The artisans at Bugatti's Sur Mesure program have once again created a work of four-wheeled art. After all, who is going to drive a one-of-one car that was created by its owner as a tribute to the storybook world he created, based on a cherished classic novel? Seeing this one on a used car lot with some scratches and dings would be almost tragic. Inspired By The Owner's Story Bugatti This car is named the W16 Mistral 'Le Retour du Jeune Prince' (The Return of the Young Prince), and it was commissioned by the author of that book. If you're not familiar, it's a sequel to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince, about an interstellar-traveling young prince.The author's concept for the book focuses on the moon, and so does the car. It starts with the copper and bronze hues of the colors created specifically for this car. The earth tones and metallic finish are meant to give the car the feeling of lunar light, to bring you a sense of richness and wonder when you look at it.After the main paintwork was complete, Bugatti's Sur Mesure detail painter went to work. The silver-colored stars along the rear of the car were all applied by hand. There are even hidden details, including an interpretation of one of the key scenes of the original novella that lurks under the wing and is revealed when the airbrake deploys.Sur Mesure has aimed for the moon with the details on other parts of the car as well. The grille has an outline in gold, the brake calipers were finished in copper with matching logos in the wheel center caps, and even the engine covers have hand-painted motifs inspired by the story. Stars Inside And Out Bugatti There are more stars in the cabin, which is finished in two shades of hand-stitched leather. Embroideries show the moon and star motifs, but the true highlight is the gear shifter.Bugatti 3D-scanned a real flower and then scaled it down to miniature. Then they recreated the rose from silver and embedded it into the gearshift. It's on the back of the shifter, so it's not even visible from most angles. But that's exactly what highlights how truly luxurious this car is. Spending loads of money on things just so you know they're there.The company tries to make it sound of more importance. It says the rose "symbolizes a sense of tenderness, delicacy and remembrance, creating a direct emotional link to the literary universe that inspired the commission.""The W16 Mistral 'Le Retour du Jeune Prince' is a beautiful example of what Sur Mesure can achieve when a customer's personal story is placed at the heart of the creative process," said Jascha Straub, Sur Mesure boss."We were able to transform a literary tribute into a beautiful narrative canvas. Time and dedication intertwine at the intersection between Haute Couture, architecture and design to deliver what is an exceptionally crafted vehicle in every detail."A long tour through the paint and trim shop doesn't change the basic Mistral underneath. It still has an8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 that makes 1,578 horsepower and propels the car to 260.98 miles per hour.It also returns just under six miles per gallon on the WLTP city cycle.09 W16-Mistral-Le-Retour-Du-Jeune-PrinceSources: Bugatti