Innovation, personalization, and cutting-edge technology are fundamental pillars of the Bugatti brand experience, just as they are at the heart of each one of the automotive icons handbuilt in Molsheim. These values, first instilled by Ettore Bugatti more than 100 years ago, have flourished within the Bugatti brand lifestyle partnerships branch of the business, accelerating three years of significant momentum capped by over 30% growth during 2021. 2022 promises to be just as captivating, with the recently announced addition of Asprey – the ultimate luxury emporium – to the Bugatti brand partner universe.
The strong presence of the Bugatti brand is in part due to the strategic amplification of the marque’s values through a diversified portfolio of products, allowing customers who – even without owning a Bugatti automobile – can access the ‘la vie en bleu’ experience. But each product must always bear the hallmarks of Bugatti. The company’s founder strove to create the very best of anything, designing his own bicycles, circular razors, security locks and more – if it wears the famous Bugatti ‘Macaron’, it must be innovative and it must become the best in class.
Capturing the qualities of Bugatti in new and innovative forms is essential to enhancing overall brand value. As such, Bugatti Brand Lifestyle doesn’t only seek out the biggest and most successful partners, but also opens the circle to innovative players who are agile, bringing new solutions to existing industries and taking steps to be at the forefront of new designs, techniques and materials.
A Year of Creation
In 2021, Bugatti sought out further collaborators with which to expand its luxury lifestyle product range, bringing the ultimate in luxury to a diverse range of products.
Bugatti’s long-term partners had a major share in last year’s successes. With Jacob & Co. as an innovator and creator of highly complex timepieces, we have found a partner who shares the same mindset as Bugatti, and is performing above all expectations. Our license partner, and in particular the founder of Jacob & Co., Mr. Jacob Arabov, is pushing the limits in the watch industry, just like Bugatti does in the hyper car category. Customers are thrilled by their Bugatti watch models, specifically the materiality and individualization with the Chiron Tourbillion and Twin Turbo Minute Repeater. Titanium, diamonds and especially sapphire crystal watch cases were notable highlights. Bugatti Lifestyle is looking forward to introducing new Jacob & Co. products this year.
A year of outstanding performance involved a second long-term partner: Lego Technic. Bugatti and Lego still see a strong desire from young and older generations who want to be part of this creative adventure with Lego Technic bricks. With the creation of the full-scale, drivable Bugatti Chiron in Lego Technic parts we have – together with Lego HQ – seen an incredible asset born. The model will soon adorn the entrance hall of Lego’s new headquarters in Billund, Denmark. The 1:8 scale model is available for the fourth year after its launch at the Nurnberg Toy fair in 2018. Bugatti and Lego are looking to another successful year in 2022 with this product.
The first Bugatti Pool Table, designed and engineered in collaboration with Spanish company IXO Carbon – one of the world-leading manufacturers of carbon fiber objects – was revealed and delivered to its owner this year. The first of just 30 highly limited edition examples, created with exquisite carbon fiber, titanium, aluminum and leather is a match for the level of quality found in Bugatti’s hyper sports cars. Customers are able to commission fully customized Bugatti Pool Tables, selecting individual carbon and leather colors to form their very own piece of personal art, just as they would be able to personalize their very own Bugatti automobile. Each Bugatti Pool Table features cutting-edge technology such as a Leveling Manual System, allowing the table to remain perfectly flat if installed on a yacht, for example. Fitted with an artificial vision camera, balls can be individually selected by the color. Located in the carbon fiber wall cue support is a high-resolution control panel to keep track of scores throughout games.
Pushing the boundaries of wearable technology, in partnership with VIITA Watches, Bugatti introduced a brand new product line: three smartwatch models offering numerous innovative technical features. With a 10-day battery life, each watch features dual-sensor technology to measure both heart rate and heart rate variability to report individual health data. Among them, data for use in 90 different sports and blood oxygen level data. The Bugatti Ceramique Edition One comes with an outstanding feature: Acceleration measurement. Inside the new smartwatch is a high-resolution GPS sensor with an accuracy of 0.05 seconds. Comparative measurements with a reference device for GPS acceleration measurement showed that the average deviation was less than 0.1 seconds. GPS also allows wearers at the racetrack to have their lap times and acceleration values logged automatically. Every item is hand-built with meticulous attention to detail for a seamless integration of more than 1,000 individual parts – and thus mirrors the unrivaled precision, artistry and technology of Bugatti’s hyper sports cars crafted in Molsheim.
Recreations of a unique Bugatti, made by Ettore himself, were delivered to customers across the globe in partnership with The Little Car Company. The Bugatti Baby II is a contemporary tribute to Ettore Bugatti’s original masterpiece, the Bugatti Baby, built in 1926. This reimagined car has sparked international attention since its launch, with admirers noting its modern-day engineering coupled with authentic nods to the original Type 35 on which it is based. In fitting with the car’s full-scale siblings, all examples made by The Little Car Company are completely individual and bespoke. Built to 75% scale of the original Type 35, the Bugatti Baby II is powered by a 10kW battery, and can reach a top speed of 70kph (42mph) depending on specification and conditions.
The Bugatti brand universe will continue to flourish in 2022, with a number of attractive partnerships due to be announced. Already, Bugatti has revealed the beginning of its innovative work with Asprey – the ultimate luxury emporium with over two centuries of history. Asprey will create a one-of-one sculpture of a famous Bugatti model, designed, developed, and crafted using cutting-edge production techniques at Asprey’s new Design Studio. Bugatti and Asprey customers will be invited to commission their own sculptures, each of which will be fused with NFT technology.
A Bright and Revolutionary Future
Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti Rimac Group, explains: “Bugatti is more than a creator of the finest luxury hyper sports cars. It is an ideology, a vision, and an entire brand universe that is ever-expanding. Bugatti Brand Lifestyle demonstrated the incredible potential of collaboration between fellow industry-leading pioneers, and we have only scratched the surface. We are constantly exploring new areas to strategically develop our lifestyle portfolio, which over the coming years will see a number of exciting new announcements.”
Wiebke Ståhl, Managing Director of Bugatti International S.A, comments: “We are working on strategically extending the brand identity by adding new facets to reflect the richness of our brand and have high ambitions for our luxury lifestyle products. We, as well as our colleagues in Molsheim, live and are guided by the Bugatti philosophy, elaborating on the legendary essence forged over many decades to offer new brand experiences. Younger audiences are also at the forefront of our approach as we aim to create a 360-degree experience on more levels than ever before.”
