Bugatti's Blend Of Beauty And Beast, The Divo ‘Lady Bug’

Yet another bespoke masterpiece of an extraordinary hyper sports car that was completed in close association with a collector has come out of Molsheim, the Bugatti Divo ‘Lady Bug’.

Molsheim’s french luxury brand took about two years to bring this very special Divo to life and it is tailored with a one-of-a-kind custom paint scheme among other truly unique features.

Bugatti’s president Stephan Winkelmann said, “Every Bugatti Divo is one of a kind. With the custom-made ‘Lady Bug’, Bugatti has demonstrated the full range of its customization expertise. We are proud to have matched the customer’s personal taste and expectations with this unique Divo. The car really demonstrates what the marque is capable of in terms of creativity and craftsmanship.”

The Divo was unleashed back in August 2018, it was then that the idea for a geometric-dynamic algorithmic fading pattern on the bodywork emerged.

Hailing from U.S.A, the collector of the car intended the design to be in said pattern consisting of diamond shapes in a unique colour contrast.

Hence, the design team at Bugatti developed the special colours now dubbed by the company ‘Customer Special Red’ and ‘Graphite’. Finishing is of metallic tones to achieve the contrasting effect.

Its alluring diamond pattern was designed to run precisely from the front, over the sides and to the rear, all to compliment the silhouette of the Divo. The diamonds’ positioning had to be placed perfectly on the roofline, doors and rear fender edge in order to achieve a clean visual finish.

A lot of work went into the creation and after the development process was through, the diamond pattern design came out with around 1,600 individual diamonds.

Before cloaking the real beast, a test vehicle was used first. Six-meter-long films were applied precisely to the body of the test vehicle to check the pattern for any inconsistencies.

Painstaking of a process, the diamonds in the film are separated and transferred onto a transfer film, which is then stuck onto the body. Each one of the approximately 1,600 diamonds is checked and realigned if there is a need for it.

Patience was a virtue, together with craftsmanship and skills, as the designers finally managed to pull the film over the deeply concave surface that the Bugatti Divo has without the diamonds becoming distorted or developing folds.

Bugatti Design’s head of colour and trim Jörg Grumer commented, “The ‘Lady Bug’ was an exceptional challenge and at the same time an unforgettable experience. We are proud of the expertise we applied in creating this Divo, a high quality and complex product based on pure craftsmanship and outstanding teamwork between design and development.”

After all the rehearsal stages were done with, the next task would be to perform the actual painting and meticulous removal of each diamond on the real Divo ‘Lady Bug’.

“Every manoeuvre had to be exactly right in this painstaking task, therefore we decided to do another rehearsal before the final stage of work. Because there could only be one attempt on the customer’s car. And that had to be perfect,” commented Bugatti’s expert in customization and surfaces, Dirk Hinze.

In order to get the aforementioned contrasting pattern, the ‘Graphite’ and clearcoat were applied on top of the effect paint ‘Customer Special Red’. As part of this process, the paintwork was sanded, smoothed, checked, retouched and then re-sanded.

The artwork process resulted in a multilayer paint structure that integrates the ruby diamonds evenly into an anthracite colour gradient. The process of repeatedly smoothing out the pattern created an extraordinary depth and brilliance in the colours.

Technical aesthetic visualizations aside in which makes up the bespoke ‘Lady Bug’, the Bugatti Divo is not just a beauty but also a beast. As the Bugatti’s founder, Ettore Bugatti, did not just create his masterpiece to be aesthetically pleasing but must also be able to pack a punch.

Therefore, in all of its glory, the Bugatti Divo is packing their iconic 8-liter, W16 engine that has a maximum power of 1,500 PS and a top speed which is electronically capped at 380 km/h.

Production of the Bugatti Divo is limited to only 40 units and each is priced at a whopping 5 million euros net, plus options. 

Officially the first deliveries of the hyper sports car were made in August 2020, and all of the Divo cars will be with their owners in the first few months of 2021.

All in all, this masterpiece out of Molsheim, the Bugatti Divo ‘Lady Bug’, has the architecture and engineering which are a symbiosis of art, design and technology. 

Entirely in line with the philosophy of company founder Ettore Bugatti, who once said, “If it is comparable, it is no longer Bugatti.”