bugatti divo

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The last of only 40 Divo left the Atelier in Molsheim

Shortly after Stephan Winkelmann became President of Bugatti, he had the idea of reviving a successful Bugatti tradition. “I read a lot about it, took a look at the iconic bodyworks produced in the 1920s and 1930s, and began to wonder whether we could transpose this excellent asset to the company’s modern era,” Winkelmann recalls. After some interesting conversations with both existing customers and some of the official dealerships, going this route of an even more bespoke car would be a perfect concept.

The Bugatti Divo was ready to be shown in the spring of 2018, but not to the public yet, instead, they contacted existing Bugatti Chiron owners and showed a production prototype of the Divo, to be limited to only 40 units, so a lot more exclusive than a normal Chiron, and with a price tag of €5,000,000 (about US $5,400,000 at that time) you might think they would have a hard sale to find customers … think again.

Bugatti states that all 40 units of their Divo were sold out in a matter of weeks since the first customer appointment, people loved both the design and the coachbuilding tradition this car stood for, a 110-year old legacy created by Ettore Bugatti when he started building these excentric automobiles back in the early 1920s, with the Type 57 in various coachbuilding versions like the Galibier, the Atalante, and the SC Atlantic, Bugatti created iconic designs that would become automotive works of art ever since.

Today the last of the 40 Bugatti Divo was finished in Molsheim, a car that was ordered by a client in Europe, and one with impeccable taste, not only in cars but also in the history of these masterpieces, the main shade of Bugatti EB 110 LM Blue is a reminder of Bugatti’s last official Le Mans factory race car, while the contrast is made in Blue Carbon to bring the exclusivity and modern age to this future classic. For the inside, this customer opted for French Racing Blue with Deep Blue touches, combined with matte gray carbon elements, again a bridge between the past, the legacy, and the future.

The ‘Divo’ name is inspired by the French race car driver Albert Divo, who during his 20-year racing career obtained multiple victories for Bugatti, including six Grand Prix races and two wins in the famous Targa Florio. To honor both this legendary race driver and the fact the Bugatti headquarters is located in Molsheim, a French flag is integrated into both left and right front fenders on the Divo.

Even with 40 units, none of these Bugatti Divo are the same, customers went out of their way to select very specific shades to be used just on their Divo, even going as far as asking for different materials or extreme paint schemes like the famous red ‘Lady Bug‘ in the United States, some clients even came up with their own design ideas … every single one of these 40 Bugatti Divo is a bespoke vehicle … upholding the coachbuilding tradition for Bugatti.

July 22, 2021 / Comments Off

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Bugatti’s final Divo is a tribute to its last official Le Mans entry

Bugatti’s last official Le Mans entry served as a source of inspiration for its final Divo. The last unit in a sold-out 40-car run left the French firm’s headquarters wearing a blue livery that echoes the track-bound variant of the EB110.

Unveiled at the 2018 edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and priced at around €5 million (nearly $6 million) before customization options, the Divo stands proud as the first coachbuilt Bugatti released during the 21st century. It’s much more than merely a rebodied Chiron; it’s its own thing, and the two cars are technically different.

“As well as unique design, customers who buy a coachbuilt model enjoy a new, individual driving experience. Each small series undergoes the same degree of development as would a larger production run,” explained Pierre Rommelanger, the head of overall vehicle development at Bugatti, in a statement.

The final Divo’s anonymous owner wanted to channel the spirit of the EB110 that competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1994. Most of the exterior is painted in light blue, just like the race car, and the wheels are finished in gold. Parts of the lower body wear a darker shade of blue chosen to forge a link to the modern era, according to Bugatti.

Blue also dominates the interior. French Racing Blue and Deep Blue were used to wrap parts like the seats and the dashboard, though it’s interesting to note that the design isn’t symmetrical. The driver’s seat is lighter than the passenger’s seat. Elsewhere in the cabin, matte gray carbon-colored trim pieces provide a touch of contrast.

Spotting the final Divo won’t require a well-trained eye. Bugatti notes none of the 40 examples built were identical. Customers worked directly with the brand to customize the paint, the leather upholstery, the stitching, and the trim. What doesn’t vary from car to car is the engine: it’s an 8.0-liter W16 quad-turbocharged to 1,500 horsepower.

