Pierre Veyron (1 October 1903 – 2 November 1970) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver active from 1933 through 1953.

Career

Pierre Veyron enrolled at university to study engineering. Veyron's friend, Albert Divo, convinced Veyron to take up racing and introduced Veyron to André Vagniez, an industrialist who provided financial support to Veyron. Vagniez purchased a Bugatti Type 37A that Veyron drove to his first racing victory, winning the 1930 Geneva Grand Prix. Jean Bugatti, son of Bugatti founder

Ettore Bugatti Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (15 September 1881 – 21 August 1947) was an Italian-born French automobile designer and manufacturer. He is remembered as the founder and proprietor of the automobile manufacturing company Automobiles E. Bugatti, wh ...

, hired Pierre Veyron in 1932 as a test driver and development engineer. Veyron entered races as a Bugatti company driver, winning many including the 1933 and 1934 Berlin Avus races while driving a Bugatti Type 51A. Veyron's most significant race victory was his 1939 win at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

, co-driving a Bugatti Type 57S Tank with

Jean-Pierre Wimille Jean-Pierre Wimille (26 February 1908 – 28 January 1949) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. Biography Born in Paris, France to a father who loved motor sports and was employed as t ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Veyron joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

against German occupation. For his service during the war, the Republic of France awarded him the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1945. After the war, Veyron continued racing, but his main focus was on his family and his oil-drilling technology company. Veyron died in Èze, France in 1970. Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. named the Veyron 16.4

supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

in honor of Veyron.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

1903 births 1970 deaths Bugatti people French racing drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers {{France-autoracing-bio-stub