Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this year, the La Voiture Noire was created as an one-off to celebrate the brand’s 110th anniversary and pay homage to the legendary Type 57SC Atlantic.

Underneath the bespoke bodywork, Bugatti’s latest bespoke creation uses the same underpinnings with the Divo and Chiron, including the quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 powertrain. Its output remains unchanged, at 1479hp (1500PS) and 1180lb-ft (1600Nm) of torque.

‘La Voiture Noire’ is French for ‘The Black Car’, a node to the second Type 57SC Atlantic that was owned by Jean Bugatti himself and simply vanished, without anyone knowing what exactly happened to it.

Bugatti’s modern Black Car has also gained the title of the world’s most expensive new car of all time, as its owner has reportedly paid 16.7 million euros ($18.6 million in current exchange rates) for it. Speaking of its owner, it is believed to be ex-VW Group boss Ferdinand Piech, though that has neither been confirmed nor denied so far.

However, the hypercar is far from finished, with the car in the pictures being a prototype powered by a small electric motor for exhibition purposes. The finished item is still two to two-and-a-half years away from delivery, according to Bugatti’s head of communications Tim Bravo, so Mr. Piech, if he is indeed the owner, should be patient.

"It's clear that when you think about the second model, you always have to see what the body style could be. Believe me, we really looked into every detail of the body style, and I think that there is one that is very promising for a company like Bugatti. It's a body style which is not today on the market," company CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Motor1.

He didn't provide additional details. However, his statement seemingly rules out a long-rumored SUV, a sedan in the vein of the 16C Galibier concept, and a Chiron-like coupe. Regardless of what it looks like, it will arrive as a smaller, more affordable, and more daily-drivable car than the Chiron. That doesn't mean Bugatti will go into Toyota Supra territory, though. Its second model will cost at least $1 million.

The French automaker previously confirmed its quad-turbocharged, 16-cylinder engine has nearly reached the end of its life cycle. What will power the Chiron's successor remains to be seen, and Bugatti still has time to figure it out, but the second model could go in a completely different direction.

"This could be, for example, a full electric car," Winkelmann said. He added a Bugatti-badged EV would need to be "the best of its kind."

Bronze, brown patina on marble pedestal. 42.5 x 76.5 x 31 cm (including marble pedestal).

Signed below the athlete: R Bugatti and dated: (1)907 (stamped), lower left of it foundry mark of A.A. Hebrard Cire Perdue and numbered: 1 (stamped).

Originally it was intended to realise the 'Athlete nu au repos' three times. According to the catalogue reaisonne and the current research this is the only copy.

Estimate €1,000,000 - €1,400,000

Quittenbaum Kunstauktionen GmbH, Munich, Germany
For bidding

According to the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services, the fire started on the building’s first floor when a man was working on a motorcycle that caught fire.

Ross Godber, owner of Ross Godber’s Victory Garage, said he "was working on a Bentley in his space on the first floor of the warehouse when he heard several loud bangs,” the newspaper reported.

“Mr. Godber’s space was near an exit, so he got into a Ferrari and drove it out of the building. He ran back inside to try to save the three other vehicles he was working on – the Bentley, which he said was worth $325,000 when it was new; a 1947 Dodge sedan, which was in the middle of restoration; and a 1995 Ford F-250, which he was trying to convert into a monster truck – but the flames and smoke were too strong.

Mr. Godber said he thinks the Ferrari might be the only vehicle that survived the fire. He said he has heard that the vehicles lost in the fire total around $60 million.

From Hubert Lance Huet I received the photographs above of the Bugatti T35B which was probably the one destroyed in the fire. I have no further info on this car, and if it is (was...) original or not.

The car will be on display at the Bugatti Trust as part of its summer exhibition 'Jean Bugatti and Jean-Pierre Wimille – Prescott 80 years ago', which will run until September this year. The exhibition is one of a number of festivities marking 90 years since the founding of the Bugatti Owners' Club, the oldest Bugatti club in the world. The club also owns and operates Prescott, as well as being based there.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of a remarkable part of Prescott's history. On Sunday July 30, 1939, it held its first ever international meeting, a Bugatti Owners' Club event, and this very returning Works monoposto Type 59 fitted with an 8-cylinder supercharged 4.7-litre type 50B engine Works 59/50B Bugatti not only took part, legendary grand prix driver Jean-Pierre Wimille was behind the wheel.