Selling cars is relatively easy; building them and delivering them on-time is harder. Bugatti ticked all three boxes, and the Divo project is finished. The one-of-a-kind La Voiture Noire (which reportedly cost $13 million) has been completed as well, so the French company is now working on bringing the EB110-inspired Centodieci to production.

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July 22, 2021 / Comments Off

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The $24 Million Bugatti Lineup: Just 4 Cars Only

All hyper sports cars manufactured by Bugatti are required to undergo extensive tests in order to meet exceptional quality standards. The Bugatti development team set out for the demanding Nurburgring circuit with not less than four models and six engineers. They took over the Nurburgring with the Bugatti Centodieci, Chiron Pur Sport, Divo and the Chiron Super Sport 300+.

The lineup featured the most exclusive vehicle fleet in the world with a net value of just under 20 million euros. The Centodieci is priced at 8m euros, the Divo at 5 million euros, the Chiron Pur Sport at 3 million euros and the Chiron Super Sport 300+ at 3.5m euros.

The Nurburgring circuit is considered to be the world’s most ideal testing circuit with an unusual topography, the circuit consists of 33 left bends, 40 right bends, 17% gradient and an altitude difference of 300 metres. The total distance of the test circuit is 20.832km.

When the vehicles are competing on the circuit, the engineers will note down the overall performance of each vehicle to ensure it delivers perfect differentiation within the performance range of the Bugatti Chiron. After the test drives, the results are further analyzed and transmitted to the development team for further execution.

In the case of the Chiron Super Sport 300+, the developers and engineers check and verify the chassis series setup as finalized before, the hyper sports car was primarily built for top speeds of upto 440km/h. In addition, the developers take the handling and characteristics of the Divo and Chiron Pur Sport models as benchmarks for the new Chiron Super Sport 300+ and the Centodieci.

Bugatti Lineup

May 31, 2021 / Comments Off

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The Bugatti Divo ‘Lady Bug’

We have already mentioned this amazing-looking Bugatti Divo in our article ‘The Million dollar option‘, but just now Bugatti published a press release on this rather unique, bespoke build, keeping in mind only 40 Divo will be built, the last ones being delivered at this moment we’ve heard, and with a base MSRP of €5,000,000, these cars were ordered by some rather discerning customers, and that came with challenges never seen before, especially on this ‘Lady Bug’.

When the Bugatti Divo was introduced in August 2018, one customer located in the USA came up with a great idea: ‘a geometric-dynamic algorithmic fading pattern on the bodywork’. So he got in touch with Bugatti design to first decide on which shades to use … they created two special colors for this customer, ‘Customer Special Red’ (I guess they ran out of names) and ‘Graphite’, both metallic paints. But now came the hard part, designing a diamond pattern to run from the front over the sides of the Bugatti Divo.

The customer wanted to emphasize the silhouette of the Bugatti Divo with this gradient pattern, but it took the Bugatti design team over 18 months to develop and later achieve the correct look and feel on a real Divo. It’s easy to create a diamond pattern on a computer in CAD, but the problem comes when you apply that pattern onto a 3D, very round Divo body. The ‘diamonds’ get distorted, and it starts to look strange, although perfectly geometrically correct on the computer, even the slightest offset putting it onto the car ruined the look.

In the end, it would take approximately 1,600 diamond shapes, almost no two alike, to create exactly what the customer had in mind, and every single one of these had to be put in their perfect spot along the roofline, on the doors and rear fender edge in order to make sure it all looked right and created that perfect fade on the side of this unique Bugatti Divo.

At one point Jörg Grumer, Head of Color & Trim at Bugatti Design almost wanted to say: “We cannot meet the customer’s request’, however, it is our profound conviction that we should never give up and that our foremost motivation should always be to make the impossible possible for the customer.”

At Bugatti design they actually used 6-meter long film and did several trial fittings on one of their in-house test cars, only after several weeks, they managed to get it right and applied the bespoke diamond pattern onto the customer’s Bugatti Divo without any distortion or folds. After that, it took the Bugatti employees several more days to make sure every single diamond was positioned accurately, some of them were manually trimmed, some were even replaced at this stage.

