London: Dr. Stefan Brungs, member of the board of management of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. for sales, marketing, and customer service, confirmed in an exclusive interview with Arab News that a third of Chiron super sports cars sold so far went to the Middle East region.
The Chiron exceeds the success of the previous model, the Veyron which sold a quarter of its total sales in the region.
He added that the Middle East has “the highest Bugatti density” in the world.
He believes Saudi Arabia has “many super car collectors” which the company endeavors to cater for them.
The typical Bugatti buyer, according to Dr. Brungs, is an “ultra-high-net-worth individual and car enthusiast who has a great passion for the brand.”
These are highlights of the interview:
How important is the Gulf region for Bugatti and how many Veyron cars have you sold there — how many showrooms do you have in the region?
The Gulf region is one of Bugatti’s strongest markets in the world.
Per capita the Middle East has by far the highest Bugatti density.
Few other regions have such a high appreciation for the most exclusive and most luxurious car brand of the world.
Every fourth Bugatti Veyron was sold to a customer in the Middle East.
The Chiron has started even more successfully.
With four dealer partners in the region we are excellently positioned here.
Of the Chirons sold so far, how many have gone to the Middle East, approximately?
Right now we have orders for more than 200 cars of the total production run of 500. Thereof roughly a third has been signed for by customers from the Middle East. And this although our customers have had no opportunity so far to experience the fantastic driving properties of the Chiron.
Do you have a presence in the Saudi market and how important is that market to Bugatti?
End of last year we have partnered up with the “Premium Collection” group of Saudi Arabia.
This new partnership underlines the importance of this market to Bugatti.
We highly appreciate and understand that there are many super car collectors within Saudi Arabia and are confident that with our newly established partner and their network we are able to cater to this exclusive audience.
How successful is the Bugatti Lifestyle Collection and why did you find it necessary to launch in in 2013?
The Ettore Bugatti Collection was launched as a major step in Bugatti’s brand extension strategy.
With its super sports cars, Bugatti now not only stands for technological leadership and breathtaking performance but also for art, design, luxury and an exclusive lifestyle.
The collection offers the opportunity to transport the aura and myth of this automotive icon into other aspects of life beyond the automobile.
I just came back from the Chiron launch in Japan where I saw many of our customers wearing beautiful pieces from our lifestyle collection.
It is great to see that our customers, not only in Japan but in general, enjoy being part of the Bugatti lifestyle which ranges from clothing, watches, furniture and luggage, to boats and villas.
Also our collaboration with Giorgio Armani for some exceptional menswear pieces and accessories is a huge success.
Who are the typical buyers of Bugatti cars and does the company organize any calendar activities for them?
Our customers form an exclusive group of automobile collectors who are searching for the very best and for sustainable investments.
They are ultra high-net-worth individuals and car enthusiasts who have a great passion for the brand and what it stands for today — cutting edge-technologies, outstanding contemporary design and benchmark-creating performance.
Purchasing a Bugatti super sports car includes the membership of the Bugatti family.
The customer then has the option of taking part in luxury brand events and benefiting from special offers that are reserved only for members of this exclusive club.
We recently hosted a Bugatti Grand Tour here in the Middle East starting in Dubai via Abu Dhabi to Oman, also with customers from Saudi Arabia.
Apart from sheer engine power and torque, what new technologies are adapted in the Chiron?
The Chiron is a super sports car of a new dimension in many respects.
Bugatti has adopted a holistic approach to take the unique selling points of the Veyron to a completely new level.
There is practically no area in which we have not become significantly better.
Developing a car with so much horsepower and bringing this power on the road with the best handling possible and most luxury and comfort you can dream of is an extremely challenging endeavor.
This requires the best technologies and high-end, lightweight materials that ensure maximum performance and endurance for each part of the vehicle: the engine, drivetrain, brakes, heat management, aerodynamics, just to name a few.
For instance, we introduced the Bugatti 2-stage turbocharging in the Chiron and a unique combination of performance-relevant features, such active air brake, adaptive chassis, active aerodynamics.
Would Bugatti ever consider alternative powertrains/alternative energy in the future?
Bugatti has established itself as the ultimate super sports car brand that stands for ground-breaking technologies and intelligent solutions that nobody else in the car industry has developed and implemented before.
