Press release8/31/2023

The first ever “Luxury Summit hosted by Bugatti”

The first ever “Luxury Summit hosted by Bugatti”

Molsheim

For over 110 years, Bugatti has created incomparable automobiles, designed with an elegance, ingenuity and rarity that has elevated them far beyond automotive and into the realms of pure luxury. Earlier this year Bugatti brought together leading media, prominent brands and renowned experts for its first ever “Luxury Summit” to explore the future of luxury in a shifting world.

Bugatti hosted its first “Luxury Summit” at its home in Molsheim.
Bugatti hosted its first “Luxury Summit” at its home in Molsheim.
Bugatti hosted its first “Luxury Summit” at its home in Molsheim.
Bugatti hosted its first “Luxury Summit” at its home in Molsheim.
Prof. Dr. Dr. Dominik Duscher explaining cellular health to a guest at the “Luxury Summit hosted by Bugatti”.
Christophe Piochon, President of Bugatti Automobiles, welcomes guests for the first ever “Luxury Summit hosted by Bugatti” in Molsheim.
Professor Ashok Som, Founding Associate Dean of the Global MBA Program at ESSEC Business School, held the opening keynote at the first “Luxury Summit hosted by Bugatti.”
The first panel discussion “Retail and Hospitality 3.0: redefining customer experience” was led by Nathalie Remy, Vincent Billiard and Henri Foucaud and animated by Rebecca Robins.
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Hosted at the home of Bugatti, the Château Saint Jean in Molsheim, the “Luxury Summit” was designed as a platform to explore the current trends, but also to collectively plot the trajectory of the luxury sector. Special guests, including published luxury experts and CEOs of leading luxury brands, were gathered in the Château – once bought by Ettore Bugatti to host his customers and VIPs – to enlighten a room of global lifestyle media on the future of luxury through keynote speeches, panel discussions and a workshop. The compere and host for the day was author and leading expert in brand, luxury and culture, Rebecca Robins, who has long worked with the world’s most recognizable luxury organizations.

Professor Ashok Som’s opening keynote, Structural changes in luxury, outlined how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the mindsets of consumers and required luxury brands to adapt. The way users now engage with brands – as many were initially forced into complex, confusing and often time-consuming digital interactions – is shifting more rapidly than ever before and businesses need to reinvent the shopping journey so that it evolves to become a bold and unique multi-channel experience for customers.

Later, a panel discussion, Retail and Hospitality 3.0: redefining customer experience, fronted by Nathalie Remy, Partner at Bain & Company, Vincent Billiard, Managing Director of Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel, and Henri Foucaud, Co-Founder of Hapticmedia, took a deeper look into some of Professor Som’s points, identifying what makes a retail or hospitality experience ‘luxury’. A sense of seamlessness is key: smooth and harmonious transitions between different channels, different countries and different touchpoints for customers but with a very unique interaction each time.

The following panel, Tech as an ultimate customer relationship enabler, sought to examine how new technology and digital tools are enriching the luxury experience, with the help of Stefano Rosso, Maison Margiela Chairman and CEO of BVX (OTB Group), Daniela Ott, General Secretary at Aura Blockchain Consortium, Tony Pinville, PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Ali Walker, Chief Creative Officer for Asprey Studio. They explored how the digital interface can create ‘luxury’ experiences, with rarity and an exclusive members’ club feel that leads to physical experiences. Owners of Asprey NFTs, for example, are invited to exclusive events, or sent unique gifts, creating a full luxury experience that seamlessly blends between digital and physical worlds.

In the final panel discussion of the day, Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti Rimac, Daniela Ott and Manuel Mallen, CEO of Courbet, discussed Sustainability: the circular economy of luxury, including how brands deal with the fact that sustainability has become a core essence of the modern luxury world, from eco-friendly materials to full product traceability and how technologies can help brands adopt sustainable behaviors.

Ahead of the day’s closing keynotes, which would bring together all the themes of the day, PD Dr. Dr. Dominik Duscher, Regenerative Medicine Specialist, interacted with guests in a workshop focused on Longevity: health is the real luxury. His pioneering and thought-provoking research on epigenetics and the greater impact of cellular health has illustrated that genetics are not as set as was once believed, and changes to lifestyle can drastically slow cell ageing.

The challenge of summarizing the day’s exploration into the world of luxury fell to the final keynote speaker Dr. Hannes Gurzki, Luxury Expert and Researcher. His closing keynote established the parameters of what would always define a luxury brand, no matter the seismic shifts to come in the paradoxical world of technology. A brand must be rare but growing, innovative but full of heritage, physical but digital, global but local and data-driven but human-centric. In a world where AI can make things more efficient and predictable, it is the surprising human touches that will mark out special luxury experiences and products.

This insightful day continued with an evening celebration, beginning with an outdoor apéritif. This magical Bugatti moment was crowned with a live sketching demonstration from Bugatti’s Lead Designer for Sur Mesure, Jascha Straub, followed by the secret reveal of the Chiron Super Sport¹ ‘Golden Era’, a Bugatti haute couture commission that represents the finest craftsmanship and the pinnacle of personalization offered by the team in Molsheim; a distillation of luxury today, incorporating heritage with modern techniques, thousands of hours of skilled work, artistry and engineering. This bespoke car, timeless and incomparable, was officially revealed later on August 10th.

