What is the future of Bugatti?

The boss of Bugatti, Stephan Winkelmann: 300mph, the new cars and the next steps for the Chiron

As offices, the Château Saint-Jean, in Molsheim, cradle of Bugatti, is difficult to compete. The beautiful building is flanked by two coach houses: North Remise houses the historic collection and the team of "flying doctors" from Bugatti; South Discount contains the Bugatti Library on the floor while below there is a large video wall on which future owners lean and finalize every detail of their Chiron.

Facing South Remise is the Orangery (lovingly restored in 2009 in the honor of Ettore). to the south is the modern building of the Atelier in which Chirons number 109-118 are currently handcrafted in an atmosphere of calm.

Words: Charlie Turner // Photography: ] Rowan Horncastle

The Atelier itself is built in the form of the iconic Bugatti macaron logo and houses three chassis assembly bays and a newly updated rolling road. It had to be rebuilt after Chiron's first full-power test blew electricity on its predecessor and turned off the lights in this part of Alsace. All the facility has a feeling of exclusivity and calm, but the door lightly, nestled between the Clover Bowling bowling and the Dorlisheim McDonald's – the majority of passersby would be unaware of the magic created at l & # 39; inside. [19659003] With more than 300 of the 500 chirons currently sold and two potential owners who spend time in South Remise by specifying theirs during our visit, the brand is clearly healthy. But after the most recent cabinet reshuffle of the Volkswagen Group (Bugatti's parent company) and the departure of Wolfgang Dürheimer, Bugatti has a new CEO: Lamborghini's former boss, Stephan Winkelmann. Responsible for the Aventador, Huracán and a myriad of limited edition cars, he has also expanded the brand into new markets with Urus. TopGear was the last person to interview Winkelmann in Sant Agata on the last day of his 11-year tenure in the company. There is therefore a nice symmetry that we are the first to grant him an audience at Château Saint-Jean. arrived here after a relatively brief period as the boss of Audi Sport.

Six months later, how does he find Bugatti, and what are the differences between him and Lamborghini?

"When I joined Lamborghini in 2005, we had two models – the Murciélago and Gallardo.But we did not have Bugatti branding.We had cars but lacked image At Bugatti, we have a very strong brand, but only one product, and this product is strictly limited to 500 units, which is great for our customers but presents a challenge for a contractor or a company that wants to run a strong business My workload comes from our ideas about what we want to accomplish with Chiron, and what we want to do with the brand in general. "

Before we go to the next brand for the brand, what is the next step for Chiron? Since Veyron has had four leads, including the Grand Sport Targa roof, the Super Sport and various other tribute editions, with less than 200 cars for sale, will the Chiron follow suit? example of his predecessor?

to tell you about the Veyron, you know better than me! It's something we look at, but we will not make an open car. We will stick to the coupe. I want to keep Chiron as pure as possible. I want to make the most of the coupe. "

What is the importance of top speed for you? The Veyron has made a game like the fastest car in the world, something that the previous leadership has done a lot to protect, but currently the fastest car in the world is a Koenigsegg …

"Priorities change. And for me, maximum speed is not paramount for the success of Bugatti. Someone will always chase you. If you want to enter this game, it may be OK, but it's not my top priority. To be honest, I do not know how fast we could go over 420 km / h [261mph]. "

What is the fastest time you spent in Chiron, and do you spend enough time there?

" 412 km / h [256mph]. And, no, not enough! "

Without plans to expand the Chiron range in the immediate future, there is no doubt that there must be bigger plans for the brand that Winkelmann has been tasked with overseeing and delivering. Volkswagen Group bought this company and the brand, it was to restore leadership in the automotive world with a car – the Veyron.It was a car that completed the gold triangle: a design Perfect, which was to be timeless, a comfort that no other supersport car manufacturer could match, and superior performance to anything you could imagine.After 40 years of flat line for the brand, having such a start is amazing.And the Chiron is an additional development to make the perfect car even better. "

" When I joined Bugatti, it was important for me to look into the brand's history to understand its origins. When Ettore Bugatti founded the company here in Molsheim, he wanted to make exclusive sports cars and then he ran the company doing very different things. He produced what we would call Formula cars, which could easily be converted into road cars. The T35 is the most emblematic example. But he also made the Atlantic, he made the Royale. In terms of chassis, engines and body styles, he did everything possible at that time. "

So, what are the biggest opportunities for the brand?"

