Insider
H
appy 110th anniversary to Bugatti – and happy
new-car-collection day to one extremely wealthy
hypercar fan. La Voiture Noire – literally, the Black
Car in French – is a one-off creation that at €11m
(around £9.4m) before tax is one of the most expensive new
vehicles ever to roll out of a car factory.
The extreme hypercar uses the limited-edition 2018 Divo’s
version of the familiar Bugatti 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine,
producing 1480bhp and 1180lb ft of torque. But the body’s inspi-
ration is from the distant past: a 1936 Type 57 SC Atlantic with
the same nickname. Of the four made, one was used by founder
Ettore Bugatti’s son Jean, until he gave it to Bugatti racer Robert
Benoist as a reward for winning the 1937 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Another went missing shortly before the Nazis invaded France
and has never resurfaced.
The modern version has a body made of carbonfibre and
finished in a deep gloss black. ‘We worked long and hard on this
design until there was nothing we could improve,’ says Bugattidesigner Etienne Salomé. ‘For us, the coupe represents the
perfect form with a perfect finish.’
The Divo-inspired headlights have integrated air vents, while
the tyres are painted to merge with the gigantic alloys, and the
C-pillars are smaller than the Chiron’s or the Divo’s – a nod to
the original Voiture Noire. The car also seems to have reversed
into a pipe organ, as no fewer than six exhaust pipes poke out
of a protruding rear splitter; all the better to let that nuclear
reactor of an engine roar.
Who is the new owner? All we know is that it’s a Bugatti
Atlantic buff with the funds to get Bugatti crafting something
unique. The nearest point of reference is with the Rolls-Royce
Sweptail, a similarly flamboyant one-off from 2017. Its equally
anonymous buyer kept the price quiet, but it was estimated at
around the same as the new La Voiture Noire.
‘Customers expect us to continually surprise them; we have
just succeeded in doing so with La Voiture Noire,’ says Bugatti
boss Stephan Winkelmann. ‘We are paying homage to our
heritage and bringing speed, technology, luxury and aesthetics
to a new era.’2.66 (recurring)
cylinders per
tailpipe? Bound
to be a solid
engineering
reason for thatAston Martin’s EV-only sub-brand Lagonda has jacked up last year’s Vision Concept a few
inches to create the All-Terrain Concept, an EV crossover with a high level of self-driving
capability. The batteries are stored low, allowing for a tapered silhouette and rear-hinged
rear doors. The cockpit includes a key holder that allows the fob to float via electromagnets.
Aston CEO Andy Palmer says the concept ‘would be at home whisking someone straight
from a glamorous red carpet event to a remote scientific research lab.’ How very Iron Man.Lagonda All-Terrain Concept is Aston’s posh electric SUV
Bugatti’s €11m
anniversary gift
One-off made by Bugatti for a mega-rich super-fan is
more than double the price of a Divo. By Jake Groves12 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | APRIL 2019