The Bugatti Queen: Sex, Drugs, & Racing in the Roaring 20s - Past Gas #230

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With hands blistered by a red-hot steering wheel and a head still reeling from a long night of sex and champagne, Hellé Nice won the first all-female Grand Prix at Montlhéry. The next day, Bugatti invited her to their showroom to convince Nice to compete under their name. She signed a sponsorship deal with Lucky Strike cigarettes, and with her immaculate profile, Nice bought herself a yacht. Now a household name, Hellé Nice was then invited to show her skills on the board tracks of the United States. How did the poor daughter of a postmaster become one of Frances most dazzling stars in the first place? Why did this cabaret dancer decide to become a racing driver? And how did one of Europes most beloved and promising competitors fall so quickly out of favor? Today, well find out more about the woman known as The Bugatti Queen.

0:00 Intro
0:38 The Bugatti Queen: Sex, Drugs, & Racing in the Roaring 20s
2:19 Freeze Pipe
2:45 Gatsy mindset
4:00 Host intros
5:58 Casting the movie
7:20 The Grand Tour: Sand Job
8:32 Helles Childhood
12:54 Pariss New Star
16:24 A Racing Icon
21:25 Freeze Pipe
22:27 The Rising Star
27:38 It All Falls Down
32:06 A Return To Racing?
35:59 Helle Nices Final Days
39:11 Takeaways
41:20 Listener mail / Outro

Image credit:
Martin Kraft
Bibliothèque nationale de France

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