From the start of the 20th century, Alsace became known as a pioneer in France's automobile industry. The adventure began with the De Dietrich family, specializing in the production of rails and wagons. Faced by annexation of Alsace-Moselle by the German Empire, the family moved in 1879 to Lunéville, in free Lorraine, to pursue its production in France. There, in 1897, Eugène De Dietrich and his nephew, Adrien de Turckheim, teamed up with Amédée Bollée, father and son, designers of L’Obéissante, the world's first steam-driven vehicle. In 1902, the team welcomed Ettore Bugatti, a promising young Italian engineer. He was entrusted with designing modern, high-performance vehicles to be commercialized by Émile Mathis, an entrepreneur from Strasbourg. Due to a lack of profitability, De Dietrich withdrew from the market in 1905, though the other two men decided to pursue the venture together. Their collaboration soon marked the world of competitions with revolutionary vehicles such as the Bugatti Types 6 and 7. Even so, their visions diverged and they parted company. Émile Mathis began to manufacture popular cars such as the Baby and Babylette, while Ettore Bugatti created luxury supercars. He won over 2,000 races with the Bugatti Type 35 and created the legendary Bugatti Type 41 aka Royale, among the rarest and most coveted models in the history of the automobile.