When the Bugatti Bolide was revealed in fall 2020, they stressed that the car was merely an “experiment.” Bugatti built only one working model. Yet, less than a year later, Bugatti has officially announced that the Bolide is officially going to enter production.

Considering the widespread media coverage and viral videos of the Bolide starting up, it is no surprise that Bugatti is responding to the hype and capitalizing on their experiment. We should note that despite entering production, Bugatti has not stated if the Bolide will be a street-legal road-going race car.

Why is the Bugatti Bolide going into production?

“The Bolide generated a great deal of enthusiasm and intrigue last year. Following its presentation, a significant number of enthusiasts and collectors asked us to develop the experimental Bolide as a production vehicle. I was absolutely amazed by the reactions and feedback from customers from all over the world,” explains Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti. 

In other words, their very exclusive and very wealthy clientele sent the message to Bugatti that if they build it, they will pay for it. As the saying goes, “money talks.” It seems that Bugatti listened. We can hardly blame them. The French branded automaker stands to make a small fortune off a car initially meant to be a one-and-done experimental build.

Will the Bolide production car be different from the original?

Considering that the original concept car revealed last year was a fully functional vehicle, it is hard to imagine that Bugatti would make any drastic changes to the Bolide for its production run. One thing that is certain to remain the same is the engine.

The purpose of the Bugatti Bolide experiment was all about taking the existing Bugatti W16 engine used in its other recent models like the Chiron and designing around it with no limitations. In the case of the Bolide, the W16 engine is tuned to produce 1,580 horsepower on regular gasoline and 1,825 horsepower on 110 octane race fuel. 

The chassis and aerodynamic package look to be identical to the original model. Bugatti has stated that they are working with the FIA to make sure the production version of the Bolide meets their safety standards. 

“We are proud to have succeeded in keeping the production vehicle so close to its technical demonstrator both visually and technically while also enhancing the design, quality, and vehicle safety,” explains Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann.

How much will the Bugatti Bolide cost?

As one would expect, the Bolide will be extremely limited and extremely expensive. Bugatti has stated that only 40 examples of the Bolide will be produced over a span of three years. That production number is for the global market.

Only 40 people on Earth will get to own the lightest production car that Bugatti has ever produced. Those people will certainly be paying handsomely for the privilege. Each Bugatti Bolide will have a price of four million euros which is equivalent to 4.7 million dollars. By the time you read this, there is an excellent chance that all 40 cars will be sold out. Though, if we’re lucky, we may just come across one at the next “cars and coffee” meet.