The “Ettore Bugatti” Legend is based on the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse*), as are all the other Legends. The super sports car is powered by a 1,200 PS, 8-litre W16 engine that transmits an unequalled 1,500 Nm at 3,000 to 5,000 rpm to the tarmac and rockets it from zero to 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds. With a maximum speed of 408.84 km/h (254 MPH) with the roof down, the Vitesse is the world’s fastest production roadster ever built.
“The legend’s design is dedicated to Ettore Bugatti’s passion for the unusual in automobile construction. One of his masterpieces – the Type 41 Royale – never fails to impress and inspire with its mere presence,” explains Achim Anscheidt, Chief Designer at Bugatti. “Ettore liked to describe his creations as ‘Pur Sang’, as thoroughbreds. In dedicating this Bugatti Legend to him, we are staying true to his philosophy of aesthetically functional beauty for the automobile by using pure and natural materials such as polished aluminium and the finest cordovan leather.”
A body of clear-coated carbon and hand-polished aluminium Exterieur. The design of the carbon body of the Legends model “Ettore Bugatti” is based on a 1932 Type 41 Royale with the chassis number 41111 and sports a “Yin-Yang” color split. The front part is made of hand-polished aluminium and finished with a clear coating. Bugatti is the only manufacturer to use clear-coated aluminium on a production vehicle. For the first time, this material is used for the entire front and side panels including the bonnet, the mirror bases and housings, the exterior door handles and the corners of the bumpers, the wings, the doors and the regions just behind them, the so-called “medallions” (in French). The vehicle’s rear, sill panels and A-pillar trims are finished with dark-blue exposed carbon.
Bugatti is using two types of leather for the first time in the “Ettore Bugatti” Legend. Traditional calf’s leather – here in a natural brown (Brun Cavalier) – is used throughout the vehicle interior. Those parts that are typically touched by hand including the steering wheel rim, gear lever, door handles, centre console armrest and door handle recesses, the switches in the door trims and in the roof module are all jacketed in an exclusive, natural cordovan leather. Bugatti is using this skilfully created leather – the tanning process alone takes around six months – for the first time. It is typically used for high-quality shoes and is particularly durable and sure to the touch.
Other well-known Legends features have also been included in this vehicle, namely the “Brun Cavalier” leather-clad insert in the centre console extension which bears the “Les Légendes de Bugatti” nameplate and the relief of the dancing elephant as well as the door sills bearing the portrait and signature of Ettore Bugatti.