After everybody was happy with the film on the car, it was time to paint … which involves not only applying the Graphite over the Customer Special Red but also meticulously removing every single diamond film, all 1,600 of them, without damaging the paint. After that, the paint gets sanded, smoothed, checked, retouched where necessary only to be re-sanded again. After applying the clearcoat another session of wet sanding and buffing goes on to create that deep, wet-look finish and gloss … it took months of hand craftsmanship to create this car.

March 3, 2021 / Comments Off

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1.5 Years to Paint it: Meet the Bugatti Divo ‘Lady Bug’

Bugatti recently completed a custom Divo named “Lady Bug” featuring geometric patterns on the body in the shapes of diamonds – finished in special Red and Graphite metallic.

The Bugatti Divo is powered by an 8.0 liter W16 engine with 1,479hp and a top speed of 380 km\h. The car is limited to 40 units worldwide each priced from 5million euros excluding options. Deliveries started in August 2020 and are expected to finish within the first months of 2021.

It took one year and a half for the team to perfect the diamond shaped patterns to exact definition and eventually they had to be modified digitally and positioned on the roofline, doors and rear fender edge. The diamond patterns were separated and transferred into a film which was then stuck on the body. The shapes were replicated with 1600 diamonds all around the body.

After each diamond was checked and passed as perfect, the next task was painting the actual color and removing each diamond. In this process, the paint job was sanded, smoothed, re-touched and re-sanded all over again. The multiple layers of paint blended the diamond patterns into the anthracite color gradient.

The owner of the customized Divo was impressed by the job done and stated “ The thought of this project becoming a reality was exciting and a dream of mine, I was absolutely floored upon delivery”.

Bugatti Divo

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Additional Photos by Ted 7

In addition to this Divo, he also owns a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse known as “Hellbug” due to its unique paint work. It was famous for hitting 230mph at an Idaho Freeway during the 2016 Sun Valley Road Rally.

Photos by Hunter Swift

March 3, 2021 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Shares New Bugatti Divo Configurations

Bugatti recently announced that the Bugatti Divo had completed development. Customers are expected to receive the first examples later this year. To whet our appetite, the French hypercar manufacturer recently shared a new set of configurations for the French hypercar.

Customers were given the opportunity to completely customise their car with Laure Beneteau, Sales and Operations Manager at Bugatti. She works alongside three other Bugatti employees and the rest of the 15-strong customisation team, called “Bugatti sur Mesure”.

In theory, the choice of colours is unlimited. Bugatti explains: “some customers have their own ideas, such as family crests, national flags, their own logos or special colour schemes”. Customers are able to choose the colour of body panels, decorative parts, the roof, engine covers, and other components.

Bugatti has revealed some of the more personal touches it has applied to cars over the years. These include a child’s footprints on a rear panel, the first name of a customer’s partner embroidered in the door pockets, and crystals mounted in the cockpit.

It is also possible to design individually grilles or to have logos applied to the underside of the rear wing.

Bugatti also revealed general trends by region. It sees that Asian customers tend to request more unusual colours and prefer effect paint, while the European market tends to choose more restrained tones. Customers from the USA or the Middle East, on the other hand, like to order eye-catching and extravagant colour combinations.

The first configuration revealed by Bugatti includes a dark grey body with exposed carbon fibre accents. Painted stripes pay homage to the french flag with the red, white and blue running down the middle and on the fender vents. Inside, this model blends blue and black leather, with exposed carbon fibre and red and white alcantara. The text in the passenger footwell appears to read “vive la marque”.

The second example blends a unique shade of grey/gold with exposed and painted blue elements. This care also features the french flag displayed prominently at the front brake vent. Inside, this model opts for what looks like a dark blue leather dash, accented by light grey alcantara and black alcantara for the seats.

The next example is the boldest of the lot. Wearing a bright yellow, accented by dark black carbon fibre, a touch of white around the headlights adds something a little different. The interior gets a very stylish blend of black leather, alcantara and chrome work, accented by subtle touches of yellow.

The final example features white as the dominant colour, again accented by carbon fibre lower panels and with the french flag permeating the brake vent. The light accents are silver and the fender vents appear to feature rent accented fins. Inside, the theme is blue leather and alcantara with silver accents and plenty of exposed carbon fibre.

