Romano Artioli

Romano Artioli ( born 1932 in Moglia ) is an Italian entrepreneur and former owner of the automobile manufacturer Bugatti Automobili and Lotus.

Artioli was born in Moglia, in the Italian province of Mantua, and was raised in Bolzano, where he one of the greatest Ferrari Dealer bases in the world operating in the 1980s, with whom he served in northern Italy and southern Germany. He also imported Japanese cars and had Autoexpò, 1982, the first Italian importer of Suzuki.

He had a large collection of French Bugatti cars, and was encouraged by Ferruccio Lamborghini and Paolo Stanzani, Bugatti International to set up a holding company, which took over the trademark rights to Bugatti in 1987. Artioli was CEO of Bugatti Automobili SpA, the Bugatti EB110 built the of 1991-95. In 1993, his wife Renata Kettmeir the Bozen-based company Ettore Bugatti ( Ettore Bugatti is the first name of the founder ), a luxury goods manufacturer, who also uses the Bugatti " EB " logo. Artiolis participation ended in September 1995 with a bankruptcy from Bugatti Automobili SpA, before the company was taken over by Volkswagen finally in April 1998.

In August 1993, Artioli bought Lotus from General Motors and was its CEO until he resigned in October 1996, and 80 % of Lotus to Proton and its major shareholder Yahaya Ahmad sold, so as to compensate its losses from the bankruptcy with Bugatti. Until 1998, he worked as Head Special Projects at Lotus.

His daughter Elena Artioli (born 1970 ) is a politician of the South Tyrolean People's Party and the South Tyrolean State Association of the Northern League.

The Lotus Elise was named after Elisa Artioli Romano Artiolis granddaughter.