The Bugatti Chiron is back for 2023, albeit briefly. The ultimate sports car model returns as a specially commissioned one-off example called the ‘Golden Era’; the client wished for a Super Sport version of the Chiron with a special exterior treatment.

The build, according to Bugatti, took two years from start to finish. Bugatti lovers and automotive dreamers will appreciate the revival of the company’s storied W16 engine, powerful enough to take a Super Sport to the precipice of 300 MPH.

The more compelling tale involves the exterior finish. Bugatti refers to the one-off as an example of automotive sur mesure, which essentially places Savile Row in the context of the automotive ne plus ultra. The couture Chiron’s exterior is dressed in a combination of colors; the shade of gold Bugatti calls ‘Doré’, while ‘Nocturne Black’ provides the foundation.

A host of sketched portrayals from Bugatti mythology — 45 in all, dating from the company’s first incarnation to the contemporary period — adorn the car’s profile and door panels, completing the vision. The application of the exterior sketches was an enormously complex process which married the qualities of pencil artwork with an exterior finish; the process is a new one, Bugatti crows, and the result of 400 hours of trial and error. Indoor portrayals were applied directly to the interior leather with a special paint and very fine brush.

The Chiron Super Sport ‘Golden Era’ was commissioned by an unnamed Bugatti collector.