Profile: Jascha Straub, tailoring every Bugatti

For any purchase as significant as buying a Bugatti, a customer deserves the assurance and guidance to know that their choices are exactly what they have in mind. The difference between one option and another is immense when there is so much to choose from, and these decisions have a lasting impact that could last for generations. Customers want to make an informed choice. For every Bugatti ordered from the Molsheim Atelier, the customer can be assured that the experienced hand of Jascha Straub has played a part in the journey. The Design & Sales Representative is the personal link between the customer and the bespoke ultra-luxury hyper sports car creative journey, intrinsically aware of every last detail offered by Bugatti and shaping the ultimate buying experience with the French luxury brand. This direct connection between Bugatti’s design and sales departments with the customer defines the completely tailored customization process, the journey can take hours or months depending on how individual the car will be.

Yet Straub is so much more than an expert of the customization program. An accomplished exterior designer for Bugatti, it is his end-to-end vision that makes his role so important, and shapes the buying experience with Bugatti that is so special and unique. Having started his career in the design department at Bugatti, he is just as comfortable in the design room as he is meeting customers for the first time. For Straub was heavily involved with the exterior design of the two recent flagship hyper sports cars from Bugatti – the Divo¹, revealed in 2018, and the Centodieci², from 2019 – bolstering his all-round view of how a Bugatti can be visually expressed.

A bridge between teams

Obsessed with Bugatti from an early age, Straub has long idolized Bugatti’s unmatched history that makes the brand so unique – taking inspiration from company founder Ettore Bugatti for engineering and Jean Bugatti for design. It is Straub’s dedication to Bugatti that places him in his dream job, based at the luxury brand’s legendary headquarters in Molsheim, Alsace. Offering innovation at every level, Straub straddles two teams, and functions as the link between design and sales operations. With his in-depth understanding of Bugatti’s history and product catalogue, Straub ensures that no detail is lost in the bespoke ordering process, from the point of order to delivery. The configuration will always be perfect for the customer.

“Every day in my job, I am combining a number of passions,” said Jascha Straub, Design & Sales Representative at Bugatti. “There are no other jobs in the world that allow you to take customers on such a personal journey. As part of my role, I am shaping what will often be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our custormers. They might see me as the face of the company, given that we will have a lot of personal interaction,”says Straub. “For me in particular, along with anyone else familiar with cars and motorsport, the Bugatti name is very evocative and has such a rich history. The Bugatti brand name means so much, and it always has done. Even before I joined the company, I was living and breathing the Bugatti brand. The history of Bugatti means as much to me as what it stands for today.”

In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities of shaping customer orders, Straub is still very much involved in the evolution of colour and trim packages, working alongside Bugatti’s finely tuned design team. The ‘Les Légendes du Ciel’ edition of the Chiron Sport³, revealed last November, drew from considerable design input on the part of Straub. The special edition hyper sports car limited to 20 units paid homage to racing drivers from the company’s ‘golden decade’ of motorsport, linking the brand to the aviation ‘daredevils’ that have driven and raced Bugatti models in the past century. Straub is responsible for the hand-drawn sketches adorning the ‘Gaucho’ leather of the ‘Les Légendes du Ciel’ edition of the Chiron Sport. On this car, Straub added: “The hand sketches I contributed to the ‘Les Légendes du Ciel’ version of the Chiron Sport were what underpinned the very expressive character of that car, which is so true to Bugatti.”

It is the hyper-personalization aspect of the Bugatti ordering process that makes specifying a new hyper sports car alongside an expert from Molsheim, such as Jascha, so special. The very limited number of models made for the ‘Les Légendes du Ciel’ and the custom Chiron ‘Zebra’ – reminiscent of the similar Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport “L’Or Blanc” in 2011 – is also a result of the artistic hand of Straub and his talented colleagues. The ‘Zebra’ Chiron, a one-off design made especially for a long-term Bugatti customer in Qatar, is more art than anything else, it’s stunning,” he said. “The customer came to us with the idea and we made it work, which goes to show that our levels of individualization really have no limit. To adapt to the flowing lines of the Chiron⁴, we had to develop a completely new solution to tape off parts of the bodywork ready for painting. Some techniques existed already from our work on the Veyron Grand Sport ‘L’Or Blanc’.”

