A true one-off Bugatti has set a record for the highest price paid for a new car at auction.
The car is the Bugatti Chiron Profilée that the French performance brand unveiled last month. It went under the hammer at an RM Sotheby’s auction in Paris on Wednesday, where it sold for 9,792,500 euros (about $10.77 million), buyer’s premium included.
The price is double the pre-auction estimate, and that’s a good thing, as Bugatti plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to charity. It also breaks the previous record for a new car sold at auction, which was $7 million in 2016 for the 500th Ferrari LaFerrari. When it comes to the highest price paid for a car at auction, the title goes to the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, which sold for 135 million euros ($148.5 million) in 2022 .
Unlike most individual pieces, the Chiron Profilée was developed with the aim of offering multiple examples. It was developed in response to Bugatti customers who wanted a tamer, dressier version of the hardcore track-focused Chiron Pur Sport launched in early 2020. However, the higher than expected demand for the Chiron in general meant that all 500 building slots for the hypercar were already taken into account before the Chiron Profilée could be launched.
Bugatti Chiron Profilée
Bugatti Chiron Profilée
Bugatti Chiron Profilée
The Chiron Profilée that was sold is actually a pre-series vehicle that was approved for use on public roads in Europe. As a pre-series device, it is not included in the 500-unit build run for the Chiron.
Unique to the car is its small duck-tail spoiler which, along with a revised front lip spoiler, helps generate ample downforce for the Profilée (the Chiron Pur Sport has a huge two-metre-wide rear wing). The car’s name derives from the rear spoiler. It is a nod to one of Jean Bugatti’s first creations, the Type 46, nicknamed the Superprofilée, which featured a tail section with its own punch in the stern.
Power comes from the familiar 8.0-litre quad-turbo W-16, tuned here to deliver the same 1,480bhp as the Pur Sport. It helps the Profilée accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.3 seconds, from 0 to 200 km/h in 5.5 seconds and further to a top speed of 236 km/h, which is faster than the Pur Sports. It has a top speed of 217 miles per hour.
