‘If comparable, it is no longer Bugatti.’ That statement and mindset came direct from Ettore Bugatti and can be applied to Bugatti hyper sports cars and lifestyle products in equal measure. It is a vision that remains as true today as it ever has been, meticulously applied to every new and upcoming creation.
At the core of the Bugatti brand experience lies three crucial pillars: innovation, personalization and state-of-the-art technology, which is also entwined with exquisite design and functional style. These principles have allowed Bugatti to transform from being the worldwide leader in developing and delivering hyper sports cars to an international brand that projects excellence beyond the automobile.
Bugatti Brand Lifestyle takes great care to select the ideal partners sharing the same vision and common values in order to create products that embody the spirit of both brands while always pushing the boundaries in ultimate craftsmanship and technology. Fulfilling all elements of the Bugatti lifestyle sphere, products that have been crafted and launched include timepieces, champagne, as well as tech and design statement pieces. This enhanced diversified portfolio of products allows customers who – even without owning a Bugatti automobile – can experience the peerless heritage, style and luxury of a Bugatti product. The result has been unprecedented success for Bugatti International, realizing year-on-year growth of over 20%.
Against this backdrop, in 2022, Bugatti International has reinforced established collaboration partnerships and fostered relations with new brands.
Early in the year, Bugatti revealed a collaboration with renowned British luxury brand, Asprey, resulting in the creation of a one-of-one La Voiture Noire sculpture, handmade in 24k rose gold and mounted upon a bespoke hand-crafted base. At the end of June, the sculpture, and its accompanying artwork and NFT, were sold at auction for £378,000, including Buyer’s Premium. It was the crowning sale of Bugatti and Asprey’s first collaboration, which also saw 261 unique sterling silver sculptures acquired by collectors instantly.
In the world of watchmaking – which has so many parallels with the creation of a W16 engine – came the latest creation from the Bugatti and Jacob & Co collaboration, the Jean Bugatti timepiece. A fitting tribute to Ettore Bugatti’s eldest son, Jean, who was handed control of Bugatti by his father, the timepiece is inspired by Jean’s avant-garde and artistic automotive interpretations, channeling the use of precision engineering, carbon fiber tech and arresting aesthetic design. Only 57 units of the timepiece will be produced in white gold and 57 units in rose gold.
With Bugatti cars a perfect blend of tradition and technology, Bugatti Brand Lifestyle also chose to explore the very latest in smartwatch innovations, with the Bugatti Carbone Limited Edition. It’s the world’s only smartwatch to be constructed with a full carbon fiber housing, a material that is synonymous with Bugatti design and technology. Produced in partnership with VIITA, the watches are finished with highlights of blue shading, the timepiece features carbon fiber elements that are milled from one solid block. The battery is state-of-the-art, offering a 540 mAh capacity, allowing it run for up to 15 days on one charge.
Exclusivity runs throughout every Bugatti Brand Lifestyle collaboration, just as it does the Bugatti range of hyper sports cars. In 2022, Bugatti and The Little Car Company created a limited-edition carbon-inspired new Bugatti Baby II exclusively for W16 Mistral1 owners. Only 99 of the W16 Mistral – the last Bugatti to be powered by the legendary W16 powertrain – will be made and each of these custodians have the option to acquire and tailor a Bugatti Baby II to their very own W16 Mistral specifications, making it a truly unique matching connection.
Bugatti’s focus on ultra-bespoke, advanced materials and a dedication to perfection shines through in its partnership with Champagne Carbon. Last year, this collaboration reached new heights with the La Bouteille Sur Mesure, showcasing the highest levels of tailored design to create a bespoke concept that allows owners to personalize their very own champagne cases, bottles and vintages. To complete each design, a total of 314 individual sheets of prepreg carbon fiber – comparable to the precious material found in Bugatti’s hyper sports cars – is used in the making of each La Bouteille Sur Mesure.
Bugatti’s ties with Buben&Zorweg strengthened as well in 2022, as the partners launched the Hyper Safe Collection, a limited-edition product range that fuses together aspects of Bugatti design and construction with the most advanced high-security safe technology. Having been meticulously developed for about 18 months, the Hyper Safe Collection pushes boundaries in fine craftsmanship.
“Bugatti is the world leader in designing, developing, building and delivering hyper sports cars that are at the vanguard of performance, engineering and style,” says Wiebke Ståhl, Managing Director of Bugatti International. “But Bugatti is also synonymous with excellent, innovative and exquisite creations that go beyond the automotive sphere. The success that our brand expansion arm of Bugatti has experienced in 2022 is underscored by our highly focused approach and in teaming up only with the right partners for the right projects at the right time, ensuring the partner’s brands and the creations embody Bugatti’s core values and a shared vision. We seek to create new stories for our existing customers and surely invite new ones to discover our beautiful luxury brand.”
The scope of Bugatti Brand Lifestyle across luxury products and tailored high-class experiences will continue to illuminate in 2023, with numerous creations with our existing partners and entirely new collaborations in territories and marketplaces we have not yet reached. In fact, in just the first week of the new year, Bugatti and LEGO® Technic™ revealed the latest model from an ongoing collaboration: the scale recreation of the Bugatti Bolide2. Further exciting new creations from existing and new brand partnerships will follow throughout the year, building on the core success of 2022.
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1 W16 MISTRAL: THIS MODEL IS NOT SUBJECT TO DIRECTIVE 1999/94/EC, AS TYPE APPROVAL HAS NOT YET BEEN GRANTED.
2 BOLIDE: THIS IS A CONCEPT STUDY AND THEREFORE NOT SUBJECT TO DIRECTIVE 1999/94/EC.