Jean Bugatti accepted an invitation to attend the 1939 Prescott hillclimb meeting and he brought with him his famous works driver Wimille, who was fresh from winning the Le Mans 24 Hours for the second time.

The 59/50B had without doubt the most powerful engine built by the factory and was fitted with twin rear wheels specially for the Gloucestershire hill climb's challenges.

Motor Sport's report from the event at the time called it "a truly beautiful car".
"So wide was it, twin shod at the rear, that it could not use the return road,” the report continued. "Wimille wore a beret and drove with great care and polish, clocking 46.69sec on his second run, after an initial ascent in 47.50sec, excellent times on this course for such a powerful car.

"Afterwards, Wimille watched other climbs in company with Earl Howe and Jean Bugatti."

Despite the unsuitability of his car Wimille still got the event's second fastest time, shy only of Raymond Mays' ERA which stopped the clock at 46.14sec.

Afterwards Jean Bugatti wrote to apologise for using such an incompatible car for the course and promised to return the following year with one of his new 1-litre machines.

The onset of the Second World War just five weeks later ensured this was not to be; further the 59/50B was only driven one more time, in 1945 again by Wimille at the Coupe des Prisonniers in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.

It was retained by the factory until it was acquired by the Schlumpf brothers for their Cité de l'Automobile museum in Mulhouse, France. It has now been loaned by that collection to Prescott.

This year's anniversary events also include the Bugatti Trust joining the festivities of Prescott's popular annual French and Italian themed 'La Vie en Bleu' weekend, taking place on May 25-26. It is anticipated that over 90 Bugattis will be present at that.

"We are delighted that the Works 59/50B Wimille Bugatti will make an historic return to Prescott," said general manager of the Bugatti Owners' Club, Chris Rogers. "The Bugatti Owner's Club and Prescott Hill Climb have played a significant role in the history of the car and its famous French driver Jean-Pierre Wimille."

Photographs: Jean-Pierre Wimille at the 1939 Prescott hill climb in his Works 59/50B Bugatti
Published in: motorsportmagazine.com
Images courtesy of The Bugatti Trust

Bugatti is looking to introduce a second, more affordable model of car to its current multimillion-dollar lineup, Bugatti President Stephan Winkelmann revealed in an interview.

Winkelmann characterized it not as a mere halo car but as a best-in-segment daily driver with a top-line price to match—and it would be at least partially electric.

“There I would see us doing a battery electric vehicle,” he said of the proposed new car. “There, the balance between performance and comfort is much more important, and it’s about daily usability. This is what I see.”

Face-melting speed in this second car “will be far less important,” he said.

Of course, these terms are all highly relative, considering the US$3-million Chiron comes with 1,500 horsepower and a top speed of 420 km/h. Any new Bugatti will still cost a lot: It stands to reason that even a far “lesser” creation could cost half a million dollars and pack an 800-hp punch.

Winkelmann declined to give more specifics about the cost, chassis, and performance of the potential car but said the company has already begun analyzing the prospect. “Let’s see what we can do,” he said. “I’m hoping for the best.”

There is room to expand, even with the beaucoup business million-dollar cars like the Bugatti Chiron and Divo already provide. The average Bugatti customer has 42 cars at home, according to a Bugatti spokeswoman, and often two of them are Bugattis. More than half of the 250 Chirons made were purchased sight-unseen—an astounding figure considering the astronomical price tag.

In North America and Europe, billionaire populations are are growing by 17 percent and 18 percent respectively, according to Knight Frank’s 2019 Wealth Report. In Asia, there will be 1,003 billionaires by 2023, a 27-percent increase from 2018 and more than a third of the world’s 2,696 total billionaire population. Since 2009, sales of automobiles costing more than $180,000 has quadrupled, according to IHS Markit.

“At the end of the day, the difference of the price in a car is the brand,” Winkelmann said of how the new model may be positioned within the Volkswagen Group. “And this I think will stay the same, fortunately for us. I’m convinced about this.”

