Athletic billionaires of the world, rejoice. You can now have a Bugatti bike to match your new Tourbillon. And it’ll cost you less than painting a stripe down your car. Presumably.
This is the Bugatti Factor One, a race bike that’s so radical it’s not actually allowed to race. They should have just called it Le Petit Bolide and had done with it.
But of course, this isn’t all Bugatti’s own work at all. It’s another luxury tie-up, this time with high end British bike brand, Factor. Now, normally when bike brands collaborate with car firms, they just take their range-topping bike, paint it whatever signature colour is necessary and punt it out the door to act as lifestyle showroom candy. Not this time.
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Yes, it’s largely based on Factor’s flagship bike, the One, but the front end has undergone a wholesale redesign. If Bugatti were being very trite it might claim the upside down U that forms the top of the front forks was inspired by the shape of the famous horseshoe grille. Actually it’s all about aero. And it’s the reason this bike can never race.
The regulations for race bikes stipulate the forks can be no wider than 115mm across. Here, they’re 147mm. This is a design first seen on velodrome track bikes as it helps break up airflow before it hits the rider’s lower legs. Now, unless there are Tourbillon owners out there who imagine themselves as budding Chris Hoys, they’re going to care far more that they have something noone else has than that drag has been reduced by two watts.
Note the little flicks at the bottom of the fork legs as well. They’re new. As is the 3K twill weave of the frame’s outermost carbon layer. And the very fancy carbon chain ring (the bit the pedals attach to) complete with titanium teeth. This is ridiculous top-end design, done to make sure as little energy as possible is lost between sweating saddle-sitter and deep-section carbon rear wheel.
And of course there’s a Bugatti paint scheme. Yep, we’re at that stage now, where the rest is largely carried over. Overall? It’s not pretty is it? It’s all shoulders and visual weight over the front wheels. Does look fast though. Just like arriving at a trackday in a Bolide, if you arrive for a Sunday morning rideout on this, you’d better have the muscle to match it.
Or just bask in the envious side eyes being cast in your direction. Only 250 are being built, and from what we can tell it doesn’t look as if you have to be a Veyron/Chiron/Tourbillon customer in order to get one. In which case it's about the cheapest entry into Bugatti ownership we can think of at €25,799—about P1.8 million. A bargain in Bugatti terms, but about an P800,000 uplift over the regular Factor One.
Think you’ve heard of Factor in relation to cars before? Well done, they built a One-77 bike for Aston Martin about 12 years ago (yep, we rode it). And this isn’t Bugatti’s first bicycle collab. They did a single speed urban bike called the PG x Bugatti about a decade back. That listed with a base price of €39,000 (£33,700) and 667 were made. By which measure this latest machine looks quite the bargain.
So there we are, another Bugatti to put in your Bugatti apartment, maybe lean up against your Bugatti sofa alongside your Bugatti luggage, while wearing your Bugatti watch. Something for us all to strive for.
More photos of the Bugatti Factor One:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