This includes engine technologies as well. Our overriding goal is to reach maximum performance and top speed. Here we want to further increase our leading position.
If we cannot achieve our future performance goals by using traditional means, alternative technologies will be an option.
Then we will make careful choices, which will also make our customers happy. For them we build our cars.
Will Bugatti ever evolve to be a company that produces more than one type of car in the future?
No. Bugatti will remain a one-model brand.
Does Bugatti take part in any sporting events in order to prove its capabilities in a practical way?
Motorsport is in our genes. However, we do not need it today. In the Chiron, we have the ultimate super sports car, which underlines our leading position in power and performance. Involvement in motorsport could not improve our sporting credentials.
Can you explain the essence of the Bugatti philosophy of “Art, Form and Technique“?
Bugatti is the brand of a family of artists who distinguished themselves in an environment where other automotive brands were operated by entrepreneurs with a purely technical background. Art and design played an important role in the family.
Carlo Bugatti, the father of company founder Ettore, was famous for his masterpieces in the fields of architecture, painting and furniture design.
Ettore’s brother Rembrandt was a renowned sculptor.
Ettore Bugatti combined his technical innovations with this strong artistic influence on his work as a designer of automobiles.
He created a series of vehicles which were far ahead of their time and which are today among the most valuable classic cars in the world.
Middle East ‘has highest Bugatti density in the world’
Middle East ‘has highest Bugatti density in the world’
Price cuts drive sales of Saudi-owned electric car
- Lucid delivers more vehicles than expected as it prepares to launch luxury new Gravity SUV
RIYADH: The majority Saudi-owned electric car maker Lucid delivered more vehicles than expected in the past three months as price cuts helped boost demand.
The company delivered 2,394 cars from April to June 30, above analysts’ predictions of 1,940.
Lucid produced 3,838 vehicles in the first six months of 2024 and needs to make more than 5,162 cars by end of the year to meet its annual output forecast of 9,000. It made 8,428 cars in 2023.
“I think at this point everything is shaping for them to achieve that,” said Andres Sheppard, senior equity analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. Lucid will produce and deliver more cars in the second half of the year because of the usual seasonal effects on the industry, he said.
Demand for electric vehicles has grown more slowly than expected pace in the past year, under pressure from high borrowing costs, economic uncertainties and consumer preference for hybrid alternatives.
Lucid and the market leader Tesla have responded by slashing prices and offering incentives such as cheaper financing options. Lucid, which is 60-per-cent owned by the Public Investment Fund, the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, cut the price of its flagship Air model by 10 percent in February.
Its new Gravity SUV model, a rival for Tesla's Model X, goes into production this year and will cost about $80,000.
Treat for local fans as Berlin set for Formula E double-header
- Germany leads both Drivers’ and Teams’ championships with Pascal Wehrlein and his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team topping the tables
- Tempelhof Airport’s notorious concrete slab track set to be a tough test for drivers as the GEN3 race car competes in Europe for the first time
Formula E fans at the historic Tempelhof Airport Circuit in Berlin this weekend will, for the first time in championship history, get to cheer a German team and driver at the top of the standings going into the 2023 SABIC Berlin E-Prix double-header.
The Porsche 99X Electric has proven to be the benchmark car package in Season 9 with Pascal Wehrlein winning twice in the first three races to lead the Drivers’ World Championship and putting his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team at the top of the Teams’ standings.
Great Britain’s Jake Dennis of Avalanche Andretti Formula E, the Porsche customer team, is 24 points behind Wehrlein in second and under pressure from Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing), just a point back in third after three consecutive appearances on the podium.
Double champion Jean-Éric Vergne (DS PENSKE) is only two points away in fourth having steered to victory in Hyderabad and finished second in Cape Town.
Jaguar’s I-TYPE 6 has emerged as the strongest competitor to the Porsche-powered cars since Round 4 in India. Cassidy has led the charge for Jaguar customer Envision Racing who sit just behind the German manufacturer in the standings.
The factory Jaguar TCS Racing team finally capitalized on its race-winning pace and energy management for a 1-3 result last time out in São Paulo as Mitch Evans and teammate Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) took to the podium. They find themselves 42 and 46 points from top spot in the Drivers’ table but with plenty of racing still to come.
Reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS PENSKE) sits 11th in the standings, more than 60 points back. Retaining the title now looks like a distant dream, but he has form around Tempelhof with a win and two podiums to his name. Dominating the double-header in Berlin would put the Belgian firmly back in contention.
Berlin is the only city to have hosted a race in every season of Formula E — 16 in total. The 2.4-km Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit on the outskirts of the German capital city is a unique challenge for the teams and drivers, and a favorite of many.
Saudi-backed Lucid EV cars get global launch
- The Lucid Air has already been named the MotorTrend Car of the Year and honored as one of Time Magazine’s 200 Best Innovations of 2022
BEVERLY HILLS: Just a few weeks after Lucid Motors opened their first Middle East studio in Riyadh, and four years after the Saudi government made its initial investment of $1 billion, the vehicle manufacturer held the global launch event for their debut line of electric sedans.
And Saudi support has been influential in bringing the vehicle to fruition, according to Derek Jenkins, senior vice-president of design at Lucid.
“We wouldn't be here today without the support from the Saudi Public Investment Fund,” he said. “It allowed us to really develop our technology, not just at a concept level, but all the way through the production and deliver it to customers worldwide.”
The Lucid Air has already been named the MotorTrend Car of the Year and honored as one of Time Magazine’s 200 Best Innovations of 2022.
With the full line now launched and more planned for 2023, Lucid is working to stand out in the electric car market.
“It's a relentless obsession on efficiency as well as performance and taking the technology of electric cars to an entirely new level,” Jenkins said.
“The Lucid Air is really just the first step at that. Then we go into our SUV and then more mainstream models later on, and we really want to be at the very pinnacle of the technology.”
As they premiere their cars worldwide, Lucid has an eye on the Middle East, hoping to boost the prominence of electric vehicles in the region. They revealed plans in May for the construction of a world-class Lucid production factory in Saudi Arabia with a capacity of 155,000 electric vehicles. The plant will be located in the King Abdullah Economic City.
Jenkins continued: “The car looks amazing on the road over there. And we have a lot of people, not just from Saudi Arabia but all over the Middle East, that are fans of Lucid, and they're following Lucid very closely. So we're super excited about that.”
REVIEW: Pizzazz and power – The Ferrari F8 Spider
- The Italian supercar maker has produced an exhilarating and head-turning open-top icon
DUBAI: I’ve had a thing about Spiders — the car model, rather than the eight-legged variety — ever since Dustin Hoffman drove off into the sunset with Katharine Ross in the movie “The Graduate,” but at last I’ve had the chance to drive the real thing.
The Ferrari F8 Spider is a vastly different car from the one all those years back in the movie, but a few hours behind the wheel shows exactly why Dustin got his girl. The Ferrari F8 is just about the most exciting Italian super-sports car on wheels (although I must admit I have not yet tried the new “Aperta” version of the v-12, which has just been unveiled in Italy.)
Why Spider? The term goes back to horse-and-carriage days — it was a type of carriage with a small body and large spoked wheels that had a distinctly arachnid look. But Ferrari has laid claim to the design by offering virtually all its models in “Spider” version — an open top sports car that allows you to feel the wind and sun on your face as you go through the exhilarating Ferrari driving experience.
The technology has certainly moved on. The Graduate Spider had a quaint hand wind-down canopy. In the F8, the roof slides back silently and electronically in a few seconds, a feat you can accomplish at the touch of a rooftop button and while traveling at speeds up to 45kph. One pedestrian stood jaw-dropped in amazement as I did this on Jumeirah Beach Road in Dubai, probably expecting the roof to fly off in the jet stream.
But everyone stares at a Ferrari. The pizzazz factor is extreme, and the sleek but powerful lines of the F8 certainly draw the stares. If you like to be made a fuss of on five-star hotel forecourts, this is the car for you.
Equally, if you like neck-jerking acceleration and a roaring exhaust, this is your car. The 3.9-liter V8 twin turbo engine does 0-100kph in a scary 2.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of nearly 340kph.
Even at lower speeds, the experience is absolutely exhilarating, especially inside the Ferrari “cockpit” with the sensation of being strapped to a fighter jet. The car responds to each touch of a pedal or flick of a switch with an instant and frightening surge in power.
