Many dismiss Bugatti as a baller company that lets you do 500 km/h if you flex your bank account enough, but their story is one of success and innovation…
Work experience normally involves working at the local store, doing paperwork at an inner city office, or tagging along with a relative — but not so for German designer Max Lask. He recently completed an internship at Bugatti’s design centre, and instead of doing coffee runs, designed a next level next-generation race car as part of his thesis — the Bugatti Vision Le Mans.
Making the Chiron Super Sport 300+ look tame, the Le Mans could realistically compete at the iconic 24-hour race it’s named after. As the Aston Martin Valkyrie project has proven, there’s plenty of cashed up players willing to finance downforce-heavy concept hypercars into reality — and if there’s one company that can cater to the crazy clientele, it’s Bugatti.
There’s the Type 56 — the electric car that Ettore Bugatti used; the Type 32 — the first use of aerodynamics in racing; and the Type 35 — the car that blew the doors off absolutely everything.
Using this as inspiration, Lask kept the distinctive Bugatti horseshoe-shaped grille up front and the infamous Bugatti two-tone blue finish, but that’s where the similarities between the retro and the new age end.
The rest of the machine is all about innovative aerodynamics. Every vent, wing, and scoop serves a specific design purpose. Especially that hole in the middle, it’s not a forgotten piece of bodywork but a massive air intake that both cools the car and keeps it planted while travelling at mind-numbing speeds.
Speculating on a powertrain, Lask envisions one that runs on ions – and that’s no typo. The tech is already there; MIT have an ion-powered plane, and spacecraft currently use xenon ion thrusters, so it’s a no brainer.
Should Bugatti get back into racing and give the Valkyrie a Le Mans lesson? For Max Lask it’s simple, “I realised that a Bugatti belongs on the racetrack”. It’s like he knows.
By Bill Varetimidis
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