Bugatti has just unveiled its sprawling new 12,000 square-foot design studio in Berlin, Germany. The building, once powered the city’s U-Bahn (metro) system in the 1920s and was subsequently turned into a techno club in the 1990s. With its original ceramic tiles and cast-iron staircases intact, this space fuses old-world charm with cutting-edge tech and will now play host to one of the most elite automotive design teams in the world, represented by 22 nationalities. The location is no coincidence. The city’s creative culture and access to world-class design talent in Europe made the German capital a natural choice.
Design for the French marque, be it Jean Bugatti’s work on the Type 57C Atlantic back in the 1930s or the impressive Veyron and Chiron in the VW era since the early 2000s, has been an integral part of its identity and has set new standards in the industry. The new Berlin hub positions Bugatti in what is quietly becoming a design arms race among top-tier automakers. Porsche recently made waves by integrating Apple’s Vision Pro headset into customization, allowing for an immersive, full-scale virtual reality experience.
Now, Bugatti is taking that a step further with a state-of-the-art studio outfitted with head-tracking sensors and VR visualization tools. They give designers the ability to walk around full-scale digital prototypes that only exist in code. The goal: virtually render every line, surface, and seam of a vehicle. While clay models have replaced VR, traditional design practices like hand-drawn sketches continue, with access to a curated mix of top-notch materials and full-size interior samples lining the studio’s open-plan layout. This gives clients the ability to see, touch, and configure every minute detail with designers, down to the last detail.
This shift comes as the company prepares its next chapter with the V16-powered Tourbillon hypercar. The new studio will play a pivotal role in the Bugatti-Rimac partnership. Along with Bugatti’s production base in Molsheim, France, and Rimac’s €200 million ($227 million) campus in Zagreb, Croatia, the Berlin design base will serve as a key link between engineering breakthroughs and aesthetic expression.
Source: Bugatti
