Are These Rejected Hypercar Designs Worse Than the Real Thing?

The Nationales Automuseum the Loh Collection in Germany is hosting a new special seminar on the history of the supercar automaker Bugatti by showcasing previously unknown archive material and images, some of which have now been shared online by the automaker. Of note are images showing off alternate design proposals for the brand's previous supercar, the Bugatti Chiron, which began development almost immediately after the older Bugatti Veyron went into production. Here's what the Chiron could have looked like (maybe much uglier), along with a bit of a Bugatti history lesson.

The Bugatti Chiron carried on the legacy of the Veyron with a similar quad-turbocharged W-16 engine packaged in a mid-engine two-door sports car, developing more than 1,400 horsepower (or more, for several higher-output variants and special editions over the years).

See All 100 Photos100

These design mockups show what the Chiron could have looked like. What we got was a handsome, clean design with horizontal lights and a simple grille, very similar to the Veyron—a safe and evolutionary choice. That didn't have to be the case, based on some of these more dramatic and perhaps uglier mockups that have been revealed.

See All 100 Photos100

Some of the mockups clearly reference various designs or inspirations of the past, with dramatic curves and lines in the nose, where others go completely smooth and clean with giant lighting units. It's also interesting to note that the now-iconic C-shaped door aperture wasn't always a guarantee.

It looks like we may have ended up getting the nose of one concept, combined with the rear end of another. Bugatti also published some images of mockups allegedly designed by some sort of artificial intelligence program, likely simply as a fun study and not for any specific model development.

The rest of the published images are of classic models from Bugatti's past, which are much different from anything the brand has done in recent years. We've compiled the models, including Type 32, 35, 41, 45, and 50 cars, and some more modern designs for the Vision model series of concepts, into a gallery above. Enjoy.

This article has been updated with higher-quality images of the Bugatti Chiron design studies, provided by the automaker.