Bugatti is no stranger to shaking up the industry when there’s an opportunity to do so. That “opportunity” could come sooner than we think because of rumors that the super luxury performance brand is developing a one-off creation for the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. The whispered price of this one-off? $18 million. Details are still scarce at the point, but it is rumored that this one-off Bugatti has already been built. More importantly, it was built for Dr. Ferdinand Piëch, the former chairman of the Volkswagen Group, and is being launched as part of the automaker’s 110th-anniversary celebration.

An $18 Million Bugatti? Say it Isn't So

Just when you thought Bugatti couldn’t get more exclusive (or more expensive,) now comes word that it’s planning to unleash a one-off hypercar at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Now, such displays of brand-flexing aren’t entirely new to Bugatti. After all, this is the same company that was never shy of touting its 258-mph production car top speed record, at least until the Koenigsegg Agera RS eclipsed it two years ago when it hit 278 mph. Leave it to Bugatti, then, to find new ways to return to the headlines, and there’s no better time to do it than in the year it’s celebrating its 110th anniversary.

You would think that a simple special edition version of the Chiron would do the trick. But that’s not how Bugatti rolls? One special edition isn’t enough to satisfy the egos at Molsheim, France. There needs to be another model that will get everyone talking about it. That may end up being the 110 Ans, but it could also end up being this rumored one-off creation that is speculatively priced at $18 million. I wish there were a way to exaggerate that price tag, and maybe it is exaggerated since it’s still a rumor. But if this one-off costs $18 million, it could redefine the way these types of vehicles are priced moving forward.

Think about it. What can $18 million buy you in the market these days? You can buy as many as 600 — 600! — Ford Mustangs with that money. Care for a Lamborghini Huracan Evo? You can score 68 of them and still have enough money to buy a base model Huracan with the change you’ll receive. Better yet, you can just talk to Bugatti and buy six Chirons, one for each day of the week not counting Monday. If you’re looking to drop that kind of money on a single car, $18 million can fetch you a Ferrari 250 GTO in an auction setting.

For its part, Bugatti is doing its best to downplay these rumors, even if it didn’t exactly shoot them down entirely. Tim Bravo, the company’s head of communications, responded to a query from Carscoops by saying that “as per company policy, we do not comment on rumors and speculations.”

Obviously, Bravo’s not just going to come out and confirm that an $18-million Bugatti is coming to Geneva. That’d spoil the suspense and the publicity that these rumors are already generating.

Beyond the obvious frenzy, this rumor has started is an interesting tentacle about this supposed one-off creation. According to The Supercar Kids, the $18-million, one-off Bugatti is actually commissioned by former Volkswagen Group chairman Ferdinand Piech. While that in itself is newsworthy enough, that same rumor turns curious when you consider that Piëch actually resigned from the company in 2015 after a power struggle that occurred months before the now-infamous Dieselgate scandal broke. Piëch isn’t involved with the conglomerate anymore after selling his 14.7-percent stake in Porsche in 2017, so if he did commission this one-off Bugatti, he either did it under the guise of a different name — that’d be funny, right? — or fences have been mended since his exit, paving the way for him to come up to Bugatti and tell them that he wants a one-off masterpiece that costs about as much as a Ferrari 250 GTO.

There are so many tentacles to this rumor. It’s hard enough to keep track of all of Bugatti’s plans for its 110th-anniversary celebration, but now there’s this rumor of a car that could, in theory, at least, blow anything Bugatti has ever created out of the water.Surely, if Bugatti’s asking for that much for a single car, it’s got some special surprises in store for that car, right?

Fortunately, the “wait” to see this one-off hypercar in the flesh won’t be that long. If these rumors are true, the bombshell will drop at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Bugatti’s already bringing this special edition Chiron Sport “110 Ans” to the event. Care to wager that it won’t be the only Bugatti that shows up at the event? I’ll take some of that action.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2018 Bugatti Chiron.

Read our full review on the 2018 Bugatti Chiron Sport.

Read our full review on the 2019 Bugatti Divo.

Read our full review on the 2016 Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo.