When you get to the level of multi-million dollar cars like the Bugatti Chiron, the sky is basically the limit in terms of spec and customization. Whatever color combination, special artwork or one-off trimmings you ask for, Bugatti can do it. The company will even create custom parts for you after your car has been delivered, as one Chiron owner discovered when she asked for a cup holder.
Despite being positioned as the pinnacle of luxury, at least when it comes to hypercars, the Bugatti Chiron doesn’t actually have any cupholders inside. Entrepreneur Shannon Ralston, who owns multiple bespoke Chiron Super Sports that she drives the hell out of and shares on her Instagram page, wanted a real cupholder after spilling an apparently sticky drink in the door card’s open storage cubby. As Bugatti’s design director Frank Heyl showed in an Instagram video, the company designed and developed a 3D-printed cupholder to send to Ralston.
In the video, Heyl shows off a 3D car configurator showing Ralston’s white Super Sport called ‘Le Diamant Blanc.’ He opens up the driver’s door to show the interior, where we can see a rendered cupholder in the door pocket. This 3D-printed cupholder slots right into the existing space, and Heyl describes it as a “tool-less design” that clips right in. There are two different drink slots, a larger one for water bottles and a smaller one for cans of drinks like Red Bull. The cupholder has the owner’s name on it, natch.
“Just in time for Christmas the design is ready,” says Heyl, “if you approve this design we could mock up a rapid prototyping 3D-printed part and ship it over to you for a first test fitment in January.” In the replies, Ralston said “I approve!!!! Omgoodness…..you and the entire Bugatti Team are beyond amazing. I feel like the most blessed girl in the world!! Thank you FRANK! 😍” As someone who went from not having any cupholders in his car to now owning a car with two up front, I get her excitement. I have a feeling that after seeing this video a lot of Chiron owners will be reaching out to Bugatti to ask for their own cupholders, surely with their printed names on them as well.