The focus on customization with all Bugatti models runs deep within the brand’s product portfolio. Four derivatives of the peerless Chiron include the standard model (limited to 500 made); the Chiron Sport – itself divided between the ‘110 ans Edition’ and Edition Noire, all of which are sold out, plus the recently launched Légendes du Ciel. The Chiron Pur Sport⁵ (limited to 60 made); and the Chiron Super Sport 300+⁶. Three leading one and few of projects, capped at 51 cars between them – the Divo, Centodieci and La Voiture Noire⁷ – are all sold out.

Bugatti’s esteemed design team have made 34 standard colour options available to customers, consisting of 31 options for the Chiron and seven visible carbon fibre colours, while “Agile Bleue” and “Copper” have recently been developed especially for the new Chiron Pur Sport; “Gris Serpent” for “Légendes du Ciel”; and “Jet Orange” for the Chiron Super Sport 300+. If a customer can’t find what they’re looking for, it is Jascha Straub’s job to introduce a colour palatte with several thousand colour options at their disposal. If a customer is still found to be wanting, the colour will be developed individually and exclusively upon request. In addition, the personalization process extends to 32 standard leather and stitching colours, 19 standard carpet colours, and 11 standard seat belt colours. Again, Bugatti’s expert colour & trim designers are completely open reinventing the colour palette if one of these will not suit. Jascha guides the customer through the entire selection process and at the end, will gift the recipient of the car with a memorable sketch drafted there and then to remind them of their interaction with Bugatti.

Hendrik Malinowski, Director of Sales and Operations at Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., said: “We see Jascha’s role as an extension of the design process, connecting the customer to the company. Every Bugatti that is ordered is different, in no small part due to the list of options that we are able to offer to our customers, explained by Jascha. Every automobile made by Bugatti is a masterpiece, and every car to leave our Molsheim Atelier will leave a legacy that could last for centuries, and will be as impactful in one hundred years as it is now. When a customer comes to order a car, the overall design of the model has already been set by Bugatti, but there is still so much more to specify. Every model is like a blank canvas, and it is Jascha’s passion to connect likeminded Bugatti customers with the customization process.”

Achim Anscheidt, Design Director at Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., added: “Jascha is a vital part of our team and the ideal link to our cherished customers and their individual wishes. With his excellent visual communication skills, he translates the vision of our customers into a realistic image and a viable project. It is essential to have this bridge between the customer and the engineering feasibility in Bugatti as we truly believe that individualization and bespoke personalization is an expected privilege and part of being welcome in the Bugatti family.”

Exclusivity like no other

Based out of Bugatti’s famous headquarters in Molsheim, France, Straub provides design insight in the bespoke ordering process, spearheading the Bugatti Sur Mesure individualization program that shapes the Molsheim Experience. The customer visitor program allows for the chance to visit the luxury brand’s headquarters and take time to talk through the ordering process with Straub before their specification is confirmed. The Molsheim Experience consists of various segments, including a brand introduction and historical overview of Bugatti, further to a tour through the premises and test drive with one of the Bugatti’s official pilots. Straub’s in-depth understanding of the brand offers customers a holistic harmonic concept of the final configured car, delivered with a stylistic functionality. Straub added: “The specification of every Bugatti is the most expressive and personal experience you could imagine. I love taking customers on the journey, which for me is different every time. Some customers have a very clear idea of what they want, and it only takes 30 minutes to specify a car. Occasionally, it takes some gentle persuasion to guide customers towards the choice that is right for them. Other times, the process is a lot more deliberate and it can take months. Thanks to the multitude of options available from Bugatti, every order is bespoke, and the variety really motivates me.”The unique position of being in a customer-facing role with so much experience in design makes Straub a real asset to Bugatti’s personalized service. His contribution is reciprocated with such an in-depth knowledge of the brand, and an ongoing commitment to design that supports Straub’s service to Bugatti customers and their varied requirements. Straub adds: “I’m always taking inspiration from the wider design industry, magazines and trends, so whenever a customer asks for recommendations, I can give them a long-lasting and unique take that is desirable while retaining impact with longevity. I like to think that my passion for the brand stands me in good stead as a brand guardian of Bugatti, and I’m able to pass judgement on bespoke ordering decisions that are right for the hyper sports cars that will wear the famous badge. Ultimately, customers have a near-infinite amount of choice, and it’s my job to make this as easy as possible.”