When you have $5 million to spend on a new car, you're treated like royalty at every stage of the process.
The lucky customers who have purchased the track-only Bugatti Bolide hypercar were personally invited to the company's home in Molsheim to add bespoke touches to their cars.
While the rest of us configure our cars by fiddling with an online configurator that doesn't always accurately depict the final product, these Bugatti customers were treated to a far more personal, exclusive, and hands-on experience at the house of Bugatti.
Here, they drew inspiration from the French automaker's rich racing history, including an on-road experience with the legendary Type 35. Following this, customers had the opportunity to add special touches to their cars and choose their favored materials, colors, and seats. This is all preparation for when production begins next year and follows the Bolide's first public appearance at Le Mans last month.
“It is always a great pleasure for us to welcome customers here in Molsheim, the home of Bugatti,” said Hendrik Malinowski, Managing Director of Bugatti Automobiles. “Every Bugatti hyper sports car is special, but the Bolide is an era-defining moment. The one and only modern track car powered by our legendary W16 engine. For our customers, we curated a unique journey that pays homage to Bolide's vision and its many inspirations in our legendary racing heritage.”
When you shell out close to $5 million for a new car that's limited to just 40 units, that buys you a first-class personalization experience too. It starts by getting acquainted with the Type 35 that notched over 2,000 racing victories between 1924 and 1930, and guests then returned to the Chateau to revisit the successes of models like the Type 57G 'Tank' and Type 59/50B III race car developed under Ettore Bugatti himself.
Suitably inspired by the brand's rich past, customers then began perfectly honing their cars with Jascha Straub, Sales and Design Executive.
Not every customer arrives knowing what they want, so Straub guided the group through historic color combinations and past motorsport liveries as inspiration. This led to one customer choosing two-tone Bugatti Blue paint with a dark blue split in homage to the Le Mans Type 57 G Tank.
Once the exterior design was decided, guests could add personalized touches to the interior. This process includes a first seat-fitting, which Bugatti considers essential in a car that can create up to 2.5G of lateral force. A choice between Alcantara and suede or more opulent leather, as well as selecting colors such as French Racing Blue or whatever else the customer wanted, completed this meticulous process.
Bugatti completed this motorsport-inspired experiential journey for guests with a hot lap of the Bolide using an ultra-advanced simulator. Using this simulator, these future Bolide owners got the first taste of what the car will be like to drive, with the wheel arches virtually stretched out ahead of them as they took on the famous Monza circuit or the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.
And, while the rest of us press save on our online configurators and impersonally submit a PDF document to our chosen brand for our new car, Bolide customers were whisked out of Molsheim, ready to start receiving their bespoke exotics when production begins in 2024.
Bugatti plays in a different league, and this personalization journey is as extravagant as expected for a 1,577-horsepower W16 hypercar that can hit over 300 mph.
Keyword: Forget Configurators: Bugatti Bolide Customers Visit France To Personally Configure Their Cars