Each Bugatti Divo customer, and there are 40 of them, has paid 5 million euros for their car. Bugatti’s CEO, Stephen Winkelmann recently revealed that the entire production run is accounted for with admission predicated on owning a Chiron.

The Divo is a substantially different model from the Chiron. Focused on cornering instead of outright pace, the Divo wears completely new skin. Increased downforce, improved cooling and optimised airflow, all three elements contribute to improved handling characteristics. The Divo manages 90 km of additional downforce.

May 8, 2020 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Divo Development Complete – Cleared for Delivery

Earlier this week, Bugatti confirmed that development of the Bugatti Divo had come to an end. The first customer cars are due to begin deliveries later this year. The milestone marks a return to coachbuilding for the French hypercar expert.

Bugatti first unveiled the Divo at Monterey Car Week in 2018. It was the first project developed under Stephan Winkelmann’s direction.

Even before Bugatti announced the Divo, it had already sold all 40 planned production units. A staggering feat when you consider that the asking price runs to 5 million euros, net of tax. Even more impressive is Winkelmann’s confirmation that “Every Divo customer owns a Chiron” too.

Bugatti Divo

While the bodywork differs from the standard Chiron, the engineering remains broadly the same. The Bugatti Divo continues to use the 8.0-litre W16 engine with 1,500 hp and 1,600 Nm of torque. 0 to 100 km/h happens in 2.4 seconds. The improvements in aerodynamics mean that top speed is limited to 380 km/h.

The chassis modifications include a change in wheel camber on the front and rear axles, harder springs and a more front-oriented balance. Bugatti shed 35 kilograms in weight.

April 25, 2020 / Comments Off

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Bugatti says an emphatic ‘no’ to SUVs

Last we heard from Bugatti President, Stephen Winkelmann, the French supercar company had plans for a Bugatti SUV in the future. Today Winkelmann is dashing any such notion emphatically. In a report issued by the company discussing its 2018 performance, Winkelmann declared, “There will be no SUV from Bugatti. An SUV would not do justice to the brand or its history.”

That sounds pretty clear cut and definitive to us, so consider Bugatti the second supercar manufacturer to disavow the high-riding body style. McLaren is the only other dog in this fight opposing the proliferation of crossovers and SUVs — and for that we salute you, McLaren. The Lamborghini Urus is out and about, and Ferrari’s version of an SUV is hot on its heels. Now that the Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan exist, they can cater to the luxury crowd, too.

We can be glad Bugatti isn’t going down the same path as all these other companies. However, Winkelmann didn’t rule out any kind of a luxury sedan body style for a future vehicle. The brand has firmly cemented itself in the performance arena with the Veyron, Chiron and more recent Divo variant, but these cars are still only produced in extremely small quantities. For reference, Bugatti says it produced all of 76 Chirons in 2018. A total of 500 are planned through 2021. This appears to be fine for now, as Bugatti hasn’t hinted that is is trying to expand.

Bugatti happens to be celebrating its 110th anniversary in 2019, and it promises a few surprises in the form of “the presentation of further models.” Bugatti has a tendency to come out with even faster versions of cars some years after debuting a car that’s ridiculously fast already, so we could be looking at further derivations of the Chiron. That said, we can always hope for even more models and be content knowing that none of them will be a utility vehicle.

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January 23, 2019 / Comments Off

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Bugatti speeds up testing on its 3D-printed titanium brake caliper

There are only a few manufacturers on that planet that are so important and so specialized that their production of a brake caliper would warrant any amount of attention. Bugatti is one of those few. After premiering a 3D-printed titanium caliper early in 2018, Volkswagen Group released a video of engineers putting the new design to extreme speed and heat testing. Spoiler alert: flames and sparks are involved.

Bugatti had a lot of claims and planted a lot of flags when it first showed this caliper. “World’s first brake caliper to be produced by a 3D printer. Largest brake caliper in the automotive industry as a whole. First series manufacturer to use titanium. Largest titanium functional component produced by 3D printing in the world.” Long story short, it’s a big deal, but it is not yet stamped as ready for production. That’s what the testing seen here is for.

