- The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport ’57 One of One’ is a work of art, more so than any other Bugatti.
- The one-off takes after the iconic Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic, which the owner fell in love with 20 years ago.
- The ’57 One of One’ pays homage through details like the same silver-tinted blue hue paint as the original, or polished vertical spines in the front grille.
Earning the privilege to buy a Bugatti already puts you in a tax bracket beyond the likes of mere mortals, but the manufacturer’s Sur Mesure division allows customers to spend inordinate sums of money most of us probably can’t fathom. One customer used the Sur Mesure division to create a Bugatti Super Sport unlike any we’ve ever seen.
A Super Special Super Sport
Called the ’57 One of One,’ the special Super Sport takes after the iconic Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic. Specifically, No. 57374, which was originally sold to Victor Rothschild before eventually winning the “Best of Show” award at the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It then found its way into Peter Mullin’s automotive museum.
Bugatti says that’s where the customer of the ’57 One of One’ first saw a Type 57 SC Atlantic 20 years ago. “I remember the day like it was yesterday,” she told Bugatti. When she went to Molsheim to configure her own Chiron Super Sport—a 70th-birthday gift from her husband—it was decided that they should dedicate her car to the Type 57 SC.
In order to make sure they had the correct color swatch, Jascha Straub, lead designer of the Sur Mesure division, flew to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao where the original car was on display. The customization division also worked with the engineers to recreate the vertical slats in the grille of the original car. They landed on a new grille with polished vertical lines and a thicker center spine, an homage to the Type 57.
Nods to the Type 57 are everywhere in the ‘One of One.’ The five-spoke Super Sport wheels use polished chrome and the same blue as the original. The underside of the rear wing features a hand-drawn silhouette of the Atlantic, finished with ’57’ and ‘One of One’ lettering. Inside, the Atlantic’s silhouette is hand-stitched in Lightning Blue on the door panels and a center console with a custom inlay that proclaims ’57 One of One.’ Even Rembrandt Bugatti’s iconic dancing elephant sculpture is embroidered on the headrests.
Like the other Chiron Super Sports, the One of One is powered by the absolutely monstrous 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine that produces 1578 horsepower. Bugatti claims the Chiron makes the dash from zero to 60 mph in just 2.3 seconds, and it has a claimed top speed of over 260 mph.
The Super Sport we tested rocketed to 60 mph in just 2.2 seconds and hit 200 mph in under 15 seconds. Obviously, even the Super Sports that aren’t one-offs are one helluva ride.
Associate News Editor
Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.