profiles of success
J
o e Vis c ont i has always had a passion for beautiful cars,
but his passion for repair and refinish didn’t begin until 1981. Still, one thing led indirectly to the other. He owned a ‘75 Corvette at the time, and caught the autobody bug when he brought it to a local shop. His passion awoke when he discovered what he considers to be a true art form.
In 1982, Visconti began his journey into the profession. He left his job as a technician for Canadian Airlines and enrolled at the Aviron Technical Institute of Montreal to study body repair and painting. Visconti worked privately on cars for various clients before he opened his first shop, Auto Bugatti in Dorval, Que., in 1990. From the very beginning, he has specialized in his true passion of highend cars. These are names that conjure up dreams: Jaguar, Ferrari, Aston Martin and many others. When it comes to repairing these gems, Visconti says he aims at nothing less than perfection.
“My goal is to return the vehicle to its original state. We strive for quality work,” he says. Soon after opening its doors, Auto Bugatti began gaining a reputation for repairing Ferraris. “I began working with Luigi Sports Cars, the original Ferrari dealer in Canada since the 60s,” says Visconti. “We are recognized for it and it’s something we’re proud of. We’ve been repairing Ferraris for over 20 years.” Auto Bugatti continued to grow and branched out into other brands, with accredited repair status awarded by a
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number of other manufacturers. Auto Bugatti was accredited by Jaguar in 2004, making it one of only four accredited collision repair centres in Canada. It is also the only shop in the country accredited by Aston Martin. Land Rover has recently expressed its confidence in the facility, granting accreditation for repairs to its vehicles. Work on high-end vehicles led to an early specialization in aluminum, starting with the Honda NSX in 1990. “I was introduced to aluminum in the 90s when the Honda NSX is out,” says Visconti. “I was repairing all of the NSX