a time of immense technological ferment in Italy. The very concept of the internal combustion engine, while revolutionary, was not entirely new to the country. In fact, an Italian professor from the University of Padua, the Verona-native Eugenio Bernardi, had already patented his first petrol-fueled engine in 1882.¹ Petrol or gas fuelled engines still power 85% of cars. An invention, however, is one thing; a brilliantly engineered, commercially viable automobile is another. This is where the story pivots to Ferrara and the unique genius of Ettore Bugatti.