The video, which was brought to our attention by Motor1, shows the brake caliper in action, not on a car but in a lab. VW claims it’s one of the most powerful brake test benches on the market, which we’re inclined to believe considering the groundbreaking technology that has come from its Veyron, Chiron and Divo supercars.

The test is exactly what you’d expect. They put the caliper onto a rotor, which is attached to a machine that spins the rotor and has all sorts of sensors that show the engineers the specs of the test. The video shows it spinning up to speeds in excess of 230 mph multiple times. The disc temperature skyrockets to 1,877 degrees Fahrenheit on the third spin, which elicits a light show of thermal heat, sparks, and flames. The engineers then take off the caliper and show the camera that everything is still in place and intact.

The video does not clear the caliper for production, but it certainly looks like its getting close to that point. The package will likely debut for the Chiron, the Divo, or both and will most definitely cost thousands and thousands of dollars.

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December 21, 2018 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Divo

The Chiron, probably the fastest car in Bugatti’s lineup, boasts a maximum speed of 261mph with “Top Speed” mode enabled. However, the carmaker claims it could still reach somewhere north of 280mph if tested properly.

You might be a tad disappointed that Bugatti’s latest limited-run super sportscar, called the Divo. For one, it’s far more expensive yet slower than the Chiron.

You can only go as fast as 236mph driving the Divo. That’s the same speed of a standard Chiron without Top Speed mode enabled. This will definitely irk Bugatti fans, but the carmaker says speed isn’t the point — it’s crisp handling and excitement.

The Divo is 77 pounds lighter than the Chiron and sports the same quad-turbo 8.0-litre W16 engine. Even still, it can generate 1,005 pounds of total downforce through aerodynamic changes. Bugatti’s engineers implemented topnotch suspension and aerodynamic design revamps. You’ll find new inlets and vents to maximize airflow for downforce, for instance. The result is a car that’s nimble and better suited for tracks and twisting roads. In fact, Bugatti president Stephan Winkelmann says the Divo is “made for corners.” He also claims it can lap the famous Nardò Handling Circuit eight seconds faster than the Chiron.

“The Divo has significantly higher performance in terms of lateral acceleration, agility, and cornering,” he says.

It’s no surprise that all 40 units are now sold out. That’s right — all units are now claimed even before an official public unveiling can occur. So you can keep that €5 million in your bank for now. Production of the Bugatti Divo starts soon in Molsheim, France.

Bugatti Divo

Photos courtesy of Bugatti

October 31, 2018 / Comments Off

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First Impression: Bugatti Divo

Less than a year since the charismatic ex-Lambo CEO Stephan Winkelmann took over at the helm of Bugatti we can witness his influence for the first time. At the heart of Paris surrounded by luxury hotels and upmarket boutiques Bugatti celebrated the European premiere of the Bugatti Divo. It is an extremely limited road legal new Bugatti model costing 5 million euros excluding tax.

The project was initiated by Winkelmann at the beginning of this year and aimed to create a more agile version of the Chiron. Hinted at the coachbuild history of Bugatti’s past its production is limited and comes on top of the 500 Chirons already being built over the course of eight years. The Divo shown to us in Paris is the first prototype. Production of the first customer Divo will begin late 2019 and all 40 will be delivered over the course of two years in 2020 and 2021.

Bugatti Divo in Paris

The Divo has the same 8.0 liter W16 engine as the Chiron also producing 1,500hp. But the focus is on handling therefore the weight has been reduced by 35 kg and the downforce increased by 90 kg. The top speed is limited to 380 km/h compared to the 420 km/h of the Chiron. The removal of the top speed mode allowed Bugatti to increase the camber and lateral acceleration significantly up to 1.6 g. It is up to 8 seconds a lap faster on the handling track in Nardo.

The obvious changes include a radical new exterior styling moving away from Bugatti’s timeless elegance to a more Lamborghini-like appearance that expresses speed even when the Divo is standing still. The widened fixed rear wing and extended diffuser along with the unique three dimensional rear LED lights give the Divo a very different visual appearance.

