Bugatti One-Off Is A Literary Tribute: The Little Prince

You might think a Bugatti W16 Mistral is already exclusive enough in standard form. After all, this roadster marks the final chapter for the legendary 8.0-liter W16 engine—a triumphant farewell with 1,600 horsepower, limited to just 99 units. But for some buyers, sheer rarity is only the starting point.

That’s where the “Sur Mesure” program comes in—Bugatti’s in-house bespoke division, where customer wishes are turned into rolling works of art. The latest creation from that atelier carries the poetic name “Le Retour du Jeune Prince,” “The Return of the Young Prince”.

The story of this car began in October 2023, when a longtime Bugatti collector met with Jascha Straub, head of Bugatti Sur Mesure, in Molsheim. The goal: to create a vehicle that not only pays tribute to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s literary classic The Little Prince, but also to the customer’s own literary work, which continues the prince’s story. It’s exactly this kind of personal narrative that Bugatti—under design chief Sabine Consolini—translated into a visual concept.

A Copper-And-Silver Starry Sky

Standing in front of “Le Retour du Jeune Prince,” the unusual color scheme is the first thing that grabs your attention. The team developed a custom palette of warm copper and bronze tones, creating a metallic glow meant to evoke the gentle reflection of moonlight on earth. These earthy shades react intensely to changing light, further emphasizing the sculpted forms of the Mistral, which is based on the Chiron. Even the iconic horseshoe grille was revised: its inner 3D lines now follow the dynamic flow of the hood, giving the front end a stronger sense of forward motion.

Even more craftsmanship reveals itself as you walk around the car. On the rear quarters and atop the rear wing, there’s a hand-painted starry sky. Each individual silver star was worked directly into the paint through a time-consuming process of layering and refinement.

And as you’d expect from a project on this level, there’s an Easter egg: when the airbrake deploys at high speeds or under braking, a hidden composition on the underside of the wing becomes visible. It depicts a reinterpretation of one of the book’s most famous scenes—the prince and the fox.

There are more costly differentiators versus the “standard” car: the Bugatti badge on the grille, the “macaron,” is outlined in gold, while the brake calipers are finished in copper. Even the wheel centers wear color-matched “EB” emblems. And if you look into the engine bay, you’ll find custom engravings of the story’s main characters on the massive W16 powerplant.

Image by: Bugatti

Image by: Bugatti

A Rose Preserved Forever In The Shifter

Inside, the literary journey continues. Bugatti uses two leather shades: “Terre d’Or,” a bright, luminous beige, and “Driftwood,” a darker, earthier tone. The door panels are true showpieces of upholstery craftsmanship. The moon is embroidered into the leather, surrounded by countless star motifs that flow across the cockpit and up to the headrests. The center console features visible brown carbon fiber embellished with star details.

The undisputed highlight of the cabin is the shifter. Set inside it is a delicate silver rose that looks like a precious jewel. To make this miniature as realistic as possible, a real flower was captured via 3D scan and then faithfully recreated in silver. It’s a direct reference to the Little Prince’s rose—a symbol of tenderness and memory.

Mechanically, the Mistral remains the known beast: the 8.0-liter W16 sends 1,600 hp through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to all four wheels. In a one-off like this, performance almost becomes secondary, but the knowledge that the poetry of The Little Prince could theoretically travel at over 249 miles per hour gives this unique car its own distinct character. “Le Retour du Jeune Prince” is less a car than a bound book made of carbon fiber and leather—created to be read, remembered, and felt.

19

Source: Bugatti

Motor1’s Take: Bugatti once again shows the of detail its customization program offers to customers who have plenty of money to play with. The copper-and-silver combination is striking, with impressive touches inside and out. It seems like there is nothing Bugatti won’t do if you are willing to write that check.