Bugatti would hardly be the first classic brand to attempt evolution and relevance via electric and/or halfway practical vehicles. Ferrari and Lamborghini had long eschewed deigning to make less-expensive sportscars and – gasp! – SUVs in volume plays that would bolster their tiny global outputs (formerly sub-5,000 units).

But in the past few years Lamborghini incorporated the Urus SUV into its lineup, and Ferrari executives said last week in Geneva they are working on a hybrid supercar of their own. (Recall, Ferrari introduced the hybrid LaFerrari six years ago.) These moves effected no discernible impact in terms of “damaging” a storied brand.

The real challenge will be to develop an electric vehicle with either significantly improved range or more exotic technology than the much-hyped Porsche Taycan, another sibling in the VW Group family and one that will be on the road before the end of 2019.

Any new vehicle from Bugatti would likely borrow extensively from VW Group hardware such as the Premium Platform Electric architecture to be used by Porsche, Bentley and Audi—but with a badge like Bugatti’s, it better provide an amplified experience.

In the meantime, a lot can happen. Even if Winkelmann gets the green light from Volkswagen AG, the prospect of an underling Bugatti remains far from reality.

He doesn’t yet have approval from the Volkswagen board, which can be difficult to procure. It took years of lobbying from Bentley and Lamborghini to get the go-ahead to make an SUV. (For the record, Bentley “won” that battle: It got the okay to make its Bentayga before Lamborghini produced the Urus.)

If and when Winkelmann gets a yes, it will take another four years of development before a second Bugatti family line hits the road.

Might as well start saving money now.

500 limited-edition junior Bugatti cars built to celebrate the brand’s 110th anniversary

What Ettore and Jean had intended as a one-off car, became an official Bugatti vehicle. The feedback from customers visiting Molsheim had been so positive that it went into production and was sold between 1927 and 1936. The Bugatti ‘Baby’ was born. Cherished by Bugatti enthusiasts worldwide, today no collection is complete without a Baby. However, with only around 500 ever made, they have been the preserve of the lucky few. Until now.

To celebrate Bugatti’s 110th anniversary, we are introducing the smallest member of the Bugatti family: the Baby II. A contemporary tribute to Ettore’s masterpiece, the Baby II will be a strictly limited run: only 500 cars will be built. Unlike the original, which was only suitable for the youngest drivers, the Baby II is a three-quarters-size replica of the Bugatti Type 35 so it can be driven by both adults and children. The Baby II will allow automobile enthusiasts from across generations to share the love of driving and of the classic marque of Bugatti.

Launching almost a century after its predecessor, the Baby II has been created using the latest technology, but with the utmost respect for Bugatti’s automotive heritage. Hand-built, the car was designed with the aid of a precise digital scan of an original Type 35, built for the 1924 French Grand Prix in Lyon.

Just like the original Baby, the Baby II has a rear-wheel-drive battery-powered electric powertrain. Unlike its predecessor, the Baby II features removable lithium-ion battery packs, a limited slip differential and even regenerative braking. The junior car will come with two selectable power modes for drivers of different statures: a 1kW ‘child mode’ with the top speed limited to 20 km/h, and a 4kW ‘adult mode’ with the top speed limited to 45 km/h. In addition, for those enthusiasts who crave even more pace, an optional ‘Speed Key’ upgrade is available (just like the Speed Key for its big brother, the Chiron!), which allows power of up to 10kW and disengages the speed limiter.

There willl be some more 21st century updates: so what was the fuel pressure pump once upon a time is going to be the forward and reverse switch, the charge cable goes in where the petrol used to, and battery packs now reside where the Type 35 engine once did. But the handbrake on the outside stays, which should work nicely in conjunction with the most powerful drive mode. There are nods to more modern Bugattis as well, with a solid silver badge like a Chiron (albeit weighing just 50g, not 140g as in that car). And while not complete just yet, the interior will feature dials by Swiss Instruments and a removable steering wheel.

The cockpit of the Baby II features Bugatti’s signature turned aluminium dashboard, a leather seat, a scale recreation of the Type 35’s distinctive four-spoke steering wheel and custom Bugatti instruments. The exterior of the car is painted in traditional French Racing Blue, although buyers will be able to order in a range of alternative colours. The signature eightspoke aluminium alloy wheels are scale replicas of Ettore Bugatti’s ground-breaking 1924 design, and house modern brakes on each wheel. Finally, powerful headlights (not shown on Geneva Motor Show images) light the way ahead for drivers young and old, whether you’re exploring new landscapes or lapping the local karting track.

