Bugatti President Stephan Winkelmann looks back on 2020

“2020 was without a doubt the most unusual year for all of us. The coronavirus pandemic brought so much to a halt and caused enormous disruption to our everyday lives. I’m happy that our workforce and most Bugatti enthusiasts have so far made it through this difficult period and have managed to overcome these challenges extremely well,” says Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti. “I’m very proud that, despite the difficult circumstances, we have been able to achieve our third record-breaking year in a row. For this I would like to thank the entire staff. What’s more, with the first customers receiving deliveries of the Divo¹, we kept our promise of bringing a modern interpretation of the historic coachbuilding tradition to the road.”

Coachbuilding is all about creating customised cars for individual tastes. The Divo, a limited edition of just 40 vehicles, is a highly customised masterpiece of automotive craftsmanship and a must-have for any Bugatti collection. The hyper sports car, which is priced at five million euros (net), is named after Albert Divo, a French pilot and racing driver who was also a Bugatti works driver for quite some time.

“Unfortunately the Bugatti team were not able to meet fans and friends of the brand in person nearly as much as they would have liked due to the pandemic. Therefore, we are now using digital platforms to maintain contact with Bugatti owners and friends of the brand,” explains Stephan Winkelmann. “During the few lockdown-free months, Bugatti customers finally had the opportunity to experience the new Chiron Pur Sport² for themselves. The entire team was delighted by the extremely positive feedback on the new hyper sports car, which gave them affirmation and motivation for their work.”

Bugatti has calibrated the Chiron Pur Sport for agility, handling and driving performance. An ideal car for drivers who like to take corners at the limits of lateral dynamics. The Chiron Pur Sport is an extremely precise hyper sports car for the race track and country roads, and offers maximum driving enjoyment. Production of the standard version of the Chiron Pur Sport, which is limited to 60 units and priced at three million euros (net), began in autumn 2020 in Molsheim, France.

In October, Bugatti presented the Bolide³, an extreme, race track-oriented hyper sports car with an unprecedented power-to-weight ratio of just 0.67 kg/PS. A power output of up to 1,850 PS from the W16 engine meets an unladen weight of just 1,240 kilogrammes. This technological concept represents the brand in its purest form, with its impressively high performance, low weight and a driving experience in a new dimension. “Bugatti is continuously aiming for new and exciting goals. The Bolide is the quintessence of our philosophy. Excellence, courage, dedication. An incredible car and an incredible project,” says Stephan Winkelmann.

Bugatti has special plans in store for 2021. All 40 Divo will be delivered to customers in the coming months. It will certainly be both a wonderful and a sad moment when the last Divo leaves the Atelier in Molsheim. Most of the Chiron Pur Sport, designed for lateral acceleration, will also be delivered to their owners. Following the launch of Bugatti’s La Voiture Noire⁴ in March 2019, the French manufacturer will finally bring the world’s most exclusive and expensive car to completion.

“2021 is set to be a particularly challenging year for me personally. In addition to my role as President of Bugatti, I also took on the position of President of Lamborghini in December 2020. However, this is an undertaking that is close to my heart, as Lamborghini builds the most exclusive super sports cars with outstanding design. Bugatti, on the other hand, is synonymous with the most extraordinary, powerful and elegant hyper sports cars in the world. My focus will therefore remain in Molsheim in 2021, too.”

You can look forward to an exciting 2021 together with the entire Bugatti team. We hope that this will be a year with more face-to-face meetings and plenty of time for conversation. Vive la Marque!