Bugatti Chiron Profilée

The Bugatti Chiron Profilée is an automotive solitaire. A one-of-a-kind member of the Chiron line-up envisioned as a less radical interpretation of the Pur Sport, it is unique in character, design, and in its details. With all build slots for the Chiron spoken for, the auction of the Bugatti Chiron Profilée in Paris on the 1st of February 2023 was the sole opportunity to acquire one of the final W16-powered Bugatti creations directly from the Molsheim Atelier.

With the reveal of the Chiron Pur Sport in 2020, the world was shown the most extreme personality of the Chiron family yet. With a six-foot-wide fixed rear wing, shorter gear ratios, advanced magnesium wheels, and a raft of other innovations, the Pur Sport was designed for corners. It would sell out quickly, but some customers had asked if a Chiron model could be made that would integrate aspects of its character while maintaining the timeless elegance of models like the Chiron or the Chiron Sport. It was here that the Chiron Profilée was born.

It’s rare for manufacturers to spend the time and effort to bring a car to full production specification when they know only one can ever be produced. But the Profilée has been fully developed, and tested and has passed each of the high-quality standards that Bugatti applies to all of its cars, allowing it to acquire a single type of approval for Europe.

The Profilée is a bespoke design featuring a sweeping fixed tail at the rear, which carries out two crucial functions. Firstly, the wing ensures stability and control right up to the Profilée's 380 km/h top speed by increasing downforce over the rear axle, and secondly, it uses negative pressure to suck hot air out of the engine compartment via two interior tunnels in the high-temperature carbon wing. Air flows both over the top of the wing to generate downforce, and also under the wing to draw air from the engine compartment.

At the front of this unique hyper sports car, the Profilée was given wider air inlets and an enlarged Bugatti horseshoe grille to help funnel more cooling air into the radiators. A revised front splitter works in tandem with a sculpted underbody to further increase downforce and maximize airflow. As with any Bugatti, the mastery of airflow for both cooling, drag reduction, and downforce is fundamental in delivering the extraordinary performance that has become a hallmark of modern Bugatti cars.

In character, the Profilée maintains much of the purity of the Pur Sport; designed for lateral grip and ultimate acceleration. It is powered by the same 1,500 PS development of the Bugatti W16 engine, with 15 percent shorter transmission ratios than the Chiron Sport. The Profilée accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.3 seconds and up to 200 km/h in 5.5 seconds. It has a top speed of 380 km/h compared with the Chiron Pur Sport’s 350 km/h.

Chassis tuning includes a change in the camber angles of the wheels on the front and rear axles and harder springs with a front-heavy balance. The springs are ten percent stiffer compared with the Chiron Sport and the rear axle carries 50 percent more negative camber, offering improved grip in bends, without forfeiting any driving comfort. It is a blend of the best characteristics of the Pur Sport with a beautiful, elegant design.

The Profilée is presented in a primary color of Argent Atlantique, exclusively developed for this car. No other Chiron model has been configured in this shade. The lower part of the car is finished in exposed carbon fiber, tinted in the existing Bugatti color of Bleu Royal Carbon. The wheels are - again - unique, especially designed, manufactured, and tested for the Profilée, and finished in a shade of Le Patron, created to match the carbon tint of the lower half of the body. Polished aluminum elements reflect the famous shape of the Bugatti horseshoe grille.

The interior of the Profilée is familiar to Chiron owners, finished by hand at Bugatti’s Atelier in Molsheim. Designed around authentic and high-quality materials, such as leather, carbon, or solid aluminum, each component is worked on and refined by hand for hours. The design itself follows a philosophy of defined minimalism, reducing each component to its simplest and most beautiful form.

However, the Profilée becomes the first Chiron fitted with a woven leather finish in the interior, applied to the dashboard, door panels, and center console. In total, more than 2,500 meters of leather strips are used to create this complex and beautiful finish. The Profilée is equipped with comfortable seats finished in Gris Rafale and Deep Blue leather, featuring the quilting pattern, ‘air parade’. A black anodized frame inlay in the center console features the Profilée signature; one final unique touch applied to this special creation.

The Bugatti Chiron Profilée went on auction by RM Sotheby’s on 1 February 2023, in Paris and sold for 8.7 million EUR (9.792 million EUR incl. VAT on the full purchase price (both on the hammer price and commission)), and with a percentage of the proceeds going to benefit charitable causes.

Chassis No.: VF9NC3V36NM795004
Engine No.: DAL 001 398