We see more and more luxury cars getting an artistic makeover these days than ever before! The rich and famous want to make their cars stand out and be a one of a kind design that no one else will have.
It’s know surprise then that Bugatti have created a limited edition ‘piece of art’ to satisfy their fans out there.
Without putting too fine a point on it, Bugatti appeals to a pretty select clientele. Nevertheless, its product planners grapple with the same challenge that faces every automaker: When you’re spending multi-millions to achieve exclusivity, you don’t want to see a mirror image of your Veyron motoring around every corner. Right?
Bugatti’s answer to this problem is a series of 18 limited-edition Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse roadsters—Les Légendes de Bugatti. The series consists of six three-car groups, each named for famous figures from Bugatti’s glory years, and this one, fourth in the sequence, is called Rembrandt.
The name suggests artistic inspiration, which is true, but it’s not the Rembrandt you might expect. This Rembrandt was Rembrandt Bugatti, brother of company founder Ettore, and a well-known sculptor. Although Rembrandt won fame for his work with bronze sculptures, he’s celebrated in Bugatti family lore for creating the dancing elephant logo that adorns the grille of the princely Type 41 Bugatti, better known as the Royale.
Commemorating Rembrandt Bugatti’s favored artistic medium, the latest Vitesse Legend sports bronze-hued clearcoat carbon fiber on its upper half contrasting with a light brown lower portion. The wheels are two-toned in colors Bugatti head designer Achim Anscheidt calls “noix” and “firefinch,” and Rembrandt’s signature has been laser etched onto the gas cap and oil-filler cover.
Inside, the special-edition Vitesse is distinguished by cognac-colored leather, a bronze-hued carbon-fiber console emblazoned with a cast bronze version of the Type 41 dancing elephant logo, and the signature and portrait of Rembrandt Bugatti on each door sill.
Naturally, the Rembrandt Vitesse has all the go-fast hardware that makes this the fastest production roadster in the world, according to Bugatti: 1184 horsepower and 1106 lb-ft of torque from a quad-turbo W-16 engine, yielding a 0-to-62-mph sprint in 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 254 mph.
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Previous special editions have honored Jean Bugatti, son of the company’s founder; Jean-Pierre Wimille, who drove Bugattis to two victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans; and Bartelomeo “Meo” Costantini, another factory driver who went on to manage the works racing team from 1927 to 1935.
On display at the Geneva auto show, the Rembrandt Bugatti carries a sticker price of €2.18 million (roughly $3 million at today’s exchange rates)—almost a half-million more than the standard Grand Sport Vitesse. We suspect this is a no-haggle price. If any of the nine previous Legends are any indication, you better hurry—all nine of the previous special editions have been sold.