LE CRÉATEUR

Bugatti Veyron 16.4, the pioneering hypercar, turns twenty!

- RAVI CHANDNANI

We've all been on train journeys, often watching the world go by through the window, reading an automotive magazine like TURBOCHARGED, or mindlessly scrolling through social media.

But that is not what one Mr Ferdinand Karl Piëch did on a particular train ride in Japan in 1997. The then CEO and Chairman of the Volkswagen Group was busy scribbling an idea of an engine on an envelope. The squiggly lines and numbers gave the illusion of a child's imagination, however, it was a blueprint that changed the automotive world. Piëch's idea was to make an eighteen-cylinder engine that would then power a car which would redefine luxury, comfort, speed, and automotive innovation. Hence, in 1998, the Volkswagen Group acquired the rights for the Bugatti name from the erstwhile Italian owner and got straight to bringing the CEO's vision to life.