Bugatti may have just brought its W16 era to a close with the final Mistral, but it’s not quite the last W16-powered Bugatti we’ll be seeing thanks to the company’s new Solitaire series of one-off commissions. Limited to just a couple of cars a year built around existing chassis architecture, the third entry in this programme has just been revealed. It’s called the Bugatti Destrier, and it is, to put it mildly, spectacular.
Following on from last year’s Brouillard and the Veyron-aping F.K.P. Hommage, the Destrier is based around the carbon tub and powertrain of the track-only Bolide. That means it gets Bugatti’s almighty 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 in its ultimate 1,578bhp guise. No performance figures to report, and indeed Bugatti says “Destrier’s story is one of proportion and craftsmanship, not outright performance.” Not going to be slow, though, is it?
Bugatti Destrier – side
Named after the most prized breed of knight’s horse in medieval times, the Destrier asks: ‘What if we got rid of all the vents, wings and other aerodynamic bits, and let the pure form of the bodywork do the talking?’
The result, inspired by the streamliner Type 57G and 57C ‘Tank’ racers from the 1930s, is something that looks pure concept car. Much of that effect comes from the wheels: at 20 inches up front and 21 at the rear, they’re the largest ever fitted to a Bugatti, two inches bigger than the Bolide’s.
Bugatti Destrier – rear
Using the Bolide as its base also gives the Destrier an almost Le Mans Hypercar-esque stance with its cockpit sitting low between two bulging front wheelarches. At just one metre tall, it’s a full 212cm lower than a Chiron, and lower than even the famously 40-inch, or 101cm, tall Ford GT40.
At the rear, the Destrier’s emphasis on sculptural form rather than aero performance sees the bodywork flow into a fixed rear wing that frames a quartet of enormous exhaust pipes. Continuing the medieval knight theme, the exposed brightwork on the engine features a hammered finish in a nod to the hand-beaten armour worn by the clanky jousting enthusiasts back in the day.
Bugatti Destrier – interior
The whole thing’s finished in a bespoke multi-layer blue called Sapphire Celeste, with the (mercifully sparse) exterior carbon tinted to match, while the inside, finished in a brown known as Ambre Voyageur, is trimmed in two kinds of leather and a 3D-knitted textile. Classy spec.
As is the whole point of the Solitaire programme, only one Destrier will ever exist, just for its lucky and absurdly wealthy commissioning client. Before it goes off to spend its life in a humidity-controlled underground lair somewhere, though, it’s going to be on display later this month during Monterey Car Week.
Read the full article here