Despite being the smallest member of the Bugatti family, the Baby II has a lot in common with its bigger brothers. Proudly displayed on the nose of the car is Bugatti’s famous ‘Macaron’ badge, made of 50g of solid silver, just like the Chiron. Each car comes with a limited-edition numbered plaque and cars ordered in 2019 will also incorporate a badge to commemorate Bugatti’s "110th" anniversary.

Prices start at 30,000 euros (plus taxes and delivery) and production starts in autumn / fall 2019. Join the exclusive club of Baby owners and help write the next chapter in the prestigious history of Bugatti.

Reservations for build slots open at 9am today, 11th March 2019 via: contact@bugattibaby.com

Bugatti: with our history at heart and our eyes on the future

Bugatti celebrates its 110th anniversary with two world premieres at Geneva Motor Show

Meanwhile, Bugatti has been presenting overviews of each T57SC Atlantic built (Chassis 57374, 57453, 57473 and 57 591) , and presented various drawings like the one below. They even showed some footage and stills of the movie "Overdrive" in which as we know a replica Atlantic was used in some hot car-action scenes, something you would not do with an original. Any of the two remaining fully original Bugatti Atlantics will be worth upward of 30 million euro, so you may even call this modern version a steal at just 16....

So, if you add this all up, I can predict that Bugatti will present a new model, with design inspirations coming from the original Bugatti T57SC Atlantic, and probably called Atlantic as well.
However, as we have seen with the DIVO, it may also be a just slightly changed chassis of the Chiron, with some new body-panels....

110 years. Scarcely any other luxury car brand can look back on as long a tradition as Bugatti. The French hyper sports car manufacturer is celebrating this fantastic anniversary with a special edition of the Chiron Sport limited to 20 cars. This new edition is not only extremely exclusive but also pays tribute to France.

“With the limited Chiron Sport ‘110 ans Bugatti’, Bugatti is ushering in the 110th anniversary of its foundation. At the same time, we are underlining our origin and our French roots in Molsheim,” says Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. “Molsheim in the Alsace region of France is an essential element in Bugatti’s brand history and this is also where we are planning our future.” Tricolour decorates the “110 ans Bugatti” in tribute to France

The new Chiron Sport “110 ans Bugatti” bears one of the most famous symbols of a proud nation. The French tricolour “Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge”, with its colours of blue, white and red, decorates the body and interiors at several points and harmonizes perfectly with the extraordinary Chiron Sport. The flag originally symbolized the union between monarch and people in the phase of the constitutional monarchy. Since the end of the monarchy, it has represented the French Revolution with its famous ideals of liberty (blue), equality (white) and fraternity (red).

2019 marks the centenary for the final completion of the Bugatti Diatto AVIO which has lain dormant since 1919.

In 1914 Bugatti told select clients that he was ready to create a luxury vehicle to surpass any known automobile. This coincided with Bugatti’s design of the AVIO 8C aero engine - his first experiment with a straight 8 engine.

Historians see this WW1 aero-engine more as an automobile engine than solely for aviation. Indeed, they deduce that this massive 14.5 litre AVIO 8C engine may be regarded as the prototype for Ettore Bugatti’s Royale engine.

In 1915-1925 Ettore Bugatti was actively working together with Diatto’s capable technical team and using Diatto’s factory as test facility for his new ideas. In 1919, following the First World War, attention turned to car production and development of the AVIO aero-engine ceased – but obviously was not forgotten.

Later this 8-cylinder aero-engine, along with a big Diatto chassis, were discovered in a museum in Turin, Italy. The project had never been finished, and how it found its way to the museum was a mystery. It is this project that after a century has finally been completed – to be revealed at Retromobile 2019.

