Bugatti Built a One-Off What If to Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Veyron

It’s hard to believe that the Bugatti Veyron is 20 years old. It was and still is one of the most outlandish vehicles to ever be produced, a car that helped usher the word hypercar into the automotive lexicon. The Veyron (and really, the revival of the Bugatti brand as a whole) wouldn’t have been possible without the support and backing of the late Dr. Ferdinand Karl Piëch, then chairman of the Volkswagen Group, who at the time served as the parent company of Bugatti. While ownership of the legendary French marque has been passed to EV hypercar maker, Rimac, since 2021, it continues to honor and recognize the legacy that Dr. Piëch and VW built with the Veyron.

So, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original quad-turbo, W-16-powered beast, Bugatti and an unnamed European customer collaborated to create a one-off model that asked the question: “What if the Veyron had continued instead of being replaced by the Chiron?” The answer? The Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage. We’ll let you guess what FKP means.

The car was developed through the Bugatti Programme Solitaire, which is intended to allow its customers to build a car that only their dreams and endlessly deep pocketbooks can manifest. These cars are singular builds, as signified by the “Solitaire” in the program’s name. It’s intended to serve as a modern-day interpretation of Bugatti’s coach-building roots that led to some of the most desired vehicles of the early 20th century. The first creation of Programme Solitaire was the Brouillard, in which its owner used inspiration from Carlo and Rembrandt Bugatti as well as Ettore Bugatti’s love of equestrianism.

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Guess which one is which.

Why the Veyron is Important in Bugatti History

The first step towards the Veyron was its unique W engine configuration. The story goes that Dr. Piëch sketched out a design for an even more incredible W-18 engine on a napkin while on a bullet train through Japan. While the VW Passat and nearly every Bentley got “pedestrian” W-8s and W-12s, Bugatti needed something more extreme to build off its motorsports history. Eventually, the decision was made to lop two cylinders off of the W-18 design, but the goal of 1,000 PS (just shy of 1,000 hp) and a 400 kph top speed (almost 250 mph) never wavered from his original design.

It needed such a car because Bugatti was in rather dire straits after it was bought by VW Group in 1998. In 2001, and after a fourth and final EB18/4 Veyron concept debuted at the Tokyo auto show, VW decided it was time to build a production Bugatti. The Veyron was named in honor of Pierre Veyron, who was a development engineer, test driver, and factory race driver for Bugatti in the 1930s. By the time 2005 rolled around, the first ever Bugatti Veyron rolled off its assembly line. At the time, it was one of the most powerful vehicles in the world. It delivered on both of Dr. Piëch’s goals of 1,000 ps (and 922 lb-ft of torque) going to all four wheels, and a new average top speed record of 253.81 mph at VW’s Ehra-Lessien test track on April 19, 2005.

What If?

The Veyron would survive a decade if continuous production, with 450 built in various configurations. It would eventually be replaced by the Chiron in 2017, but there reportedly was some development of an updated version of the Veyron before it was cancelled. That’s where the story of the F.K.P. Hommage begins, as it serves as a “what if” story made real. What if Bugatti had decided to continue the Veyron but based on the architecture of the Chiron?

Honestly, it’s hard to tell at first glance that the Hommage is a Chiron built in the shape of the Veyron, it looks that close to the original. One of the only real differences you’ll spot at the outset are the headlights and taillights that diverge from the original. That’s not only thanks to the timeless design of the Veyron but also due to the use of original design sheets and plans that reportedly detailed how the updated Veyron would look before it was replaced by the Chiron.

Because the Hommage is built on the Chiron Super Sport, it uses the same wheel, tire, and brake package from that car. The major change, of course, is that those wheels are designed to look like the original 12-spoke set, but in a modern 20-inch front and 21-inch rear size. The front wheels also fit a set of eight-piston brake calipers behind those spokes, as the Hommage is more than capable of hitting above 250 mph.

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It Might Be a Tribute, But It Still Makes Ridiculous Power

The Hommage uses the modernized and improved W-16 engine found in the Chiron Super Sport, which features larger air intakes and outlets to keep the engine cool and ready to hit its 1,600 hp output. The engine is fed air through a redesigned ram air induction intake that takes inspiration from the Veyron, which required engineering and calibration changes from the Chiron Super Sport design. By the way, the F.K.P. Hommage is going to be road legal in Europe, including its emissions output, as the mysterious owner intends to drive it along with his original, matching Veyron.

While the hypercar world has largely stepped away from retractable wings, the Hommage keeps that unique feature from the original Veyron. But it works with the two-inch larger rear diffuser (one-inch larger per side versus the original Chiron Super Sport) to ensure that the rear end stays planted at high speed. There are also active diffuser flaps at the front of the car to help keep the nose glued to the ground when hitting the triple digits, but can then be automatically set to a reduced drag setting when the extra downforce isn’t needed.

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It is a Match to an Original Veyron

We mentioned that the owner who commissioned the F.K.P. Hommage has an original Veyron, and this one-off is painted to match that car. But the painting techniques are very modern compared to that 20-year-old vehicle. The red is made by laying down multiple layers of liquid silver basecoat and then topped off with a red-tinted clear coat. The black is exposed carbon fiber that has a black tint coat applied over that. The silver elements you see (including the wheels) are all polished and anodized aluminum. It makes for a very striking livery while keeping the same look as the 2005 Veyron in the same paint scheme.

Of course, being a tribute to the original Veyron requires an interior worthy of that honor. Again, inspiration comes from the original continuation plans, but with some custom touches. The leather used inside the Hommage comes from the original material used on the 2005 model, while custom French fabrics and cloth adorn the rest of the surfaces. The original horseshoe medallion found in the Veyron was recreated in the new car, but is formed as a 3D design element.

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A Technological Marvel to Keep a Watch Wound

The one change from the continuation plans is also the only clue that we’re given as to who the owner is. At the top of the horseshoe medallion sits a 41mm Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon—a watch that can fetch to well over $600,000 for unique editions and this fits that bill easily. Bugatti said it did not reach out to Audemars Piguet, but instead, it was the customer who facilitated the connection. And this was more than just grabbing one of their timepieces and installing it into the F.K.P. Hommage. The Royal Oak requires regular winding, but it also needs to be secured when the vehicle is locked. Bugatti solved those two problems through the use of a rotating gondola. First, the gondola rotates on its diagonal axis several times and is based on the same automated winding stand that Audemars uses to test its watches. When the car is locked, the gondola fully rotates to hide the Royal Oak Tourbillon.

When asked about the owner and the cost of the F.K.P. Hommage, Bugatti said that the customer wished to remain anonymous and only mentioned the connection to Audemars Piguet, that it was a European owner, and that the car would be homologated as a 2027 road legal vehicle. It also said that the customer wanted the cost to remain hidden from the public.

If you wish to see the Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage in person, you have a chance to see the prototype model on display at the upcoming 2026 Retromobile show at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. The full production model is currently being built for the unknown owner and will live in their private collection alongside the matching Veyron. F.K.P. would no doubt approve.