Bugatti Director of Design Retires After Signing-Off Chiron Successor

Bugatti's now retired Director of Design Achim Anscheidt

After helming Bugatti’s in-house design team for almost two decades, Achim Anscheidt, the Director of Design at Bugatti has finally retired. During his 19 years tenure, Anscheidt has oversaw several iconic projects, including the Veyron and Chiron, which is poised to be replaced in near future.

As a nod to all of his contributions, Bugatti has created a short video, showcasing all of Anscheidt’s work throughout his tenure with the marque.

Bugatti Galibier (left) & Vision Gran Turismo

Shared via Bugatti’s official social media pages, said video showcases several iconic Bugatti models designed by Anscheidt like the Veyron and Chiron, as well as several concept models and prototypes like the four-seater Galibier and the Vision Gran Turismo concepts.

Bugatti Atlantic concept

Aside from that, there’s also the unique Bugatti Atlantic concept – a front-engined variant of the Chiron that drew its inspiration from the legendary Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic. Just like the classic model, the modern-day Atlantic features a long front hood with a V8 power plant hiding beneath it.

Bugatti Divo, Bolide, Centodieci & La Voiture Noire

Topping off the list of models commissioned by Anscheidt are the special coachbuilt models like the Divo, Bolide, Centodieci, as well as the one-off La Voiture Noire.

While the Chiron’s production will be ended after Anscheidt’s retirement, this W16-powered hypercar, however, won’t be his swansong. Instead, Anscheidt managed to finish the design of Bugatti’s new flagship hypercar, which will be unveiled next year as the successor to the Chiron. 

Speaking to Autocar UK, Anscheidt said the car’s design is finished, with Bugatti now poised to begin production ahead of its 2026 market entry.

“The car is finished. We delivered the prototype tooling a couple of months ago and the production tooling will be delivered in a couple of months from now,” the retiring design boss said.

“[Chiron’s successor] was something that was more of a thinking exercise, especially on the interior, and everything I have tried to learn and comprehend over the last 19 years with Bugatti, I wanted to make sure this experience funnels into the car’s development,” he added.

As for the details of this new unnamed hypercar, the Chiron’s successor will ride on a brand-new chassis, while being powered by a V8 petrol hybrid powertrain, as the marque retires its iconic W16 mill with the Bugatti Mistral. In terms of design, Anscheidt said to Autocar UK that the new hypercar will "bring forward" Bugatti into a new era, while retaining the brand's signature design cues such as the horseshoe grille and 'Bugatti line' – a prominent beltline that has featured on every Bugatti since the aforementioned Type 57.

Apart from that, Bugatti remains tight-lipped about the other details of the car, notably whether this new model will be a standard series-parallel hybrid (HEV) or a plug-in hybrid. While hybrid supercars or hypercars aren’t really a new thing, it is interesting to see how an iconic brand like Bugatti tackling electrification, as each brand has their own approach or way in adopting electromobility.

Bugatti's new Director of Design Frank Heyl (left)

Although already stepped down as the marque’s chief designer, Anscheidt’s story with Bugatti hasn’t ended yet, as he will remain with the marque as a senior advisor to Bugatti Rimac CEO, Mate Rimac. Replacing him as the new Director of Design is Anscheidt’s long-serving deputy, Frank Heyl.