Bugatti Divo – Paris Motor Show 2018

Photos by David Kaiser

Inside the changes compared to the Chiron are not quite as significant as on the outside. But one great new option is the ability to create a real two-tone interior finishing the driver and co-driver side in different colors. True to the Veyron and Chiron interior designs the Divo interior is among the most timeless on the market today.

The new Bugatti is named after Albert Divo, a French racing driver who was a two-time winner of the famous Targa Florio race on the mountainous roads of Sicily with Bugatti in the late 1920s. Bugatti is blessed that many of it’s former employees and drivers had great names which can be used today.

The Bugatti Veyron was never keen on tight corners but with the arrival of the Chiron it already improved a lot and the Divo is promising to take the Bugatti brand to yet another level of driving dynamics. The only bad news is all have already been sold.

October 3, 2018 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Divo: Built For The Corners

New Bugatti Hypercar Emphasizes Agility, Handling Performance

The new Bugatti Divo concept was recently unveiled on August 24, 2018, at ‘The Quail – a Motorsport Gathering’ event taking place in Monterey, California. Three very important things to note about the car: purchasing one will cost $5.8 Million USD, only 40 are being produced, and they’re already sold out.

Unless you’re one of those hopefuls still waiting in line with your chequebook open, the rest of the details are perhaps just semantics, which I’m happy to get into. For starters, the Bugatti Divo is based on the Bugatti Chiron, and is certainly no less over-the-top. The Divo shares most of the important mechanical features with the Chiron; most notably the same quad-turbocharged 8.0L W16 engine which produces an extravagant 1,500 horsepower.

According to Bugatti President, Stephan Winkelmann, the goal of the Divo is to be “the most agile and dynamic car Bugatti has ever created – a perfect homage for the 110th anniversary, which will be held in 2019”. In order to achieve this, many changes to the Chiron were made to its bodywork and chassis to amp up its aerodynamic efficiency and handling.

Such drastic changes ensured that the Divo and Chiron are easily distinguishable, visually. Functional air inlets were added to the front bonnet, along with a NACA duct on the roof, and a larger adjustable rear spoiler. The headlights and tail lights were reimagined for further effect, while its lower stance suggests added performance purpose. The interior is mostly unchanged, with some finishing touches added to make it distinctive.

Overall the Divo also has sharper angles and more aggressive looking body lines, with the horseshoe shaped grill, centre line running over the top of the car, and scoop-shaped doors being the only truly pronounced Bugatti features. The remaining design elements seem fairly reminiscent of present day Lamborghinis – and the fact that Mr. Winkelmann is the former Automobili Lamborghini CEO, leads me to believe this may not be much of a coincidence.

In performance metrics, the changes allow the Divo to produce 198 additional pounds of downforce, and lap the Nardò circuit in Italy a significant eight seconds faster thanks to the improved chassis redesign.

“Happiness Isn’t Just Around The Corner. It Is The Corner.” – The Bugatti Divo

September 4, 2018 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Divo revealed, all 40 are already spoken for

After numerous teasers, the Bugatti Divo has finally been revealed. I will thus take this opportunity to type “whip it good,” mention funny red conical hats and move onto something only slightly less ridiculous. The Divo cost €5 million each for the 40 people who have already purchased the limited production run. So sorry, you missed your chance.

The Bugatti Divo is quite obviously based on the Chiron. Though it shares that car’s 8.0-liter W16 engine, it is 77 pounds lighter and is capable of producing 198 extra pounds of downforce. Basically, while the Chiron is all about top speed, the Divo is more about taking corners. To that end, its lateral g is said to be 1.6 g, which is a staggering number, and its maximum speed is limited to only 236 mph.

“To date, a modern Bugatti has represented a perfect balance between high performance, straight-line dynamics and luxurious comfort,” said Bugatti president Stephan Winkelmann. “Within our possibilities, we have shifted the balance in the case of the Divo further towards lateral acceleration, agility and cornering. The Divo is made for bends.”

The newer, wider front spoiler contributes to that extra downforce, along with a new rear diffuser and a 23-percent wider rear spoiler that remains automatically height adjustable and still functions as an airbrake. It’s a whopping 6 feet wide. Tweaks up front also create an “air curtain” that optimizes air flow along the Divo’s sides. Besides creating extra downforce, aerodynamic changes also increase cooling to the engine and brakes.

