Sometimes Malaysia Boleh really is true, especially with rare vehicle ownership. Case in point, this Bugatti Divo.
Hypercar ownership is a rare thing anywhere in the world. But some hypercars are rarer than others. The Bugatti Divo, for instance, is almost hyper-rare. It was unveiled 2 years ago in Monterey, California with the same gigantic 8.0L W16 turbo engine as the Chiron. However, the performance in the Divo was taken to a new level, and its bodywork was completely redesigned for a more unique, angular look and better aerodynamics. When they showed the car, they announced only 40 would be made and each would be sold for €5 million before taxes and shipping. Every single unit was sold immediately. Now we learn that one of those 40 cars was destined to be in the hands of a Malaysian!
The owner is JP Chin, a Malaysian car collector. You can check out his Instagram page here.
Why is it called “Divo”?
Bugatti has a long and storied history as a car maker. They were immensely successful at motorsport in the early part of the 20th century, especially in the 1920s and 1930s.
This particular vehicle gets its name from Albert Divo – a French racing driver who won the Targa Florio race twice for Bugatti in the 1920s. Albert Divo was born in 1895 and was a pilot during the First World War. He then moved into motorsports, eventually joining the Bugatti works team in 1928. He took home first place in the Bugatti Type 35 B two years in a row and continued to race for Bugatti, using their Type 45, 51, 53, and 54 cars over the years. He retired from racing in 1939.
What makes the Bugatti Divo so special?
Only the ultra-rich can afford Bugattis. The Veyron was their star model when the brand was revived, but the Veyron was eventually replaced by the Chiron. While the Chiron is better than the Veyron in every metric, it’s just not as iconic. It’s possible that the brand was starting to lose its lustre just a little bit in the eyes of the ultra-rich.
Around the same time, Stephan Winkelman was made President of the company. This was the guy who built Lamborghini up into the successful supercar brand that it is today. Under his stewardship, Lamborghini increased its sales by 300%. When Winkelman joined Bugatti, he decided to restart the brand’s tradition of coachbuilding, but with a modern twist.
The first coach-built vehicle under this new direction was the Divo. So, in Bugatti’s history, the Divo is quite a special vehicle, but it’s the first of many coach-built cars that the company will release. Check out our Bugatti brand explanation article for more.
What’s technically impressive about the Bugatti Divo?
The Bugatti Chiron is already a very impressive hypercar. One of the fastest in production, for sure. Now, take all of that, and bump it up a notch. The Divo can lap the Nardò circuit 8 seconds faster than the Chiron, even though its top speed is electronically limited to 380km/h, 40km/h less than the Chiron. It’s made for on-track performance rather than all-out speed.
Here are just some of the things Bugatti have done on a technical level to improve the Divo’s performance:
- weight reduction of 35kg
- downforce increase of 90kg
- lateral acceleration increase to 1.6g
- improved cooling performance for radiators and brakes
- revised chassis and suspension settings
Here’s the press release with more information on the Divo’s design elements.
PRESS RELEASE
The design team continued the evolution of the design elements for the Divo in line with the design brief and reinterpreted the design philosophy “Form follows Performance”. The outer skin of the Divo was designed in an uncompromising way to emphasize lateral acceleration. The main objective was to achieve optimum aerodynamic and thermodynamic efficiency.
At the same time, the Bugatti Divo represents a new styling approach which the design team has developed especially for a coachbuilt Bugatti and which is distinguished from the modern core products of the brand.
The slimmer side line of the Divo helps make the vehicle look lower and longer. The new proportions allow a visual horizontal division of the body, which is reinforced by a special colour scheme. The top, more elegant section is painted with a matt finish in a silver colour “Titanium Liquid Silver” developed especially for the Divo. This effectively underpins the sculptural, muscular form of the car. The long domed areas with their smooth surfaces along the C-pillar and the rear side sections optically shift the driver’s cab forwards. This gives the Divo an extremely dynamic appearance even when the vehicle is standing still.
The lower part of the sides has more of a functional, technical design, reinforcing the car’s forceful appearance and giving it a confident stance on the road. This section features exposed carbon fibre tinted in a petroleum blue shade, “Divo Carbon”, developed especially for this model.
An entirely new architecture was developed for the front of the car. There are additional air inlets for brake cooling. The new, vertically oriented front lights with daytime running light on the outer edge in each case give the Divo an appearance of greater width. With a light opening which is only 35 millimetres (1 3/8″) flat, the extremely compact, lightweight LED headlights move into a new technical dimension. A light animation developed especially for the Divo underlines the distinctive signature of the front end. The horizontal split into a lower carbon and an upper matt silver section also makes the Divo look lower and underlines the optical impression of width.
The NACA air inlet on the roof creates an optical connection with the air outlet in the centre of the front cover and guides the air towards the rear spoiler. The fact that the central line runs from the front over the roof to the rear spoiler is not only a reminiscence of Bugatti’s legendary past but also serves a function. This configuration prevents air eddies from forming over the vehicle, creating turbulence on the rear spoiler.
One highlight at the rear of the vehicle is definitely the new, highly sophisticated 3-D rear light. This is actually part of the rear grille, which is partly produced by a 3-D printing process and has special lightweight fins with a variety of sizes. A total of 44 of these fins light up, forming the rear light of the Divo. At the outer edge, the fins become wider, creating a more intensive light. Towards the centre of the vehicle, they are narrower, resulting in gradual fading of the light. The result is a striking appearance which means that the Divo is also unmistakable from the rear.
The two-tone colour scheme also intensifies the forceful impression created by the rear. The fenders are painted in “Titanium Liquid Silver” with a matt finish and are optically distinguished from the parts which control airflow at the rear end. Air outlets, rear spoiler and diffuser have a carbon finish.
“Divo Racing Blue”, a bright turquoise blue shade developed especially for the Divo, underlines the three-dimensional character of the three surfaces leading to the air inlets and outlets on the front, sides and rear, creating dynamically contrasting effects.
The technical character of the colour scheme and materials used for the exterior is continued in the interior. A matt version of the exclusive high-gloss carbon fibre used on the exterior is to be found in the interior.
The colour effects of the carbon tint and exterior paintwork are reflected on a 1:1 basis by the dark “Divo Grey” petroleum tone of the Alcantara in the interior, providing a subtle contrast with the glass-blasted anodized grey surfaces of the metal parts.
The distinctive “Divo Racing Blue” is also used as an Alcantara leather tone in the interior, where it plays a special role by providing an optical split in the interior surfaces. This colour is used almost throughout the driver’s section while it only provides selected accents in the darker passenger’s section.
Another stylistic link between interior and exterior is created by the door trims and seat areas, which feature an embroidered three-dimensional rhomboid structure with an algorithmic configuration, reinterpreting the structure of the grille and rear lights.
Technical innovations in the interior include the seats, which not only feature a new design but offer greater lateral support. The steering wheel is partly covered with Alcantara and has larger paddles fitted firmly on both sides of the wheel. Thanks to larger armrests and calf supports, the central console ensures greater comfort.
