Bugatti has unveiled the Brouillard, a one-off creation from the French marque’s Programme Solitaire bespoke vehicles operation that is based in Berlin, Germany. Translating from French as ‘mist’, the Brouillard was named after Ettore Bugatti’s horse which was able to open its own stable door, aided by a mechanism designed by Ettore himself. Set to be publicly unveiled at Monterey Car Week, is the first product of the Solitaire division which will produce a maximum of just two cars a year, and commissions will use existing Bugatti powertrains and chassis, according to the manufacturer. The Brouillard is mechanically based on “the pinnacle of Bugatti’s W16-powered platform” that is the open-top Mistral – albeit with a fixed glass roof – which means using the quad-turbocharged W16 8.0 litre engine. This outputs 1,600 PS at 7,050 rpm and 1,600 Nm from 2,250 rpm to 7,000 rpm, driving all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. No 9,000 rpm naturally aspirated soundtrack here, then. No performance figures have been released for the Brouillard, though it can be expected to closely match the accelerative capabilities of the Mistral and the similarly-powered Divo. Given the equine connection, the Brouillard is styled after the curves of a horse’s body, and in doing so “abstains from sharp lines in favour of more reflection-based surfaces which mimic a kind of athletic muscle, like a trained horse,” said Bugatti design director Frank Heyl. Much of a car’s perception comes from its upper two-thirds, says Bugatti, and so the Brouillard has its lower third rendered in a darker shade that offers a connection to the car’s shadow, aiding in a lower, longer look while also making the wheels appear larger. The Brouillard was commissioned with a green-over-green colour scheme, and so the darker hue on its lower exterior sections are by using tinted carbon-fibre to contrast with the satin green paint finish of the upper sections. Inside, the Brouillard gets custom-woven fabrics incorporating tartan patterns, with green-tinted carbon-fibre paired with machined aluminium components. The glass roof contributes to the sense of spaciousness, while the Bugatti signature that is the central spine is visible inside and out. Embroidery features horse motifs in the door panels and seat backs, while the seats themselves have been customised to the owner’s preference. The transmission selector lever is machined from a single block of aluminium, and features a glass insert that houses a miniature, hand-sculpted figure of Brouillard, which gave the car its name. The decision to take a fixed-roof design was due in part to exclusivity; as 99 examples of the Mistral were roadsters, this presented the opportunity to make the one-off model as a coupé, Heyl told Autocar. While the Brouillard is the first car to emerge from Programme Solitaire, it isn’t the first one-off quad-turbo W16-powered Bugatti. Just as exclusive was the La Voiture Noire, a RM55 million Chiron-based creation which underwent a two-year development programme before that was officially unveiled.