"Beyond Chiron, I think a huge opportunity – if you look at our history and customer behavior and you talk to customers and resellers, they all say," So what's next? "

Speculation on a second line of the brand's Bugatti family: With Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini now adding SUVs to their lineup, are we at the limit of the Bugatti SUV that the Internet is talking about?

" There is nothing I can confirm. No decision has yet been taken. Bugatti could do more than one car, that's for sure. We study very carefully body styles, segments, regions, prices and our customers. Our clientele, although perfect, is very limited. We have more than 400 clients, but they are not the only people we could reach. If we decided to build another model, it would not be an alternative to Chiron. The idea would be for our customers to think, "I'm going to buy the Chiron AND the …", not "the Chiron OR the …" "

So while a second potential car in the Bugatti range is still in. During the evaluation phase, it should be clear that the Chiron is at a distance to enter the category "and" that this unique group of customers has the chance to consider. If we were to guess, we would say that an SUV would be too obvious, too vulgar for a brand fiercely protective of its position at the top of the automotive exclusive food chain. Any second model should either establish a new benchmark in its target segment (as Veyron did in the hypercar space) or, better yet, create a new segment of its own, which offers the 'triangle of interest'. "Gold" of unique design, comfort that sets the class and unparalleled performance on the continent in line with the criterion "and", while avoiding to slide Bugatti into the troubled world of rival vehicles .. something she has managed to deflect to this day. Time will tell us.

In the meantime, we think that by taking the Lamborghini model and applying it to Bugatti, there will be a limited run of a more extreme version of Chiron in the near future. Something that Winkelmann is exploring.

"I told the team that if we had to do such a project, it would have to be something special, something unique, something limited. to excite people and the world.It would need to be different … but should also be immediately recognizable as a Bugatti.It should have three things: the horseshoe grille, the Bugatti line and the middle line from the Atlantic. "

Given the complexities of car engineering, the powertrain should remain intact, but the bodywork, aerodynamics, steering and interior could be modified to make a lighter, more agile, more aggressive limited edition car with increased support. At the time of writing, we imagine that the historians of Bugatti are going through the archives to find a suitable candidate to name such a project after … could we humbly name Albert Divo, twice winner of the Targa Florio in a Type 35 and founder of the International Club? Former F1 Grand Prix Drivers, and something of an unreported legend?

The way you decide the price of such a car, or how much, is beyond the TG maths and hugely dependent on the scale of the transformation. But, using our low calculator skills, we know that Bugatti has made a limited 40-car series based on the Chiron, allowing 10% of Bugatti's current customer base to have one at $ 5 million. ; euro. for owners and a cost-effective marketing tool that would provide a good dose of positive noise around the brand, while the biggest problems of future projects will take place in the Wolfsburg boardrooms. Given that the United States is Bugatti's largest single market and that the kind of people who could consider adding an edition of 40 copies to their Bugatti fleet disembark at the end of Monterey week, it would reasonable to speculate could be a suitable place for the car to be revealed. Perfectly scheduled to be a year since the announcement of the departure of Dürheimer and his replacement by Winkelmann. But all this is pure speculation, of course.

Over the next few hours, as we walk on the grounds of the world's most beautiful car production plant, our conversation moves away from autonomy: "For me, Bugatti is a car to drive, also in the next decade. Our plan is not to be autonomous "at the race": I would love it, but I see no way to do it. The Chiron is not a race car. I would like it; if anyone has an idea, they should come to me! "How do you justify a W16 8.0-liter, quad-turbo engine in the VW Group:" We can justify it with numbers and mileage. This engine has been a unique attribute, the iconic heart of a modern Bugatti that makes it so special for our customers. It's really a work of art. The Chiron has an average mileage of less than 2,000 miles per year, which is negligible "in hybridization:" We are creating something that is perhaps the last of a kind. I hope not, but that could be it. Internal combustion engines are always very close to my heart. We must therefore see the trends, we must see what is available. For me, it is clear that there must be some level of electrification. But it depends a lot on timing, size and weight. One thing is clear though: whatever we do, it must be the best of the best. "

It is clear, having spent time with Winkelmann in his new field, that he is not there to simply oversee the production and delivery of 500 chirons." He and the Group have projects Ambitious for the brand, which has redefined luxury and performance over the last 20 years.In view of Winkelmann's track record at Lamborghini, it will be fascinating to see what the next chapter will reserve for this quiet little corner of the city. Alsace.

Get the latest issue of Top Gear magazine, out