The Divo also gets special suspension and steering settings to maximize handling. That includes increasing camber. Weight was reduced by using lighter wheels and a carbon fiber intercooler cover, along with a reduction in sound insulation, a lighter sound system and fixing the otherwise adjustable front diffuser flaps.

According to Bugatti, the resulting changes result in the Divo lapping the Nardo handling circuit 8 seconds faster than the Chiron can. Its 40 owners are sure to be super impressed by that.

Like the Veyron and Chiron, the Divo is named after a driver from the early years of car racing. Specifically, Albert Divo, the two-time winner of the Targa Florio in the 1920s. He did not look like this.

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August 24, 2018 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Divo teased again ahead of Monterey reveal

There are four days to go until Bugatti unveils the track-focused Divo this Friday at The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering during Monterey Car Week. Until then, we have this last teaser of the complete vehicle under a blue veil to try and draw out details. Bugatti once used the Vision Gran Turismo to tease aspects of the Chiron, and here it appears as though the French carmaker has returned to some elements of that concept while, at the same time, clearly evolving Chiron design language.

The rear wing is clearly toned down from the Vision GT concept, but a fin runs from the back of the greenhouse to the wing. The wheel arches stand out under the sheet, much punchier than the arches on the Chiron, and the rear fender contains a sharp edge. A clear departure from both the Vision GT and the Chiron, though, is the side line. The relaxed arc around the roof to the back of the cabin and down to the sills, a feature we’ve known since the Veyron, has been redone. On the Divo it looks like the roof line takes a shallow dip to a point, then makes a hard reverse to form a shoulder line that intersects the front wheel arch. Above that, a milder shoulder line descends from the cowl to underline the greenhouse.

“We’ve kept and further developed our Bugatti design DNA features, but on top of that have also taken the opportunity to exercise our freedom and create a completely new form language,” said Frank Heyl, the exterior design chief. Bugatti obviously wanted us to notice all of this, because the Divo example under the silk doesn’t have a side mirror.

Built by the company’s just-revived coachbuilding department and advancing the capabilities of the Chiron Sport, the Divo will bring “enormous downforce and G-forces.” Other than the top stabilizer fin and large rear wing, the additional feature we’ve seen to support its track mission is a vertical fin ahead of the front wheels. Cosmetically, it looks like the taillights will be LED or OLED with highly contoured shapes. We’ll have to wait until Friday for word on whether the 8.0-liter, quad-turbo W16 has undergone any changes.

Bugatti will make just 40 Divos, each with a price starting at 5 million euros, about $5.8 million in U.S. dollars, and nearly double the price of the Chiron Sport. Those numbers might be moot if every Divo is already spoken for. After brand CEO Stephan Winkelmann said “the Divo is made for corners,” and that it represents brand DNA “in terms of agile, nimble handling,” the number we’d really like to see is a Nürburgring lap time.

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August 20, 2018 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Divo will be a $5.8 million hypercar with an appetite for corners

Too much is never enough, especially when you’re talking about Bugatti supercars. The Divo is the next step in Bugatti’s continuing history of building the most covetable vehicles on the planet. Based on the existing 1,479 horsepower Chiron, the Divo is intended to be lighter in weight and significantly quicker around corners. Oh yes, and it’s almost massively expensive, with a starting price of approximately $5.8 million. If you want one, hurry up, because only 40 will be produced.

“Happiness is not around the corner. It is the corner. The Divo is made for corners,” says Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. “With the Divo, we want to thrill people throughout the world. With this project, the Bugatti team has an opportunity to interpret the brand DNA in terms of agile, nimble handling in a significantly more performance-oriented way.”

Little to no details have been released about the Divo ahead of its official introduction this August at Monterey Car Week. The powertrain will likely be carryover from the Chiron, which means the quad-turbocharged W12 will be there in all its decadent glory. The body could be significantly different, however, in keeping with Bugatti’s promise that the car has been honed to go around corners at physics-defying speed.

As for the name, it might conjure up images of a certain 1970s-80s band, but the Divo is named after Albert Divo, a French racing driver who twice won the Targa Florio while piloting a Bugatti race machine.

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July 10, 2018 / Comments Off

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