In the early 1900s, coachbuilt cars were the epitome of luxury. Buyers could customize the body style, materials and styling to fit their fancy as long as they had the budget. In today's world, there has been a recent return to coachbuilding, pushing the boundaries of the possible thanks to modern powertrains and digitization. Perhaps the most famous examples of modern coachbuilding come from Rolls-Royce. The British automaker debuted five one-offs in the last decade: Sweptail, Boat Tail, La Rose Noire Droptail, Amethyst Droptail and Arcadia Droptail. They are rumored to have cost tens of millions of dollars each. Bugatti showed the result of its first coachbuilt model of its modern era at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Brouillard has been created as part of the new Programme Solitaire. "It's now the start of a new program, which we decided to do because we have so many enthusiast customers who want to have something unique," Christophe Piochon, president of Bugatti, told Newsweek. "It started also a few years ago with La Voitre Noire, it was the first real one-off, and we decided to kick off the Solitaire program because our customers were always requesting more exclusivity, more uniqueness." Dutch entrepreneur and Bugatti collector Michel Perridon is Brouillard's owner. Piochon said that Perridon asked him in 2022 if a one-off was possible. "A customer asked me in 2022, during one festival in Molsheim, [France], where all Bugattis of the world are coming together: 'I want to do this exclusive project, only one car and the name should be Brouillard. Why Brouillard? Because, you know, it's the favorite horse of Ettore [Bugatti, founder of the automaker].' At that time, I was not able to do that because we didn't decide at that point the production of the Mistral and based on the Mistral, which we define now, we did this car, and it's ready, really the kick off of the Solitaire program," Piochon said. Perridon isn't the only customer who has asked for a more highly customized Bugatti. "This is really the pinnacle. And, it also requests a lot of investment from our side, but that's such a nice partnership and experience and journey for the customer to work with us, with the designer, with our historical [team] to bring all things together," Piochon said. "We are using the past to build the future. Yes, and this is authentic. This is also what the people want to have, that the car stays and your project stays authentic to the brands," he continued. It will take two years to complete Brouillard, from conception to delivery. "We cannot do it in shorter than two years between the presentation and the delivery. We started last year with him, and we'll deliver the car next year," Piochon said. He said: "We are planning to go further with the Solitaire Programme. I would say two projects per year. And, always bring more exclusivity." Programme Solitaire isn't the only thing Bugatti has in the works, and it's not the complete focus of the company moving forward. "We will start the production of the Tourbillon end of 2026 and beginning of 2027, we'll have the first deliveries. So that will be the base, but then we'll always have such unique projects on top of that. Let's see what the future will bring," he said.Related ArticlesAston Martin Pursuing Evolution and Revolution With Vehicle DesignLamborghini CEO Doesn't Regret Reviving Countach, But Won't Do It AgainNissan's New Leaf EV Comes With a Low Price Tag But a Steep CostMcLaren Relying on Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri to Help It Sell Cars
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