The Ultimate Upsell

For ultraexclusive automakers, maximum profits come from minimum volume.

- by Brett Berk

IN JANUARY, BUGATTI unveiled its latest custom-commissioned hypercar from Programme Solitaire, the recherché automaker's one-off-vehicle project. Called the F.K.P. Hommage, the 1578-hp quad-turbo W-16-powered reinterpretation of the Veyron celebrates the Volkswagen Group's revival of the Bugatti brand under former monomaniacal chairman Ferdinand Karl Piëch. The goal, says Bugatti head of design Frank Heyl, was to “revisit this icon” but with “all the technologies and learnings we've taken from the last 20 years.”

That wasn't the only motivation. Increasingly, the core objective in this rarefied slice of the auto industry is uncovering new ways to separate very wealthy people from their money. Unique custom creations are particularly effective in that effort.