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Photo: Bugatti
The old trope of being horrified at meeting someone in an identical outfit at a party holds true in the world of automobiles. No two vehicles are, or should ever be, exactly the same, which is where marques’ in-house customisation programmes step in to set their luxury vehicles apart.
Though there are numerous bespoke projects that make headlines every year, this one-off by Bugatti’s Sur Mesure division is an undeniable work of art.
The team worked with an unnamed Bugatti enthusiast, who pledged his yet-to-be-delivered W16-engined Chiron Super Sport, in the creation of the thus-named Golden Era: An ode to the brand’s storied history in the worlds of aviation, architecture, and of course, automobiles.
Key points in Bugatti’s 114-year legacy are represented in painstakingly detailed sketches — done by hand over 400 hours — on either side of the vehicle.
Photo: Bugatti
The passenger side explores the French house’s earlier history, with 26 sketches depicting such cars as 1926’s legendary Type 41 Royale and, later, the famous Type 57 SC Atlantic.
The brand after its 1987-rebirth is explored on the driver’s side, recounting automobile history through 19 sketches, including the groundbreaking EB110, the venerable Veyron, and last but not least, the Bugatti Chiron — the final vehicle with a W16 engine to roll out of the marque’s factory.
Photo: Bugatti
It is only fitting that the brand’s legendary engine, which requires 3,712 individual components to create, is included in the tapestry.
The vehicle’s base livery is, naturally, a bespoke gold (dubbed “Dore”, or golden in French), bleeding into an enigmatic, metal-accented “Nocturne Black” on both ends
Bugatti’s vehicular icons are also reflected in the vehicle’s interiors, with a trio of cars, old and new respectively, applied on the door panels using a faint paint brush and proprietary paint that could be directly applied to leather. “Golden Era” stitching on the headrest and hand-written “one-of-one” motifs complete the bespoke package.
Photo: Bugatti
The entire process took Bugatti’s Sur Mesure team more than two years from end to end, during which “new methods and processes were crafted to ensure that these details would stand the test of time”.
Their efforts finally paid off when the vehicle was handed over to its lucky owner during the recent Monterey Car Week.
