Bugatti Bugatti Chiron Profilee Sets World Record For “Most Expensive New Car” At Auction

Yesterday, while everyone else was posting photos of their breakfast or cat on Facebook, Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac announced the news on his page that the sole Bugatti Chiron Profilee on the planet has set a global record of “most expensive new car ever sold at auction,” fetching $10.76 million at RM Sotheby’s. The “VAT” – “Value Added” tax – bangs it up to approximately $13.1 million. Puts things in perspective, yes?

The identity of the buyer at this time is unknown, and it will probably stay that way. An unknown percentage of the sale goes to several charities. Mr. Rimac took the company reigns in late 2021 from Stephan Winkelman.

The list of astonishments in the particulars of the Profilee is long and, even on paper or screen, it makes Bugatti freaks like me – I drove a Vittesse in the 00s for Guitar Aficionado magazine – get cranked, stoked, buzzed, knocked-out. It houses an 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 engine with a total of 1,479 horsepower and 1,180 lb-ft of torque. That’s the same furnace as the Chiron Pur Sport, of which there were only 60 made.

The Profilee combines the Pur Sport’s hardcore attitude with several aesthetic touches, such as the ducktail rear spoiler instead of the former’s massive six-foot-wide fixed rear wing. But it’s still a Chiron, and Chirons are about raw, cruel, ridiculous performance.

Thanks to shorter gear ratios than the Chiron Sport, the Profilee does 0-62 mph in just 2.3 seconds, 0-124 mph in 5.5 seconds, and 12.4 seconds to 186 mph. Top speed clocks in at 236 mph, whereas the Pur Sport manages a 217 mph maximum.

Bugatti engineers also dabbled with the chassis by changing the chamber angles of the wheels on the front and rear axles, and added harder springs with a front-heavy balance. These springs are 10% stiffer compared with those on the Chiron Sport. The rear axle boasts a 50% more negative chamber, resulting in improved grip in turns without sacrificing any driver comfort.

The color? It’s called Argent Atlantique, and it was developed exclusively for this final Chiron- and no other Chiron has it. There is, however, a section of carbon fiber tinted with Bleu Royal Carbon on the lower part of the car.

The wheels are bespoke, naturally, and were manufactured and tested specifically for the Profilee. Inside, it’s heavy on the leather, carbon, and solid aluminum – all of which require hours of handcrafting. The Profilee, because of its special status, is the first Chiron with a woven leather finish found on the dashboard, door panels, and center console. Bugatti says over 2,500 meters of leather strips were required to make that happen.

A black anodized frame inlay is located in the center console to further mark the Profilee’s special #501 status.

The Chiron itself was shown to the world for the first time in March 2016 as a worthy successor to their Veyron, setting new standards for performance and usability and once again establishing a bar for everyone to aim for.

A limited production run of 500 Chiron units was pledged by Bugatti and the first 200 of those were sold before the first Chiron had left the Molsheim atelier.

But this Profilee?

You might as well try to find matching fingerprints for two people on the planet as to find another car like this.