The last Bugatti Bolide wears a 97-year-old paint scheme of a Type 35 racing car – Jalopnik

We are approaching the end of production of the Bugatti W16, when the last Bolide rolled off the production line last week. Bugatti still has a handful of Mistral roadsters to build, and the one-off Brouillard won’t be delivered to customers for a few years, but the final build of the Bolide is still a major milestone for the company. Only 40 of these track-only specials were made, and the first Bolide was completed in early 2024. Thanks to its absurd W16 engine, all-wheel drive and wild aerodynamics, the Bolide could well be more extreme than any other automaker’s track-only special, and at a starting price of around $5 million, it’s also one of the most expensive.

Normally the last unit in production of any Bugatti model is a special specification, and this Bolide is no different. The buyer, a collector and ‘old friend of the brand’ from Switzerland, has ordered his Bolide in a vintage color scheme to match his almost 100-year-old Type 35. It’s a much more stylish choice than most other Bolides, and it’s not the first time this customer has looked to his Type 35 for inspiration.

The Bolide is not exactly the same blue, but it is 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 the Bugatti set where the car appears to have silver wheels, so there is hope.)

This period required the absolute commitment of the entire team, with engineers and technicians working from early morning to late evening every day. Each day followed a carefully planned schedule, so precise that downtime was measured in minutes rather than hours, ensuring maximum track time when the track opened in the morning. Each evening the team conducted detailed debriefings to compare the day’s activities against the plan and assess the results. During the night the car was prepared for the next day’s tests. The team would reconvene early the next morning to complete final preparations so that the Bolide was ready when the track opened.

Bugatti says it was especially important to ensure the Bolide matched the impeccable quality and refinement of Bugatti road cars, and to meet customer expectations for excellence throughout the life of the vehicle, which the automaker said was “an enormous 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 characteristics, but it is essential what makes it a Bugatti,” said head of technology Emilio Scervo. Earlier this year Bugatti held its first track day for owners at Circuit Paul Ricard, and other owners have already driven their Cars around Circuit of the Americas, Spa and the Nürburgring.

That makes me pretty sure the Bolide won’t be the last track-oriented car we see from Bugatti. The Bolide’s W16 may be heading off into the sunset, but the Tourbillon’s naturally aspirated V16 is a worthy successor, and because it’s developed by Cosworth and already equipped with a hybrid system, it’s an engine I could easily see in a new track special – or perhaps 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 lessons to good use in the development of something new. After all, racing is in Bugatti’s blood, with the Type 35 being the most winning racing car in history.