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Bugatti reveals the final version of the one-off La Voiture Noire

Bugatti is ready to deliver the La Voiture Noire, a one-of-a-kind model introduced at the 2019 edition of the Geneva auto show. Based on the Chiron, the coachbuilt coupe meets the same quality standards as a series-produced car. Making the La Voiture Noire a reality took two years because it underwent a long list of tests before Bugatti signed it off. As we've previously reported, it was blasted with thousands of gallons of water to ensure it's watertight and was driven flat-out on a track, among other evaluations. Over 65,000 engineering hours were invested into the project, a number that underlines the significant differences between the La Voiture Noire and the Chiron it's related to. And yet, Bugatti managed to keep the show car's lines and finer design details intact during development. While the quad-turbocharged, 1,479-horsepower 8.0-liter W16 engine comes from the Chiron, all of the carbon fiber exterior panels are new and the wheelbase is slightly longer. Bugatti also notes each headlight features 25 individually-milled elements, and that the grille was 3D-printed. Overall, the La Voiture Noire wears a purer, more touring-oriented design than the aforementioned Chiron and the Divo. It's not fitted with a rear wing, for example. Interior photos haven't been released, but we're told the seats are upholstered in Havana Brown leather. It creates a classic ambience that matches the turned aluminum inlays scattered across the cabin, like on the center console. There is but a single example of the La Voiture Noire, and Bugatti's not taking bids. The coupe is already sold to an anonymous collector, who paid 11 million euros (about $13.4 million at the current conversion rate) for it before taxes enter the equation. Time will tell if the new owner reveals his or her identity, drives the car, or keeps it tucked away in a private collection. In the meantime, the French firm will work on bringing the Centodieci to production. Perhaps inspired by Bugatti's success, some of the other luxury carmakers have started breathing new life into the long-lost tradition of coachbuilding during the past few years. Rolls-Royce notably created a yacht-inspired, one-of-a-kind convertible called Boat Tail for an anonymous couple that reportedly paid approximately $28 million for it. What's in a name? La Voiture Noire literally translates to "The Black Car" in French. It's entirely black, but there's more to it than paint and trim.

Watch a Bugatti Chiron Sport race a French Navy fighter jet

Bugatti is done chasing speed records, but it's finding other ways to demonstrate what the Chiron's mighty W16 engine is capable of. It brought a Sport model to a naval base in France and put it head-to-head against a jet. On paper, the comparison is hardly fair. Driven by Pierre-Henri Raphanel, a former pilot who is now Bugatti's official driver, the Chiron Sport is powered by a quad-turbocharged engine rated at 1,500 horsepower. Made by Dassault, the Rafale jet boasts about 5,700 horsepower, though its dry weight checks in at around 22,700 pounds. And yet, after the flag drops, the Chiron races ahead of the Rafale for the first few hundred yards. Its lead doesn't last long; Raphanel explained the Rafale quickly caught up and took off. Looking at the plane's specifications sheet reveals it begins to leave the ground at 161 mph after sprinting for approximately 450 yards. Once it's airborne, it's gone. It's capable of reaching the speed of sound (Mach 1.6; 1,227 mph). Even with 16 cylinders, the Chiron isn't quite that fast; test driver Andy Wallace set a land speed record in 2019 by driving a longtail model to 304.7 mph. Slowing down both machines is easier said than done. The runway the Chiron and the Rafale raced on was relatively short, so Raphanel began braking at over 217 mph after accelerating for about a mile. The air brake integrated into the rear end helps scrub off speed without undue drama. Landing the Rafale safely requires a complex system that includes 10 pistons, a special anti-skid system, heat shields to protect the wheels, and nitrogen-filled tires. It approaches the runway at about 155 mph and comes to a full stop in around 150 yards. Bugatti brought the recently-introduced Les Legendes du Ciel version of the Chiron to the race. It's a limited-edition model that highlights the little-known link between some of the firm's earliest race cars and aviation with special graphics and specific trim pieces, among other details. While it initially looks like the sketch of a plane on the door panel is all that joins the Rafale and the Chiron, the connection is a little deeper: the jet's brakes were developed by Messier-Bugatti, a company now known as Safran Landing Systems that shares common roots with the carmaker.

Bugatti Chiron to cost $2.5 million

Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Durheimer said the mission of the coming Chiron is to outdo the Veyron "in all dimensions." Durheimer also said that "the price/prestige axis is one of the fundamental axes at Bugatti," which explains why Car magazine's sources say the Chiron will cost 2.2 million euros. At the present exchange rate that's $2.471 million, but more importantly, in Car's home currency it's a 650,000-pound premium over the Veyron – an extra million dollars. The price premium is misleading, though, since Bugatti hasn't sold a Veyron with an MSRP of 'just' $1.5 million in a few years. The standard Grand Sport Vitesse listed at $2.5 million, and that was before the end-of-run Grand Sport Vitesse special editions began rolling out, any of which could have been called the Bugatti Blank Check Edition. So when prospective buyers were told they could get the Chiron's 1,480 horsepower, 0-to-62 mph time of 2.3 seconds, upgraded technology, better gas mileage, 288-mph top speed, and more comfortable ride and handling for about the same price as the old car, their first question might have been, "So what's the catch?" Car says Bugatti intends to build 500 Chirons, 50 more examples than the Veyron got. We could see it as soon as next year's Geneva Motor Show.