Guests were then invited to walk to the Atelier where a fine dining experience carefully curated to embody the sense of the occasion took place. The menu and wine pairing provided by Paul Stradner, Chef of the two-Michelin-star restaurant of Lalique, Villa René Lalique, offered a taste of modern French gastronomy with local and global influences that perfectly encapsulated the day. Intimate, extraordinary, sustainable, traceable and delivered in a setting that was both exclusive and memorable – a luxury experience at its best, and one guests would never forget.

“When we look at Bugatti, we don’t simply hope to create an extraordinary car, we want to build a whole luxury experience for our customers. Our aim with this event was to gather experts from the luxury industry to collectively discuss new trends and new opportunities for our brands. The world is changing more rapidly than it ever has before and we, together, need to find ways to adapt to this ever-shifting luxury ecosystem. These rich discussions with a diversity of thought leaders enabled us to understand that all these new trends create great opportunities to strengthen our relationship with our customers and go beyond their expectations, not only with our cars but with the lifestyle we offer."

Christophe Piochon

President of Bugatti Automobiles

As the concept behind the meaning of luxury continues to evolve within an industry that is rapidly transforming, the “Luxury Summit hosted by Bugatti” not only stimulated critical debate and discussion points, it also posed questions as to what the next chapter in luxury excellence will bring about. Those trends will be delved into further at the next “Luxury Summit hosted by Bugatti”.

The full agenda for the “Luxury Summit hosted by Bugatti”:

Opening keynote Structural changes in luxury Prof. Ashok Som, Founding Associate Dean of Global MBA Program at ESSEC Business School

Panel Retail & Hospitality 3.0: redefining customer experience Nathalie Remy, Partner, Bain & Company Vincent Billiard, Managing Director, Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel Henri Foucaud, CEO and Co-Founder, Hapticmedia

Panel Tech as an ultimate customer relationship enabler Stefano Rosso, Maison Margiela Chairman and CEO of BVX (OTB Group)- Daniela Ott, General

Secretary, Aura Blockchain Consortium Tony Pinville, PhD in Artificial Intelligence Ali Walker, Chief Creative Officer, Asprey Studio

Panel Sustainability: the circular luxury economy Mate Rimac, CEO, Bugatti Rimac Daniela Ott, General Secretary, Aura Blockchain Consortium Manuel Mallen, CEO and Co-Founder, Courbet

Workshop Longevity: health is the real luxury PD Dr. Dr. Dominik Duscher, Regenerative Medicine Specialist

Closing keynote The future of luxury Dr. Hannes Gurzki, Luxury Expert and Researcher

Press Contact

Nicole AugerHead of Marketing and Communicationsnicole.auger@bugatti.com

Fuel consumption and emissions

  • Bolide: Not subject to Directive 1999/94/EC, as it is a racing vehicle not intended for use on public roads.

    • Centodieci: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 40.31 / medium phase 22.15 / high phase 17.89 / extra high phase 17.12 / combined 21.47; CO2 emissions combined, g / km: NA; efficiency class: G

    • Chiron: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 44.56 / medium phase 24.80 / high phase 21.29 / extra high phase 21.57 / combined 25.19; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 571.64; efficiency class: G

    • Chiron Profilée: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 44.56 / medium phase 24.80 / high phase 21.29 / extra high phase 21.57 / combined 25.19; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 571.64; efficiency class: G

      • Chiron Pur Sport: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 44.56 / medium phase 24.80 / high phase 21.29 / extra high phase 21.57 / combined 25.19; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 571.64; efficiency class: G

      • Chiron Sport: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 44.56 / medium phase 24.80 / high phase 21.29 / extra high phase 21.57 / combined 25.19; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 571.64; efficiency class: G

      • Chiron Super Sport: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 40.31 / medium phase 22.15 / high phase 17.89 / extra high phase 17.12 / combined 21.47; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 486.72; efficiency class: G

      • Chiron Super Sport 300+: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 40.31 / medium phase 22.15 / high phase 17.89 / extra high phase 17.12 / combined 21.47; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 486.72; efficiency class: G

      • Divo: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 43,33 / medium phase 22,15 / high phase 17,99 / extra high phase 18,28 / combined 22,32; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 505,61; efficiency class: G

      • La Voiture Noire: WLTP fuel consumption, l/100 km: low phase 43,33 / medium phase 22,15 / high phase 17,99 / extra high phase 18,28 / combined 22,32; CO2 emissions combined, g/km: 505,61; efficiency class: G

        • Tourbillon: This model is currently not subject to directive 1999/94/EC, as type approval has not yet been granted.

        • W16 Mistral: This model is not subject to Directive 1999/94/EC, as type approval has not yet been granted.

          Bugatti

          The specified fuel consumption and emission data have been determined according to the measurement procedures prescribed by law.

          Further information on official fuel consumption figures and the official specific CO2 emissions of new passenger cars can be found in the “Guide on the fuel economy, CO2 emissions and power consumption of new passenger car models”, which is available free of charge at all sales dealerships and from DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH, Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, D-73760 Ostfildern, Germany and at www.dat.de.

          © 2024 Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.