The luxury French marque known for its lavish special editions and multiple speed run records has unveiled yet another exclusive edition as part of the 'Les Legendes de Bugatti' (Bugatti Legends) series, to commemorate the renowned names associated with the brand.
In the 90th anniversary year of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the first legend Bugatti decided to honour, is central to the history of motor sports and intimately linked with the Company - Jean-Pierre Wimille.
Jean is a two time Le Mans winner for the French marque and was one of the longest serving test drivers at Bugatti. The son of a journalist, he drove almost exclusively for Bugatti throughout his racing career before accepting the position of official test driver for the brand under the invitation of Ettore Bugatti in 1933.
He died in a car crash in 1949 in Buenos Aires.
The three unit limited Bugatti Legend 'Jean-Pierre Wimille' relates to the successes of the eponymous racing driver who initially won in 1937, with a Bugatti 57G Tank co-piloted by Robert Benoist, and repeated the feat in 1939 in a 57C Tank together with Pierre Veyron.
The Bugatti 57G Tank from 1937 is the inspiration behind the design of the current avantgarde creation. For the historic race the 57G Tank appeared in the racing blue finish that habitually identified French racing cars.
The entire front area of the vehicle, side doors and the part behind the doors, the so-called 'medaillon' (French), are finished in Bleu Wimille. Only the upper part of the front wing panels remains in dark blue exposed carbon, thus reflecting the striking design of the historic racing car's 'Wimille stripes'.
The light blue paint finish also graces the underside of the distinctive rear wing, which bears an eye-catching silver silhouette of the Le Mans race circuit reminding of Wimille's first victory there.
In the cabin, the headliner, footwells, and seat inserts have been upholstered in Bleu Wimille, with the dark blue seat bolsters offering a sense of contour. A darker, 'Lake Blue' finish is carried through in the dash panel, centre console and doors and creates a colour dialogue in the vehicle's interior. Decorative stitching in contrasting light blue delivers subtle accents.
As a homage the Bugatti designers have developed a special decorative stitching in the French national colours of blue, white and red which has been used on the steering wheel and gearshift lever, lending both parts a real sense of elegance. The headrests have been embellished with the stitched signature of Jean-Pierre Wimille.
The Bugatti Legends models are based on the fastest series roadster in the world - Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse. At its heart you find an 8.0-litre W16 engine delivering a colossal 1,200bhp and 1,500Nm of torque. All that power allows the slick car to be propelled to 100km/h in a lightening quick 2.6 seconds.
