Achim Anscheidt's 19-year tenure at Bugatti brought us some of the most spectacular cars ever made.
After 19 years at Bugatti, Director of Design Achim Anscheidt has officially retired, but his tenure will be remembered for years to come for cementing the French automaker's models as design and style icons, not just supersonic hypercars.
Anscheidt was a motorcycle stunt acrobat in his younger years and grew up immersed in motorsport before beginning a junior designer role at Porsche Design Weissach. He later led the Volkswagen Group's design operations before becoming Design Director at Bugatti in 2004.
This was a crucial stage at which to join Bugatti, which was about to undergo a renaissance with the launch of the record-breaking Veyron. At this point, the design was almost completely finalized, so Anscheidt had the enormous task of not only building upon the Veyron's now-iconic form with numerous constraints but also introducing new models that evoked the same arresting aura.
As we look back on Anscheidt's time at Bugatti, we can safely say he was up to the task. Here are the memorable Bugattis that he was either directly involved in bringing to life or whose designs he oversaw.
The Veyrons
The Veyron established Bugatti's design DNA for years to come with its horseshoe grille, duotone color split, and the strong 'Bugatti Line' that distinguishes the side profile. The even more powerful Veyron 16.4 Super Sport arrived in 2010 and became the fastest production car in the world at the time, and its design was altered to set it apart while also meeting its lofty top speed goals. It had an elongated shape and two NACA ducts in the roof; these helped to keep the engine cool in place of the normal Veyron's hood scoops. Orange accents, a new front fascia, and twin center exhaust tips contributed to its imposing appearance.
A targa-top version of the Veyron, the Grand Sport, added even more drama to the shape and included a Vitesse variant with 1,184 horsepower. Perhaps one of the most spectacular versions of the Grand Sport was the one-of-one L'Or Blanc with a bodyshell and interior using porcelain elements, but you can read more about that in the section below on rarities and one-offs, which also includes the Veyron Edition Hermes and Veyron Pur Sang.
“The Veyron, the Chiron and the successor to the Chiron all share this one thing: they are not racecars for the road; they are the pinnacle of Grand Tourisme development,” said Anscheidt. “They are an intriguing mixture of a nimble Type 35, the luxury of the Type 41 Royale, and the peerless elegance of the Type 57 SC Atlantic.”
Anscheidt's ability to build upon the original Veyron's design (penned by Jozef Kaban) with a series of drop-tops, one-offs, and special editions was key to the hypercar enjoying a decade-long production run. Even at the end of its lifecycle, it still astonished onlookers wherever it went.
The Chirons
Perhaps Anscheidt's greatest achievement has been the Chiron. After all, how does one even begin to replace the legendary Veyron? Once again, he stuck to tradition by retaining key design elements like the horseshoe grille, but there are more modern touches like the quad LED headlights on each side. The C-shaped cowls on each flank became more pronounced than ever, and the rear end was completely different with its full-width LED lighting and large vents accompanied by intricate grilles. Inside, the Chiron's craftsmanship and sense of occasion were elegantly elevated above that of the Veyron, and the center console gained a gorgeous stacked control layout.
As with the Veyron, there were many variants and special editions of the Chiron, and Anscheidt pushed hard to revive the brand's coachbuilding tradition, bringing customers highly individualized models.
The Super Sport 300+ that was presented in 2019 was claimed to reach over 300 mph, and like the record-breaking Veyron that preceded it, this one had orange stripes on its longtail body, extended over the normal Chiron's derriere by almost 10 inches. The 300+ was packing heat. This helped to lower aerodynamic stall and thus contributed to the car's ability to reach higher speeds. Exposed carbon fiber and redesigned exhausts all add up to a truly breathtaking appearance. The Super Sport also has a longer body but retains the more luxurious interior of the normal Chiron.
The Chiron Pur Sport, unlike the Super Sport twins, was designed to be more agile with less focus on top speed. Anscheidt and his team came up with another hit, as the car's larger intakes, new vents above the wheels, and a massive rear wing were incorporated to meet the engineering team's goals. It's the angriest-looking Bug of all and another design masterpiece. One that can drift, too.
The Rarities And One-Offs
Particularly admirable about Anscheidt's time at Bugatti was the amount of time put into creating remarkably unique one-offs and extremely limited models out of one overall design, all of which have become design superstars.
This goes back to the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport L'Or Blanc, a one-of-one Grand Sport targa that was a collaboration between the automaker and Berlin's Royal Porcelain Factory. This was the first time porcelain was used in a car's interior and bodyshell, an experimental exercise that the risk-taking Ettore Bugatti would've been proud of.
“Achim's understanding of the Bugatti identity, handed down from our founder Ettore and in the beautiful designs of his son Jean, is unrivaled,” said Mate Rimac, Bugatti-Rimac CEO. In 2021, Rimac asked Anscheidt to extend his time at Bugatti for another three years before retiring.
Thank you for agreeing, sir.
The mesmerizing and highly valued La Voiture Noire revealed in 2019 was another gem and one of several models to be based on the Chiron. It was conceived as a modern interpretation of Jean Bugatti's personal Type 57 SC Atlantic. Only one example of 'The Black Car' was built and sold for around $18 million.
Other wondrous designs from the Anscheidt era include the Divo (the brand's first coachbuilt hyper sports car of the 21st century, limited to 40 units), the W16 Mistral (a farewell for the W16 engine, potentially the world's fastest roadster, and limited to 99 units), and the Centodieci (a wedge-shaped marvel with a price of almost $9 million, limited to 10 units).
The Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang was limited to five units, one of the rarest Veyrons of all, while the four-unit Veyron Fbg Par Hermes was a collaboration with Parisian luxury brand Hermes. The latter had a hood in a striking, contrasting beige, a color that flowed into the interior.
Hermes also crafted a one-off Chiron Hermes for property mogul Manny Khoshbin.
The Concepts
Anscheidt was often said to have explored a second model line for Bugatti beyond the Chiron, and the 16C Galibier concept was considered for that role in 2009. A four-seat fastback, it was also intended to use the W16 engine. However, Bugatti eventually decided to focus on the Chiron project instead. Later, in 2015, a V8-powered Atlantic Concept inspired by the Type 57 SC Atlantic was revealed, but this also never made it to production.
As Bugatti readies its Chiron successor, Anscheidt will hand over the reins to Frank Heyl, his long-standing deputy, who himself played a significant role in the design of the Chiron.
Honorable mentions of some special Bugatti designs to come from the Anscheidt era include the Bolide show car from 2020 that went into production, the Vision Gran Turismo presented for PlayStation in 2014, and the one-of-one Chiron Profilee from 2022 that broke auction records.
“[Achim has] very successfully led the stylistic development of a manufacturer renowned for some of the most beautiful cars in the world, but he has also evolved the brand into a true automotive luxury pioneer,” said Mate Rimac. “His attention to detail and dedication to perfection extends to almost every part of Bugatti today.”
Anscheidt leaves with his legacy at Bugatti firmly established, saying that he “will be forever grateful for having been a part of this incredible, developing Bugatti Journey; the best is still yet to come, and I'm truly thankful to all who supported the brand and our design department to help us evolve the brand to a place where I know Ettore and Jean would be proud.”
Keyword: The Iconic Designs Of Bugatti's Outgoing Design Boss