Soft leather surrounds its purist dashboard. The interior is filled with flowing, organic forms. Anyone experiencing a Bugatti Chiron from the inside for the first time will be astonished. Instead of small parts and pompous waste of space, the interior is dominated by defined minimalism. The French luxury hyper sports car manufacturer’s reduction to the essentials is at the heart of its design philosophy. “When I began to develop the design of the Chiron interior, it was clear that the Dna of the new hyper sports car would be characterised by the technology with its iconic 16-cylinder eight-litre engine. So I started to adapt the idea of the exterior design to the interior and make it as technical as possible – without sacrificing the high demands of Bugatti,” says Etienne Salomé, Interior Design director at Bugatti.
The Paris-born car designer, artist and automobile enthusiast has been contributing significantly to Bugatti’s brand image as a designer for over a decade. “Bugatti’s primary concern is to create and preserve an icon. But the Chiron is much more than an automobile; it is a timeless work of art, a breath-taking masterpiece on four wheels,” says Salomé. The forms must possess an eternal force. Like the symbolic horseshoe grille and the striking Bugatti C-line on the side of the Chiron. They are repeated in a similar vein in the interior – the implied horseshoe in the centre of the steering wheel and the C-line in several positions. As a striking design feature, it runs in the middle of the interior, dividing it symmetrically.
The C-line integrates clearly structured and neatly arranged central functions via four instruments, the selector lever and the armrest. Each of the four round instruments is a reflection of the four headlight elements on each side. “The unusually highly placed gear selector is unique and gives the interior a sense of speed. At the same time, it suggests to the driver: You have the power, but are also always in control,” says Etienne Salomé. The Bugatti colour “la vie en bleu” appears discreetly in parts such as the engine start button or the launch control button – a few tributes to the historic Bugatti models. The origins of the French racing colour date back to the beginning of the 20th century and it has accompanied the brand almost since its foundation 110 years ago.
“Every designer strives for a timeless interior. But many vehicles force you to compromise. Not at Bugatti. Our vehicles are timeless. Timelessly beautiful and unique, and therefore virtually perfect,” says Etienne Salomé. Not just built for a decade, but for a long time to come. This is one reason why Bugatti dispenses with a central screen. “We have thus created a new feeling of luxury: high-quality, minimalist, intuitive and timeless,” says the designer with confidence. Because luxury is more than merely a matter of material quality and workmanship. In a luxurious interior, it is also a question of reducing the interior to the essentials. “True luxury is simple and supports our customers. They are not inundated with information, the few switches are in the right place and accentuate the performance of the engine,” emphasises Etienne Salomé.
