The golden hypercar pays tribute to the most significant vehicles in Bugatti’s history.
To start off the Monterey Car Week in a splendid manner, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport Golden Era, a unique creation conceptualized in the past seven-year history of the hypercar, has been revealed. Bugatti’s on-demand customization division, Sur Mesure, has designed this car. It’s a way of commemorating Bugatti’s W16, whose production will come to an end as soon as the marque’s Molsheim factory rolls out the final Mistral roadster, planned exclusively for track use.
The massive 8.0-liter W16 engine delivers a staggering 1,578 horsepower, propelling the elongated carbon-bodied coupe from 0 to 60 mph in an impressive 2.2 seconds. However, it is not just the exceptional performance that sets the Golden Era apart.
The customer who commissioned this car is a devoted Bugatti enthusiast with a deep admiration for the W16 engine. He wanted his car to pay tribute to the engineering legacy that led to the remarkable creation of this unmatched powerhouse. The W16 engine, which made its debut in the Veyron nearly two decades ago, is at the heart of this bespoke creation, showcasing the evolution of Bugatti’s engineering prowess over the years.
“Given the vision and exacting nature for this project—and the fantastical ideation we wanted to realize—‘Golden Era’ is probably the most demanding piece of tailored personalization work that my team and I have ever worked on,” said Achim Anscheidt, the former Bugatti Design Director who took charge of the project.
“Our team proposed a concept featuring 45 sketches of the brand’s icons that would be hand-drawn directly onto the car itself, and the owner immediately fell in love with the idea. The implementation may sound quite straightforward, but achieving a perfect finish, and one that would last the test of time, took more patience and craftsmanship than you could ever imagine.”
A unique gold colour called “Doré” was meticulously formulated and expertly applied to various parts of the car. The shade gracefully transitions into a metallic black hue near the front quarter panel. Once the base coat was completed, the meticulous process of hand-sketching historic collages of Bugatti vehicles commenced, taking approximately 400 hours to accomplish.
“It was very clear to us from the beginning that we can only achieve an authentic finish for these sketches—and at Bugatti authenticity is paramount—if we actually used the pencils that we use for sketching on paper—anything else would result in something looking fake or low in quality. So that’s why we had to find a process that would allow us to use pencils and do all of the sketches by hand, directly onto the paintwork.”
The right-hand side of the car showcases symbols from Bugatti’s earliest period, from 1909 to the passing of its founder, Ettore Bugatti, in 1949. It features the Type 41 Royale unveiled in 1926 and esteemed as one of the most luxurious cars, as well as the Type 57 SC Atlantic, regarded as one of the most strikingly designed cars in history.
The left-hand side of the car displays nineteen illustrations of contemporary supercars, including the EB110, Veyron, and Chiron, forming a visual timeline from Bugatti’s revival in 1987 to the present day. The showstopper is an uncomplicated rendition of the 3,712 distinctive components that make up the W16 engine.
The interior of the car features three icons of Bugatti, meticulously applied by hand to each door panel using exclusive leather paint and brush. The EB110, Veyron, and Chiron confront their forerunners: the Type 35 the Type 57 SC Atlantic, and the Type 41 Royale. Additional unique details include subtle “Golden Era” stitching and inscriptions indicating that the car is truly one-of-a-kind.
Bugatti Managing Director, Hendrik Malinowski, adds, “Sur Mesure literally translates as tailored and it is this complete ultra-luxury customer-centric approach to car design that really sets it apart Each step, every decision and—in the case of the Golden Era—every stroke of the pencil, was completed with the close oversight and input of the owner to exceed his expectations in a way that no other brand is able to do.”
During the Monterey Car Week, the customer was officially presented with the car. The cost of the car has not been revealed, but it is certainly higher than the $4 million price tag of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport.
