In photos: Inside the facility where the ultra-exclusive, $3.4-million Bugatti Chiron is being built
Chances are the car you are driving travelled a few kilometres on assembly lines, with robots attaching parts that were likely built from around the world. And it’s a fairly safe assumption that you picked from a couple different trim levels and colours when making your purchase.
However, things work differently when the most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production hyper car is involved.
With 1,500 horsepower, the Bugatti Chiron uses an 8.0-litre W-16 engine to shoot from a standstill to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds, and to 300 km/h in 13.6 seconds. Bugatti limits the top speed to 420 km/h, although the actual top speed is believed to be 463 km/h. The car will cost about $3.4 million and Bugatti plans to produce only 500. This is no ordinary car and that is evident right from the beginning.
Bugatti released a number of photos showing inside the facility where a small team spends months assembling and perfecting each Chiron. The floor looks clean and shiny enough to eat a fine steak off of it. Just like a yacht or squash court, it looks like dark soled shoes aren’t allowed.
Only 20 people work on building the Chiron, using 1,800 individual parts as it passes through 12 stations. There are no conveyor belts or robots. All of the work is done by hand. On average it is about six months from the start of production to delivery.
The Chiron is being built in the same facility – since updated – that made the Veyron.
Customers shelling out the millions of dollars team with Bugatti designers to pick colours and materials. Bugatti will make any colour imaginable, but has 23 different standard colours and eight variation of carbon fiber. For the interior, buyers have a choice of 31 colours of leather, eight colours of suede, 30 stitching options, 11 seatbelt and 18 carpet colours. But again, these are the standard options. Bugatti will create any colour desired.
And if buyers really want to feel connected to their car, Bugatti lets them spend a day assembling it.
“We are building a super sports car. That is quite clear,” said Christophe Piochon, who oversees production at Bugatti, in a statement. “But it is the way we do it, hand-crafting an individual product for each customer in this very special atmosphere, that makes us unique. This is ‘Haute Couture de l’Automobile’.”
Bugatti plans to deliver the first Chirons to customers by the end of next month and hopes to build 70 this year.