THIS BLACK-ON-BLACK SUPER SPORT COMMEMORATING THE TYPE 50S HAS TO BE THE WORLD'S BEST-LOOKING CHIRON TO DATE.
Bugatti has always made amazing cars that not only perform great but also have the most beautiful lines and curves. Most of the classics have an amazing racing-related story or roots dating back to a specific event. One such classic is the Type 50S dating back to the early 1930s. The road-going Type 50S was fitted with a new supercharged 5.0-litre inline 8-cylinder with a dual overhead camshaft that produced around 184 kW, huge power making it the ultimate road car that was comfortable, luxurious and fast for a street car. Jean Bugatti believed the Type 50S could even win the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans, and so Bugatti entered three cars into the 1931 race. Instead of the company’s usual French Racing Blue paint, all the cars were finished completely in black. While the cars looked amazing, it was done as a bit of a snub to the French government as it refused to sponsor the endeavour. The cars were fast, but one crashed out and the other two were retired by Bugatti to avoid any further accidents. One of these was the number 5 entry, Chassis No. 50177, which eventually inspired this modern-day Super Sport dubbed the Hommage T50S. A Bugatti client saw the original Type 50S during a tour of the Molsheim facility and was so inspired by the car that he spoke to Bugatti’s lead Sur Mesure designer, Jascha Straub about an idea of a black-on-black Chiron Super Sport that could celebrate Bugatti history properly. Things were set in motion and the ambitious project was started by Sur Mesure. The result is what you see here, one of the most amazing Chirons ever, a black-on-black creation wearing the same iconic No.5 with ‘Le Mans 1931’ script and a likeness of the Circuit de la Sarthe hidden on the underside of the rear spoiler. There’s a lot more to make the car special, of course. The Type 50S engine bay featured an engine-turned ornamental pattern known as “Perlée”, a hallmark of the Bugatti brand, and this detail simply had to be incorporated into the project. After a long and complex process, the pattern was successfully recreated to last for decades, it’s found on the engine covers, a storage area in the centre console and the knee protectors on either side of the console - the latter features an outline of the Circuit de la Sarthe.
For the exterior, the Chiron features a redesigned upright grille with a repeating square pattern with No.5 painted in the centre - a nod to the original Type 50S. Everything else is black on black, and just superb. The black interior sees a hand-applied outline of the Type 50S on the door panels and ‘Le Mans 1931’ is hand-stitched into both driver and passenger headrests. “The Type 50S lineage helped established Ettore and Jean’s pioneering vision in the early 1930s for powerful, large-engine-capacity Bugatti race cars operating at the extreme end of high-performance,” said Jascha Straub, Lead Designer Sur Mesure. “The Type 50S – and particularly chassis 50177 – are core parts of our history. Having a customer so passionate in his desire to pay homage to this racing legend is a real privilege. He and I spoke for hours, over many months, about the ways that we could create an authentic tribute, obsessing over every detail to ensure it was consistent with the Type 50S story, but also completed to the incomparable standards of the Bugatti brand.” Hendrik Malinowski, Managing Director, Bugatti Automobiles, said: “It may not have the reputation of the Atlantic, the Royale or the Type 35 but we managed to share our excitement for this car with the customer who recognized the importance of the Type 50S. Once again, the Sur Mesure team led by Jascha Straub has delivered an exceptionally personal project of co-creation, utilizing the passion of our customer, the insight of our experts and the skill of our craftspeople in the creation of a love letter to the iconic Type 50S. It’s not just a modern-day design homage but a continuation of a story that began nearly a century ago.” The Hommage T50S is amazing, and especially parked alongside the Type 50S for the coolest Bugatti press images ever taken. They're so good we're uploading them in full size instead of a thumbnail gallery. The original Bugatti Type 50S Chassis 5017 was made available by the Stiftung Nationales Automuseum where the rare car forms part of The Loh Collection. The Loh Collection covers 135 years of automotive history through a display of 150 rare cars that includes other Buggati classics like the Type 57C Aravis, Type 57C Atalante and Veyron Super Sport.
Take a look at the YouTube video that details what this SXdrv scribe reckons is the most beautiful modern Bugatti ever created. The Hommage T50S harks back to the company's racing heritage and is filled with details that tip the hat to the rare classic Type 50S. I mean come on, just look at it, there is no better-looking Chiron out there. Fight me: BUGATTI Sur Mesure: The CHIRON Super Sport ‘Hommage T50S’ | Bugatti
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