The studio, located near the former and current Bugatti offices at Château Saint Jean, is the newly created production site for the Veyron 16.4, Bugatti’s latest super-sportscar.

The architectural layout of the studio, developed by Gunter Henn, cites the oval form of Bugatti founder Ettore Bugatti’s constructions as well as the company’s logo. The building has an aluminum shell and rests on a dark concrete foundation that is set slightly back. This lends a feeling of lightness to the elliptical, 76 x 45-meter steel construction, making it seem to be almost floating in air. Three building modules partly inserted into this construction protrude beyond the attached production hall, creating an image similar to that of the Veyron’s middle engine. The super-sportscar is assembled in the oval main building. In addition to the engine pre-assembly, there are three assembly stations where Veyrons are assembled entirely by hand (one car at each station). The black modules house separate testing facilities, where each car is painstakingly checked so as to guarantee its perfect technical condition before the keys are handed over to its new owner. The work stations, machines, equipment, and floors of the studio are distinguished by the same orderliness and tidiness that Ettore Bugatti maintained at his production site. Floor-to-ceiling windows with vertical, adjustable shades made of perforated metal panels offer a spectacular view of the Vosges Mountains.

The driveways and gates leading to the studio, just like the main building itself, seem more appropriate for a museum than for a manufacturing plant. The studio is an attempt to translate Ettore Bugatti’s aesthetic standards into modern architecture, and the result is a building complex that transcends its mere functionality – just like Ettore Bugatti’s engine sculptures. Thus, the studio mirrors the uncompromising drive for perfection which has revived the Bugatti brand.

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