In 1999, Bugatti revealed the Veyron with extraordinary, almost unbelievable figures, kickstarting an automotive arms race that has not since slowed as the hypercar segment was truly born, and more than two decades later, Molsheim is paying tribute to its era-defining masterpiece — and the man who made it happen — with this, the Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage. The name is a deliberate tip of the hat to Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Karl Piëch, without whom the Volkswagen Group may have crumbled, Audi may have surrendered the luxury fight to BMW and Mercedes, our ears may not have been blessed with the five-cylinder Quattro, Porsche may not have won Le Mans with the 917, and Bugatti may have faded into obscurity. To celebrate such a man and his groundbreaking Veyron vision, Bugatti’s Programme Solitaire division could not simply create a Chiron with a red-and-black color scheme like the first Veyron, slap on some chrome wheels, and call it a day.
Bugatti’s Most Powerful W16 Reappears in the F.K.P. Hommage
Since the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ is the car that fulfilled Piëch’s ambition of exceeding 300 mph, it’s only right that the car that celebrates his achievements is fitted with the same 1,578-hp quad-turbocharged W16 engine. Ensconcing this behemoth of a power plant is a modernized reinterpretation of the Bauhaus-influenced design of the Veryon, with narrower headlights, larger intakes, a more upright and better-integrated nose, and larger wheels (20-inch at the front, 21-inch at the back) wrapped in the latest Michelin rubber.
The rear of the one-off homage has also been subtly updated with smaller inner taillights, a more rectangular exhaust finisher, and shapelier diffuser vents. Finishing the updated design off is a specially developed, multi-layer paint job, which features an aluminum-based bottom layer with a red-tinted clear coat, contrasted by exposed black-tinted carbon fiber. Inside, just as much care and precision have been exhibited.
One-Off F.K.P. Hommage Interior Blends Past and Present
The underlying Chiron’s modernity means a more luxurious interior is possible than in 2005, when the Veyron entered production, but Bugatti pays its respects to the world’s first hypercar with a unique but Veyron-inspired steering wheel. A bespoke center console joins the tunnel cover as a custom element machined from solid aluminum, while the upcoming Tourbillon’s interior craftsmanship is taken advantage of with Custom Car Couture fabrics woven in Paris being used to show that, unlike in the Veyron, leather isn’t the only way to exhibit opulence. The commissioning owner added another layer of lavish luxury with the fitment of an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak tourbillon in the dashboard, a watch that is self-wound by a gondola that rotates on a diagonal axis several times per hour, powered by the car itself without an electrical motor. The F.K.P. Hommage is only the second Solitaire creation to date, following last year’s Brouillard. Bugatti will produce no more than two of these per year, and the fact that we’re seeing this one in January means we could get another before 2026 comes to a close. We can’t wait to see what Molsheim has planned next.
