FRONT COVER / Etienne Salomé

FRONT COVER

Etienne Salomé / Bugatti Designer / Yacht Designer / Artist

Note from the editor.

“I am fortunate to have made the acquaintance and subsequent friendship with the hugely talented designer and artist, Etienne Salomé. In the below editorial, Etienne shares with us some personal stories and a small selection of his own sketches and artworks. I am beyond excited to announce that Etienne will now be writing a regular page for b500 and welcome him”. Life at Bugatti

My favourite project at Bugatti, the “La Voiture Noire”! Bugatti as a brand is 111 years old and perhaps the most important cars defining the brand are the luxury Bugatti type 41 Royale, the racing Bugatti type 35 and the elegant Bugatti Atlantic. The Atlantic is the masterpiece from Jean Bugatti, son of company founder Ettore Bugatti, and was produced only as four cars. One of them was all black and was Jean’s private car, it was also unique in its details with 2 hinge door, no rolling down side glass, different position of wipers ...only himself and the grand prix pilots were allowed to drive it.

During the Second World War the Bugatti company was forced to move to Bordeaux and chassis 57453 left the company but never reached its

destination and so in 2019, to celebrate the 110 years anniversary of the brand, I thought, what if Jean would still be alive, and he would have access to all our latest technology, what design would he create for his car to be “re-born”? And from this point was created ‘La Voiture Noire’. Using the powertrain from a Chiron with its unique W16 quad turbo, a one-of-one automobile for one client only, the epitome of automobile elegance.

The end result making it the most expensive new car in the world, at 16.7m Euros!

An opportunity with Koenigsegg.

After working for 12 years at Bugatti design, I left the company in August 2019 to create my own company and follow my own dream. Shortly after this I received a call from a really good friend of mine, Sasha Selipanov, who had recently been appointed as Director of Design of Swedish automobile manufacturer Koenigsegg and Raw design house.

His challenge was to get a new car ready for the Geneva motor show 2020, and at that time he had an understaffed team available, so his only way was to contact some friends!

The journey was epic, and the full digital process proved once again to be incredible in quality and time.

The result is the Koenigsegg Gemera, the world first Mega-GT, and Koenigsegg’s first for four passengers!. Ultimate performance and space for 4 large adults with their respective carry on luggage, allowing the Koenigsegg mega car

experience to be shared with family and friends. The production is limited to just 300 units of this 4 seater 1700 bhp plug-in hybrid.

While working at Koenigsegg, the employees and management make you feel like you are part of a big family, incredible welcoming people! I had the chance of working with Christian Von Koenigsegg himself, and it always gave me the strange feeling as if I would be working at Bugatti with Ettore being still alive!

You have an issue or need a decision, knock at the door (which happen to be always open!) of the CEO and company founder and get your answer!! This allowed an incredible speed of decision making, speeding up the creative process massively! Surely other companies from bigger groups could learn from this and get more effective in their creation process?

From car to yacht business

I have kept a foot in the car industry as a consultant, mainly for sports car companies, but the opportunities are not coming often to design real game changer concepts, if you are at Bugatti Design for example, the Bugatti Veyron was launched in 2005, the Bugatti Chiron in 2016, ... next one in 2027?

So in theory I have another 7 years before applying there again, and in the meantime if someone like Christian Von Koenigsegg could start his own company 25 years ago, why not myself? I have one dream to create the best tender yacht in

the industry, a land mark immediately recognisable, like a Riva Aquarama or a WallyPower!

Cruising on a sport tender at high speed is an incredible experience, especially for the pilot, he is seated in the middle in the Salomé Yachts sport tender, steering and controlling the throttle from three Mercury engines, each developing 370 ps.

The unique lobster hull design is inspired by formula 1 technology with a unique

flow- through concept. The design language is fluid and reflects its own environment, the sea. The proportion of the yacht gives it a real stance and it appears to be racing even when static in the water.

Driving a car these days is more about a challenge not to get a speeding ticket, restriction in the design creation is everywhere for safety improvements, and they are only growing year after year, ending up in having car parks full of cars looking alike. The yacht industry in this regard is very different, it feels like the ‘70s in terms of automotive design, and on open water no one tells you to stop or turn or slow down, you are the only captain onboard and responsible. The exaltation from a feeling of power and freedom is what I am looking for, an experience possible to share with friends and family on-board this 12 meter hyper yacht.

Etienne Salomé for b500 magazine.

THE COLLECTOR

1972 Lamborghini Miura SV

Achance introduction and meeting with James Kelly, who manages the Coldicote Private Collection has led to this exclusive feature of their most recent - and potentially most special acquisition to date. This very special 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV.

Sadly time got the better of us for this issue when we got the word from James to proceed, and so we did not have the opportunity to photograph ourselves - however, we are delighted to show the original images and words from our friends at Silverstone Auctions, from where this quite remarkable car was bid on - and subsequently ‘won’…

The first “supercar” from Lamborghini, and arguably the first supercar the world had ever seen, was the P400 Miura. When it was first unveiled at the 1966 Geneva Salon, its impact was nothing short of extraordinary. Simply stated, the Miura looked like no other car on the road, and it marked a paradigm shift in the design of highperformance cars. Its sensuous lines were undoubtedly indebted to the placement of its engine, which was mounted transversely, just behind the passenger compartment.

The specification is still impressive today: a lightweight frame, allindependent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and an exotic DOHC 4 litre V-12 engine with Weber carburettors. Capable of nearly 180mph (remarkable in 1966 when people were still astonished that an E-Type could reach 150mph), the Miura continues to intoxicate today.

Constant evolution resulted in the ‘S’ (spinto or tuned) version in 1968, followed by the ultimate, 385 bhp SV (Spinto Veloce) that debuted at Geneva in 1971.

According to the accompanying Build Log Slip, 5036 was Production Number 717, with the corresponding Bertone body number of 817, finished to European spec, fitted with Engine Number 30715 and, importantly is a split-sump car (1 of 94). It confirms the car still retains all its original build

details; finished in Rosso Corsa and Nero and was factory fitted with an LSD, air-conditioning, and a Radio Pack with roof aerial.

In 2010, the Miura was imported to the UK and soon sold to one of the world’s most significant collections. Later, the decision was made to strip off all the exterior paint, now showing its age and refinish the car in its original colour. In 2019, the owner sent the car to respected expert Bob Houghton to check through and fully service.

Today the Miura SV remains in highly original and correctly-maintained condition, with its rare and highly desirable original specification including factory-fitted air conditioning, a limitedslip differential and a factory fitted radio with aerial. A repaint in the original Rosso Corsa has freshened the image, while the original interior remains hugely evocative.

An amazing car and here at b500 we congratulate its new owner custodian on securing such an important car to his collection.