It takes six months to build a Bugatti Chiron. From a customer’s order to final delivery, the process can take up to a year.

At the factory in Alsace—a lush, fertile province which borders southwest Germany—twenty workshop employees build the vehicles from the ground up. From an initial consultation with a Bugatti customer to the final examination by the team, the process is extensively customizable and very meticulous, tailored to each individual buyer’s requirements.

Cosmetics and personal details are first to be settled upon. There are more than twenty exterior colors, and nearly ninety interior colors, including upholstery, stitching, and safety belt variations to choose from, and customers may design a personal emblem to be displayed prominently on the car, and additional carbon fiber parts may be added. Once the monocoque and chassis have been fabricated, painting alone takes several weeks to complete; six to eight layers may be necessary, depending on the finish type, and each coat is applied by hand and finished before the next coat is laid down. This gives the topcoat a matchless depth.

Once all parts have been acquired, and the chassis is ready, assembly begins at twelve distinct workstations—and all, of course, by hand. The factory itself is a feat of engineering, designed to reduce potential construction issues to negligible levels. This is only just, considering the $2.5 million price tag of the Chiron.

After water-seal tests and interior construction, the Chiron is ready to be road-tested. It is first coated with a durable plastic, a kind of protective skin, and fitted with test wheels and underbody. Once the skin is removed, and the car’s delivery-grade wheels and underbody are installed, the car is finish-polished and checked, and the Chiron is ready for its new home.