A Bugatti owner might just have made the lives of all husbands across the globe incredibly difficult by gifting his wife what can only be perceived as the best automotive-themed present on her 70th birthday. What is it, you ask? Well, it’s a one-off Bugatti Chiron built as a tribute to one of the most iconic and probably the most beautiful cars ever made – the legendary Type 57 SC Atlantic. See what I mean! Called the Bugatti Chiron SS ‘57 One of One, it has to be the most elegant derivative of the Chiron we’ve seen to date. But before we discuss more about the stunning piece of automotive art, it’s important to talk about the story of how the one-off was spawned because it’s just as interesting as the jaw-dropping Bugatti.
Twenty years ago, the owner of the bespoke Chiron had the chance to see the Type 57 SC Atlantic in the flesh during a visit to the Mullin Automotive Museum at Oxnard. A lifelong automotive enthusiast, she was immediately smitten by the beauty of the iconic Bugatti, which was designed by Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore, more than 90 years ago. After two decades, the lady’s husband (a Bugatti owner himself) surprised her on her 70th birthday with a personal invitation from Bugatti to visit the automaker’s factory in Molsheim to configure her own Chiron Super Sport. Not even a diamond the size of a golf ball could beat such a crazy birthday gift, at least in my opinion.
On her visit to Molsheim in France, she was given a tour of Bugatti’s home by Jascha Straub, Bugatti’s lead designer for its Sur Mesure bespoke program. It was during this time they walked by a scale model of a Type 57 SC Atlantic, which brought back some vivid memories of Jean Bugatti’s iconic creation for the owner. And she immediately knew what she wanted – a one-off model built as a tribute to the Bugatti that has inspired several generations of automotive designers. Obviously, it wasn’t going to be an easy task to create a faithful homage to the original, even for the highly skilled Sur Mesure team, which relentlessly strives to get even the tiniest detail correct.
One of the most difficult jobs was to get the original’s stunning icy blue color right. Straub traveled with a color swatch to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, where the original car was on display in a temporary exhibit. Without any surprises, the striking silver-tinted blue hue of the one-off Chiron looks identical to that of the original in the pictures. Additionally, the craftsmen from the Sur Mesure team worked closely with Bugatti’s engineers to ensure that the bespoke design elements didn’t affect the hypercar’s performance.
It includes the Chiron’s signature horseshoe grille, which was given a chrome finish with vertical slats to match the design of the Type 57 SC Atlantic’s grille. Things like the five-spoke wheels, C-line, center spine, hood accents, and engine covers have also been given the shiny chrome finish.
As a homage, a hand-painted silhouette of the Atlantic with “57 One of One” lettering was added to the underside of the hypercar’s active rear wing. On the inside, the bespoke Chiron is upholstered in a subtle two-tone Gaucho brown leather and features bright aluminum accents. The use of carbon fiber inside the cabin is minimal. Furthermore, the silhouette of the Atlantic is hand-stitched on the door panels in Lightning Blue.
At the same time, the headrests are embroidered with the ‘Dancing Elephant’ – a signature sculpture of Rembrandt Bugatti. We are not surprised that Bugatti has chosen not to reveal the identities of the owner or her husband. However, the French automaker said that the owner took it on Bugatti’s US Grand Tour right after taking delivery. There’s also no word on the price. The Chiron Super Sport already has an eye-watering base price of close to $4 million. So, we won’t be surprised if this unique Chiron cost more than $10 million.
