The Final Bugatti Bolide Wears A 97-Year-Old Paint Scheme From A Type 35 Race Car

We're approaching the end of the Bugatti W16's run, as the last Bolide rolled off the production line last week. Bugatti still has a handful of Mistral roadsters to build, plus the one-off Brouillard won't be delivered to its customer for another couple years, but that final Bolide being built is still a big milestone for the company. Only 40 of these track-only specials were made, with the first Bolide being finished in early 2024. Thanks to its absurd W16 engine, all-wheel-drive system and wild aerodynamics, the Bolide might be more extreme than any other automaker's track-only special, and at around $5 million to start also among the most expensive.

Typically the final unit in any Bugatti model's production run is a special spec, and this Bolide is no different. The buyer, a collector and "longstanding friend of the marque" from Switzerland, commissioned his Bolide in a vintage color scheme that matches his nearly-100-year-old Type 35. It's a much classier choice than most other Bolides, and it's not the first time this customer has looked to his Type 35 for inspiration.

Back in 2016, this unnamed collector was the buyer of the final Veyron Grand Sport, which used a color scheme inspired by his then-freshly-restored 1928 Type 35C. In the course of that car's restoration, they looked at an original period brochure color palette to land on a color called Bleu Grand Prix Lyonnais. It's a lighter, more muted shade than the bright blue we typically associate with Bugattis and other French race cars, but it's still an accurate hue, as the type of blue used depended on the region. On the Veyron Grand Sport Le Grand Bleu, that shade was paired with Dark Blue for the exterior two-tone, plus dark blue leather.

The Bolide isn't the exact same blue, but it's close. Bugatti says the exterior colors are Special Blue Lyonnais and Black Blue, while the interior is covered in Lake Blue Alcantara with Light Blue Sport stitching. The color scheme really looks fantastic on the Bolide, especially at the rear where the brighter blue is used to great effect on the wing and diffuser. I wish the wheels were color-matched or at least bright silver, but c'est la vie. (There is one photo in Bugatti's set where the car seems to have silver wheels on it, so there's hope.)

After the Bolide's reveal in concept form in late 2020, the following summer during Monterey Car Week Bugatti announced that it would enter production, at which point development began with Bugatti's exacting attention to detail. The design was finalized in 2022 while engineering was completed in early 2023, after which point the first prototypes were able to be tested and refined in real-world conditions following "thousands of hours of engineering analysis, aesthetic refinement and meticulous attention to detail." At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023 Bugatti had the opportunity to take a Bolide to 217 mph with lead test pilot Andy Wallace at the wheel, and intensive on-track development continued from summer 2023 to early 2024. Said Bugatti about the Bolide's development:

This period demanded absolute commitment from the entire team, with engineers and technicians working from early morning to late into the night, every single day. Each day followed a meticulously planned schedule, so precise that downtime was measured in minutes rather than hours, ensuring maximum track time when the circuit opened in the morning. Every evening, the team conducted detailed debriefings to review the day's activities against the plan and assess outcomes. Throughout the night, the car was prepared for the following day's testing. Come morning, the team would reconvene early to complete final preparations, ensuring the Bolide was ready the moment the track opened.

Bugatti says it was particularly important to ensure the Bolide matched the impeccable quality and refinement of Bugatti road cars, and to meet the customers' expectations of excellence throughout the vehicle's lifetime, which the automaker says was "an immense challenge" for its engineers, suppliers and production team to achieve for a high-performance track car. "The idea of being a perfect track car for both gentlemen and professional drivers is not so easy to translate into driving attributes, but it's essential what makes it a Bugatti," said chief technology officer Emilio Scervo. Earlier this year Bugatti held its first track day for owners at Circuit Paul Ricard, and other owners have already driven their Bolides around Circuit of the Americas, Spa and the Nürburgring.

Said Bugatti president Christophe Piochon, "We set out to create a car that can perform on the racetrack yet also belongs in the world's finest collections. That's why we devoted extraordinary attention to every detail of execution, from the paintwork to the interior, so that owning a Bolide reflects the same level of craftsmanship as every other Bugatti in your collection. This was a new challenge for our production teams in the Atelier and for every supplier and partner. Motorsport typically prioritizes parts that can be changed quickly, yet a Bugatti is created to stand the test of time. Upholding that philosophy while delivering extreme performance required absolute dedication from everyone involved."

That makes me pretty sure the Bolide won't be the last track-focused car we see from Bugatti. The Bolide's W16 may be headed off into the sunset, but the Tourbillon's naturally aspirated V16 is a worthy successor, and being developed by Cosworth and already fitted with a hybrid system, it's an engine I could easily see being put in a new track special — or maybe even a race car. After all, it would be a shame if Bugatti put all this work into the Bolide without the opportunity to put those learnings to good use again in the development of something new. Racing is in Bugatti's blood, after all, with the Type 35 being the winningest race car in history.