20 years ago, YouTube had just launched, Facebook was just getting started, and the PlayStation 3 was still a rumour. But for us car nerds, 20 years ago was also the time when Bugatti introduced the Veyron — a monster with a quad-turbo W16 that became the first production road car to breach the four-digit horsepower mark (1,001 hp specifically) and travelled over 400 km/h, rewriting the hypercar rulebook forever.
In honour of the car that brought the brand to new hypercar heights, the Molsheim-based marque has introduced the Bugatti FKP Hommage as a one-off tribute to the mighty Veyron and everything it stood for.
But this isn’t just about the car. The initials in its name pay tribute to the late Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Karl Piëch, the former Volkswagen Group chairman and the engineering mastermind behind some of the Group’s most iconic powertrains, from the VR6 in the Volkswagen Golf, to the W16 that made the Veyron a legend, which Piëch famously sketched on a bullet train in Japan.
Piech was one who saw obstacles as opportunities. Bugatti Managing Director, Hendrik Malinowski, said, “His vision for Bugatti was absolute: 1,000 horsepower, 400 km/h top speed, all-wheel drive, and refined enough to arrive at the opera in a tuxedo or a ball gown. The FKP Hommage celebrates this uncompromising pursuit of excellence, combining the timeless proportions of the original Veyron with two decades of engineering evolution.”
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The Bugatti FKP Hommage stands as a tribute to the original Veyron, carrying its legacy of class, strength, and pure automotive allure into the modern era. Built on the same platform as the Bugatti Chiron, it’s fitted with the latest evolution of Bugatti’s 8.0-litre W16 engine from the Chiron Super Sport, producing 1,600 hp.
Tasked with modernising the iconic hyper car, Bugatti’s Programme Solitaire — the brand’s exclusive coach-building and personalisation arm — took on a challenge from a very wealthy client. Messing with the look of a legend is no easy feat, especially for a Veyron that has aged like fine wine. The team kept changes subtle yet meaningful, preserving as much as possible of the original Bauhaus-inspired design by Jozef Kabaň under Hartmut Warkuß’s direction.
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To fit the Chiron’s underpinnings, every panel had to be bespoke. The result is a slightly stretched Veyron, giving it an even wider and lower stance. Its signature horseshoe grille now flows seamlessly into the surrounding bodywork for a 3D effect, rather than the original’s flatter, more 2D look.
The FKP Hommage rocks a custom black-and-red paint that grabs your attention from every angle. The red comes from a silver aluminium-based coat under a red-tinted clear coat, giving it a shimmer that seems to shift, while black-tinted carbon fibre adds a raw, tactile contrast.
Aside from its headlights borrowed from the Chiron, everything else on the car is faithfully recreated, with tastefully added modern touches. From the C-shaped side vents to the rear lights, and even its wheels — now 20 inches at the front and 21 inches at the back — everything reflects the original “Machiavelli” design of the Veyron, with subtle upgrades to keep up with the times.
Moving inside, the FKP Hommage feels somewhat like a hybrid between a Veyron and a Chiron. The steering wheel, instrument cluster, centre console buttons, and even the shifter come from the Chiron — but it doesn’t feel like one.
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The centre console and tunnel cover are completely bespoke, machined from solid aluminium blocks. The design returns to the Veyron’s larger, more oval layout; the Chiron’s centre C-shaped split between passenger and driver seats is gone, and the steering wheel now features a rounded ‘Bauhaus’ design instead of the Chiron’s flat-bottomed style.
The seats are upholstered in a ‘Custom Car Couture’ fabric woven in Paris, featuring an intricate pattern reminiscent of luxury designer bags. The rest of the interior carries a rich tan colour, a nod to the classic Veyron leather interiors that so many of the originals came with.
And yes, that’s a real 41mm Audemars Piguet (AP) Royal Oak Tourbillon sitting proudly atop the dash. Not a screen. Not a digital widget. An actual mechanical timepiece. And if you know watches, you’ll know this is no ordinary Royal Oak. It was a specific request from the owner and winds via a tiny rotating gondola built into the dash. A standard Royal Oak like this goes for roughly RM1 million — and who knows how much a bespoke version like this would cost.
If you’re wondering about the price, just like the watch, you probably can’t afford it. The Bugatti FKP Hommage wasn’t built for the curious — it was built with love, passion, respect… and a lot of money. Bugatti didn’t reveal the full build cost, but a spokesperson told Autocar that the owner spent over EUR10 million (approx. RM47 million) to bring this one-off masterpiece to life.
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