Bugatti is embarking on a new era working alongside Rimac to develop all-electric hypercars, but the automaker is still honoring its illustrious history. Last year, Bugatti launched the "La Maison Pur Sang" (The Thoroughbred House) restoration program designed to keep its historic hypercars alive and certify the authenticity of classic Bugattis for collectors. Now, Bugatti's first restoration project under this new program is complete.

The first car to get the La Maison Pur Sang treatment is a rare 2008 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport prototype. Finished in white silver metallic paint with a Cognac leather interior, the unregistered demo car, designated as "Grand Sport 2.1," debuted in 2008 at Pebble Beach and traveled to shows in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Last year, Grand Sport 2.1 was reacquired by Bugatti and underwent a thorough restoration. Bugatti spent four months restoring the Veyron Grand Sport back to its original 2008 specification. This painstaking process involved removing, preparing, and repainting the body panels.

Inside, the cabin was refurbished with new leather trim and all leather and aluminum parts were replaced. In addition, a new center console was fitted matching the car's original specification. To confirm the car's originality, Bugatti inspected the VIN and confirmed the identification numbers stamped on key components were correct. This is important because only authentic and certified models are accepted by collectors.

"Following this official confirmation of the car's status as an important historic model and the prototype that helped launch the Veyron Grand Sport in 2008, the car rapidly attracted attention from a number of captivated collectors, and was acquired almost immediately," said Luigi Galli, chief of the La Maison Pur Sang program.

Bugatti's La Maison Pur Sang program can verify the authenticity of models of any age. Once they have been verified, customers and collectors are offered a range of restoration and reconfiguration options to give vintage Bugattis like the EB110 and Type 57 Atlantic a new lease of life.

"Due to our extensive research, archive material and the close contacts we enjoy with Bugatti clubs, historians and collectors all around the world, we can trace the history and determine the authenticity of any Bugatti model, regardless of age," said Galli.