Bugatti Puts More Time Into Paint Than Most Manufacturers Put Into Cars

Mar. 19, 2023 8:01 PM ET by Anthony Capretto Design / 12 Comments

Bugatti takes over 600 hours to paint its cars.

It's no secret that each masterpiece Bugatti puts together is produced with the utmost precision, but astonishingly, it takes 600-700 hours to create and apply each vehicle's paint. This process, which consists of eight layers of material, is just one of the many reasons the brand's hypercars command such a high price.

Take the lowly Chiron, for example. It takes nine months from configuration to delivery, with over 1,800 parts surgically assembled by 20 expert craftspeople. This means over a month is spent strictly on painting the car. That's the same time it takes for lesser luxury carmakers to produce 4 or 5 vehicles from start to finish.

Bugatti

The process starts well before the paint is ever applied when each panel is scrutinized aggressively to ensure no pits will affect the finish later. The brand employs its own metrologist (a scientist specializing in the science of measurements), Gregoire Haller-Meyer, whose only job is ensuring every panel is as perfect as possible.

Once the panels are considered perfect, they are given a first layer of primer and sanded down to a smooth and consistent surface before applying a second layer of primer. From there clear coat is applied and sanded, applied and sanded again and again as many times are necessary until, after over 100 hours of work, the panels are finally sent off to be painted.

Bugatti

"The painting of a Bugatti hyper sports car not only requires incredible expertise but also the commitment and ambition to always meet the high-quality standards of the brand, week after week, car after car," says Simon Vetterling, Bugatti Body and Painting Specialist.

The paint is applied, and then a team of people analyzes each panel to ensure the colors are precisely the same, or the panels are sent back to be repainted. This process can be tricky thanks to the bespoke colors many vehicles wear, the different characteristics of each car, and the employment of varying surface materials like exposed carbon fiber.

Bugatti

The work isn't finished once the car is painted, however. For four days, the vehicle is polished to a perfect shine in what Bugatti says is the most comprehensive polishing process in the industry. The car is then scrutinized under the lights of the company's light tunnel for hours by touch and sight until finally, after what seems like a lifetime of work, the car's paint is truly complete.

The process is impressive, bordering on the absurd, but we would expect nothing less for cars that can reach eight figures.

Don't fret, though, because if you're looking for a car with paint that has even more layers than a Bugatti for a fraction of the price, we have the perfect fit for you (don't pay too close attention to the panel gaps).

Bugatti

Bugatti Puts More Time Into Paint Than Most Manufacturers Put Into Cars

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Bugatti Puts More Time Into Paint Than Most Manufacturers Put Into Cars

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