HISTORY – the amazing chronology of Bugatti’s first 8-cylinder prototype:

1900: Ettore Bugatti established direct affiliations with Pietro Diatto.
1907: Pietro Diatto became involved with Bugatti’s Type 8 prototype – later Deutz. It is important to understand that close links existed between talented automotive engineers of the pioneering years.
1913: Roland Garros told his friend, Ettore Bugatti, that he planned to attempt flying across the Atlantic. Bugatti replied: "Why not!" So, they began tackling the problem.
At the same time Bugatti wrote select clients, that he was ready to create a luxury vehicle that would surpass any known automobile. His design was essentially two enlarged Garros Bugatti 5-litre engines in line totalling 14.5 litres.
1914: Bugatti was commissioned by the French government to design an aeroengine, and based on his preliminary design for an 8-cylinder luxury vehicle engine he designed a 250HP aero-engine in his Paris workshop.
This was Bugatti’s first 8-cylinder engine ever, and historians such as Hugh Conway states that the AVIO 8C can be regarded as the prototype for Bugatti’s remarkable Royale engine.
1915: Diatto was granted license for production of the Bugatti aero-engine in Italy, then known as the AVIO 8C.
1919: Diatto began license production of Bugatti Brescias. Diatto took 1st prize in the first Italian post-war race, with “a Type 30 Bugatti in the name of Diatto”.
1920: The famous hollow front axle was developed in Italy by Bugatti in collaboration with Coda and Casarata, Coda was Guiseppe Coda, the Technical Director at Diatto. This hollow front axle was successfully tested on Diatto racing cars of the period.
1921: Diatto began experimenting with superchargers on Diatto racing engines, including the 16-valve Brescia engine. Clearly Bugatti and Coda were testing ideas and technology together.
Period references tell that Bugatti worked closely with Technical Director, Guiseppe Coda, and used the Diatto facilities to test his new ideas until 1925.
1924: Bugatti began development of the Royale car, launched in 1926.

It is therefore with great pride that finally after 100 years we are able to present The Lost Bugatti:

BUGATTI DIATTO AVIO 8C 1919

The unique and historically important prototype 8-cylinder Bugatti
- an early test bed of the Bugatti Royale

Jean Prick, son of the famous Bugattiste (No 1) Guillaume Prick, co-founder of the Dutch Bugatti club, and organizer of the first international Bugatti rally in 1958 from Neercanne (close to Maastricht) to the Le Mans 24 hours, had always had a tremendous passion for Bugatti. His house (he had moved from Maastricht to Belgium) was filled with all kinds of Bugatti parts, memorabilia, books and of course the T57 Ventoux which he had inherited from his father. Many of these items he would take to the Mecc each January (where he would try to sell some also), together with usually 3 to 5 Bugattis, alongside his own, there would be usually a few from friends in Belgium or the Netherlands. Centerpiece would be a table, where coffee (and sandwiches) would be presented to anybody who showed a real interest in Bugatti. A long way from "VIP-lounges" where one is welcome only after special invitation, and waving a cheque-book.

He had been a professional photographer all his life, with his own shop in the center of Maastricht, thus everybody from Maastricht knew him, not just the Bugattistes! Of course, often Bugattis were the subject of his craft also!

In the Netherlands, he will remain forever famous because of an interview with him in the TV-show "Showroom" from 1980, where people with special hobbies were presented. Even now, almost 40 years later, whenever talking about your Bugatti - interest to anybody, he (or she) would recall that TV show! The crucial scene in that show was when he started crying, because his father had forbidden him to ever drive any of his Bugattis again (for the slight mistake of running a red light in the center of Hamburg at 160 km/h).

Personally, I have known him for quite a few years, always friendly, always interested in anything Bugatti. The last time I saw him was in 2018, where he was in his Bugatti stand, as usual. I know of quite a few people who went to the show just for him, and the Bugattis on his stand! Jean had become a member of the Bugatti Aicraft Association soon after it was founded. In 2008 we held a meeting with 8 members at his house, where the Bugatti airplane was one subject, and Bugatti powered boats another. On the occasion, he was presented with an original print of the Type 67 V16 Aero engine.

Jean, you will be much missed!

The top photo alongside his Ventoux I took on his stand at Interclassics in the MECC, Maastricht, January 2018, the other two were taken during the BAA meeting in 2008.

Chassis n°49558, Engine n° 445
Estimate 300 000 - 400 000 €

The chassis type 49 with engine 445 was assembled at the Bugatti factory in January 1933 with 5 other chassis of the same model.