At a Wednesday auction in Paris, Bugatti sold its final gas-only supercar for more than $10 million, breaking the previous record for a brand-new vehicle.
The one-of-a-kind Bugatti Chiron Profilée, which was originally a unique development vehicle and was never intended for the market, sold at RM Paris collector auto auction for a bid of $9.5 million. The final selling price, after fees to the auction house, was around Rs2.97 billion ($10.7 million).
The amount paid was significantly higher than the $4.5 million to $6 million that RM Sotheby’s had pegged the car’s value at. According to Hagerty, a business that monitors the market for collector cars, the eight-figure price surpasses past auction sales of new autos.
Bidding for this gleaming blue supercar went so high because it is unique and, in cases like this, collectors “bid knowing they won’t get a second chance,” said John Wiley, manager of valuation and analytics at Hagerty.
According to Bugatti, going from zero to 100 kilometers an hour, or 62 miles per hour in only 2.3 seconds, the Profilée is the fastest-accelerating Chiron variant. Shockingly, it’s capable of up 200 kph, or 124 mph, in 5.5 seconds. Able to reach 236 miles an hour, it also has a higher top speed than the Pur Sport, but still not as high as some other Bugatti models that can reach 300 miles an hour.
The convertible W16 Mistral, unveiled last August, was the French ultra-luxury automaker’s prior announcement that it would be the final gas-powered vehicle it would produce. Only 99 of those cars, each costing at least $5 million, will be produced. According to Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti Rimac, the parent business of Bugatti, the next high-performance model from Bugatti will be a plug-in hybrid with a different kind of gas engine.
However, it turned out that Bugatti only had one additional gasoline-only vehicle to offer for sale. However, this Bugatti was never meant to be put up for sale.
From late 2020, the Bugatti Chiron Profilée was produced as one of numerous variations of the company’s flagship model, the Chiron. There would only ever be 500 Chirons produced, according to Bugatti. A few variations, including the Chiron Sport, Chiron Pur Sport, and Chiron Super Sport, all with different levels of top speed, acceleration, and cornering aggression, were included in that 500-strong group.
Incredible performance was provided by the Chiron’s turbocharged 16-cylinder engine, which is capable of producing close to 1,600 horsepower, while the Pur Sport added more forceful steering, suspension, and acceleration. However, other buyers were looking for a hybrid product that offered the capabilities of the Pur Sport but with a more relaxed aesthetic.
As a response, Bugatti’s engineers and designers began developing a new Chiron model with Pur Sport-like performance but a more ethereal, fluid appearance. In order to draw in more air to cool the massive engine, the Profilée sports a larger grille and broader front air intakes than the standard Chiron. Additionally, the transmission was altered to have shorter gear ratios for faster acceleration and greater engine speeds.
According to Bugatti, the Profilée is the Chiron model with the fastest acceleration. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph, or 62 mph, in only 2.3 seconds, and from 0 to 200 kph, or 124 mph, in just 5.5 seconds. Its top speed of 236 mph is more than the Pur Sport’s but still lower than several other Bugatti models, some of which are theoretically capable of reaching 300 mph.
The name Profilée refers to a classy teardrop-shaped body style that was employed on some well-known Bugatti automobiles in the 1930s.
