Soon after his birth the family moved to the village of Dorlisheim near Molsheim in Alsace, Germany, where his father built the new Bugatti automobile manufacturing plant.

By the late 1920s, young Jean Bugatti was an integral part of the company and had already demonstrated his vehicle design abilities.

His body designs complemented his father's engineering skill, making Bugatti one of the greatest names in automobile manufacturing.

Additionally, Jean Bugatti designed four bodies for the Type 57, the Ventoux, Stelvio, Atalante and Atlantic models.

On 11 August 1939, while testing the Type 57 tank-bodied racer which had just won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race that year, not far from the factory on the road near the village of Duppigheim, 30-year-old Jean Bugatti was killed when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree, after avoiding a cyclist.