Bidder forks out record R184m for one-of-kind Bugatti Profilée

RM Sotheby’s has sold the Bugatti Chiron Profilée for a remarkable €9,792,500 (R184m) — a world record price for a new car sold on auction.

An unnamed buyer scooped the one-of-a-kind sports car after an extended bidding contest in the Carrousel du Louvre, Paris on February 1.

The sum achieved is significantly higher than the presale estimate of €4.2m-€5.5m (R79m-R103m).

The Profilée is a single, bespoke-engineered version of Bugatti’s acclaimed Chiron hyper sports car and the first and only “pre-series” Chiron Profilée produced. 

With the production of the 500-unit Chiron selling out faster than expected during the Profilée’s development, it could not be introduced as a full production model. Rather than hide away this pre-series car, Bugatti decided to bring this one single example to roadgoing reality.

Christophe Piochon, president of Bugatti Automobiles, said: “Unprecedented demand for the Chiron models meant that, despite all the developments and tests we had already done, we could not bring the Profilée to production.

“But how could we not finish such a beautifully designed and engineered car? Offering it for sale at auction through RM Sotheby’s gave our customers, but also Bugatti devotees around the world, a fair chance of acquiring and enjoying this truly historic car.” 

The one-off car features a rich, handcrafted interior with woven leather as well as bespoke aerodynamic developments, including the only sweeping fixed tail in Bugatti’s modern history.

Befitting the Profilée’s status as an automotive solitaire, Bugatti’s designers created a unique paint colour called Argent Atlantique exclusively for this car. To complement this finish, a Bleu Royal carbon tint was applied to the exposed carbon fibre of the car’s lower section as homage to Bugatti’s duotone pattern.

Other details that can only be found on the Profilée include a tailor-made wheel design inspired by the Bugatti horseshoe grille. The 380km/h car, powered by Bugatti’s 8.0l quad-turbo W16 engine, reaches 100km/h from standstill in 2.3 seconds.