Feature and article by Spencer Berke of Symbolic Motors | Bugatti San Diego
“Eight months ago, my boss told me that we had an insane car coming in that a customer had ordered from us. If you’re not familiar, here at my work, with Symbolic Motors, we’re an authorized dealership for Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti. We have a gigantic service center as well, where we do our PDI’s and maintenance. The day had come where the car had arrived and was ready to be unwrapped. The moment that I heard that it was on the way to San Diego, I grabbed my camera gear and hopped into my boss’s Bentley.
When I arrived at the service center, JP Logistics truck was literally just pulling up. I was beyond excited to see the car in person. It was all wrapped up in its delivery packaging to protect it against any type of potential damage during shipping.
My first thought when I saw the car under the wrapper was just pure anxiousness to get the car unwrapped and see the paint job.
I’ve seen two other Bugatti deliveries from the factory that have come into Symbolic service while they’re still in the wrapper. Bugatti doesn’t skip anything with making sure that every bit and piece of the car is protected. As you can see above, the wheels are individually wrapped with zip ties and cloth. The truck had a few boxes that came with the car. They include the convertible top holder for your garage, some cloths to protect the top when taking it on and off, along with a few other miscellaneous items.
The car wasn’t very visible from outside of the shipping truck, but once the car pulled into the sun, only one panel was exposed and left me speechless. I was excited to get the car unwrapped and see what it looked like.
It was quite funny taking photographs of the car while it was still in delivery package. It looked almost like a storm chaser vehicle that was ready to conquer a tornado. Once the car was in the sunlight, you could see through the packaging and the black lines really started to show how nutty the paint job was.
David Nutley, one of the most respected and skilled Bugatti technicians in the world, started to go to work on unwrapping the car. The owner of the Bugatti was watching the entire time, and as each piece started to slowly come off, he would continue to smile and pace around the car with excitement.
This photo below explains the insanity. Once a few of the ropes were cut that held on the cover, the wind blew the front cover up and exposed the bumper and fenders. I’ve seen a handful of Bugattis in my life, but this – by far – managed to take my breath away the second I saw the paint work.
The entire car was unwrapped and we could finally see the paint job that was done to this Vitesse. To explain the story behind how they came up with the design, they basically take the car into a detail booth where they paint buff their final vehicles. Inside of their booth, they have a surrounding dome of lights that overhang the entire car. They actually mask off the reflections of the lights on the car and base the paint off the reflections leaving behind a crazy, marble like paint scheme.
The interior is just as crazy as the exterior.
The delivery took about two hours from coming off the truck until it was finally unwrapped completely. I was watching the new owner of this beautiful Bugatti simply just take in the fact that this was his car and his car only. It ran through my head that hopefully that could be me one day where I bring a few friends with me to see my new Bugatti being delivered. I would request that I unwrap it myself just to have the experience of unwrapping a multi-million dollar vehicle.
The interior consisted of dark black with red stitching and, of course, loads of carbon fiber. The car was spec’d perfectly. Shortly after the car was delivered, I had posted photos to my personal and Symbolic Motors Instagram accounts. I saw a few comments that were negative or “money doesn’t buy taste”… It made me think to myself that so many people have different opinions. Since I’ve been in the business for awhile, these cars tend to get plain. Don’t get me wrong, a solid color Bugatti would make me happy any day… but seeing a car that already has such a presence gain even more of a unique look…that’s just insanity! Dare to be brave! I love it.
Once the car was completely unwrapped, that’s when I could really step back and realize that one of the most insane vehicles in the world was sitting directly in front of me.
One side for gas, one side for oil.
The Bugatti looks the best when it’s in sport mode with the car lowered down an inch and the massive wing up in the air. You can see here how unique the lines of the paint job really are. The gigantic brake calipers painted in red really pop with the gloss black wheels.
The Bugatti Veyron, in general, has always been one of my favorite cars. There are so many different reasons why that is, but one of the main things about a Bugatti is the “wow” factor. When you’re driving a Bugatti down the street, most people just have no idea what to even think, let alone process what they are seeing. That’s what I love about this particular Vitesse – is that Bugatti has taken an already crazy car and taken it to an entirely new level with the paint job. I’m sure that the paint code is probably something like “Neck Breaker” or “Pure Insanity”.
The car was completely wrapped in a clear bra and delivered to the customer a week later. If I were in the customer’s position, I wouldn’t be able to leave the car’s side until I had the keys in my hand. Having to wait a week after seeing it in person would kill me, but it would make the day that I get to drive it so much more exciting. I’ll never forget the first time I had driven around in a Chrome Mclaren MP4-12C in Newport Beach. The reactions were hilarious and every where I went people had to take photos. I can imagine this car will do the same.
Car sold by Symbolic Motor Car Company – Marc Chase – Bugatti San Diego – @SymbolicMotors
(Source: SpencerBerke.com)