Bugatti Crafted the Chiron, the World's Last Truly Great Car #Short

WOLFGANG DURHEIMER WATCHES closely as I wipe my feet. It’s raining here in Molsheim, and we’ve just crossed the opulent grounds of Bugatti's estate to the “atelier,” where the world's most exclusive automobile is meticulously assembled. Durheimer, the head of the company, is not about to let me track in any mud. I understand why once we're inside. The factory is immaculate. It is roughly the size of a soccer field, oval in shape, with a light gray floor and white walls. The floor-to-ceiling windows are frosted for privacy. As we enter, half a dozen engineers, each wearing crisp black pants, clean shoes, and a blue and white “Bugatti” polo, look our way. Sitting between us and them is Bugatti's latest car, hidden beneath a gray sheet. “Maybe we should show you the car,” says Willi Netuschil, the head of engineering. Durheimer gracefully removes the sheet, revealing the Chiron. It is stunning. But then, it's supposed to be. The Chiron, which will be revealed this week at the Geneva International Motor Show, is the improbable successor to the Veyron, the most extreme automobile ever built. The Veyron was an ode to excess, the fastest, most powerful, most lavishly appointed motor car available at any price. Its specifications are legendary: 1,200 horsepower, a top speed of 268.9 mph, and an average price of $2.6 million. Bugatti sold every one it built---450 in all---and, the story goes, lost money on every last one of them. But profit was never the point. The Veyron was born of one man's relentless pursuit of the best, regardless of time or cost. It was a vehicle to appease the unappeasable.