The acceleration in the F8 Spider is truly awesome, and even a bit frightening, especially with the top down. Flick the drive mode selector into “race” and you could be on the test track at Marinello in Italy.
I got the distinct impression at one stage of my test drive — when I gunned it as fast as I dared — that the car was about to lift off front-first from Sheikh Zayed Road, but of course that is an impossibility. The sleek aerodynamics and incredible road-holding, steering and braking technology leave you in control of the car even at eye-ball popping acceleration. Racing out of a sharp bend with the tires squealing and G-forces mounting is a real thrill.
Ferraris are supposed to be red, of course, but the one I drove was a classy golden brown, which I thought contrasted better with the yellow “prancing horse” badge. Even more potential for head-turning.
And now, the bad news. The Ferrari F8 Spider will cost in the region of 1 million dirhams ($270,000) for starters, and extras and customization will add to that. But if you want an iconic piece of high technology supercar with all the heritage of the prancing horse, you might think of it as a bargain.
REVIEW: Heritage, power and urban sophistication — Aston Martin DBX
- The British car maker has made an SUV that will appeal to Mr. and Mrs. Bond
DUBAI: I was privileged to get a glimpse of the Aston Martin DBX a few years back at the carmaker’s main production plant in Warwickshire in the UK when it was just in the concept stage, and it looked a knock-out then.
A super SUV from the maker of the vehicle of choice of James Bond, the legendary British spy? Who would say no to that idea? Certainly not elite car aficionados in the Middle East, that’s for sure, and I recall telling Aston executives back then that they should get the car to the Gulf as quick as possible, because it was sure to be a winner.
A lot has happened at Aston since then, but it is reassuring to know that the company has lived up to the promise of the super SUV, which can now be seen and bought in the cities of the Gulf. It’s also reassuring to know that my judgement back then has been proved correct — the DBX is a real show-stopper.
Aston has come under new management over the past year, to help it through another bout of financial pressure brought on by a combination of Brexit, stock market woes, and the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But it has not let those problems distract it from the main job — designing, manufacturing and selling top-class vehicles that have a distinctive British flavor, as well as an edge of excitement and — even — danger that other elite marks do not possess. The Bond heritage.
But how to combine that with the comfort, accessibility and adaptability of an SUV? Other super-car manufacturers have tried it, with varying degrees of success, but I think the DBX has produced an all-terrain vehicle that retains the pizzazz and glamour of its sports car stablemates better than most.
In the DBX, you could imagine Mrs Bond dropping the kids at school and doing a supermarket shop before handing the keys back to James for a spot of clandestine espionage. Mr Bond would be pleased to have the chance to drive it, I’d guarantee.
The one that I was lucky enough to test in Dubai was a real head-turner. My favorite hotel valet man at one of Dubai’s glitzy five-star hotels — who knows a thing or two about elite cars, having parked all of them — took a sharp intake of breath at the matt Xenon grey body paint that made the DBX look quite sinister, but also very muscular and powerful.
The wheels are big, even by SUV standards and would be sure to get you to the crest of even the most demanding sand dune, if that was your aim, or just to add to the road-holding qualities the DBX has even at high speeds and sharp corners.
A 4.0 litre V8 turbocharged engine — from Aston’s German partner Mercedes — speeds you from 0 to 100km in 4.5 seconds and deliver a top speed of just under 300kph. Mrs Bond will be fine with that. James might want just a little a bit more but that’s a minor quibble — and in any case he could flick it into Sport+ mode when in hot pursuit of a villain.
Aston’s sound system — encased in leather like the rest of the interior — belts out the decibels through 14 strategically placed speakers that allow you to hear the music even above the distinctive deep-throated growl of the engine.
It is an SUV for sure, with plenty of space and comfort in the back and a boot that will carry everything you’ll want, including the dog. (One option is a pet-package that includes a washing facility for muddy post-walk paws, which would be equally useful for sandy feet.)
One thing I really liked was a huge sliding roof that pulled back to give you a skyline view and instantly made the interior look even more spacious. Great for night-time cruising in the high-rise cities of the Middle East.
The DBX starts at AED837,000 ($228,000), but extras — courtesy of Aston’s Q department — will probably make it a near AED1 million investment. That’s well worth it for a car that combines heritage, power and urban sophistication in one very head-turning package.
