The concept cars from Bugatti that never saw the light of day and that we can now discover

Bugatti is one of the brands of luxury cars and supercars that attracts the most interest worldwide. We owe to this French brand the existence of cars as remarkable as the Bugatti Veyron and the Bugatti Chiron, two supercars that have been very well received by buyers of this type of vehicle and by luxury car enthusiasts. But among all these products that reached the market, we find others that did not make it.

Now, Bugatti has presented several of the models that began to take shape on the drawing board on their way into the development process. But eventually, for one reason or another, they were set aside and could not become production models. Or, as is the case with these cars, they were not even able to be shown as concept cars at events designed for these cars to be admired. Let’s look at these cars that were discarded at the time.

Bugatti Atlantic

The Bugatti Atlantic was developed as an updated version of the Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic. Its debut was going to take place at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, but the explosion of Dieselgate and everything it entailed caused the whole project to be halted. For a year and a half this car was worked on, which initially received a V8 engine and an electric drivetrain that owed much to the Porsche Taycan.

Of all these models that were left behind, this is the one that was most advanced, and if it had not been for the Dieselgate scandal, it would have become a reality.

Bugatti Veyron Barchetta

The Bugatti Veyron Barchetta emerged in 2008 and was intended as a response to open-top supercars such as the Ferrari Monza and the McLaren Elva. To create this model, Bugatti’s designers looked to the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse. It used the same W16 engine as that car and seemed to be a good model to produce. However, the project was cancelled halfway through, and the executives of the Volkswagen Group, the brand’s current owner, thought better of it and discontinued this development.

Bugatti Rembrandt 2015

The last of these three models is the Bugatti Rembrandt. This concept model was a Gran Turismo powered by the W16 engine that drives the Bugatti Veyron. It had a different look from the rest, with a long front section housing the engine. A car that broke with the brand’s usual aesthetic and would have been very attractive to the wealthiest buyers.

It is a shame that these three models ended up going nowhere and that we have no chance to see them in person. Not that we can buy them, of course, but they are certainly cars that will make us dream, now that we know them and can see them, even if only in the concept images.