Bugatti’s F.K.P. Hommage Features An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon As A Luxury Dash Clock

Audemars Piguet has created a bespoke Royal Oak Tourbillon dash clock for the one-off Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage. Honoring 20 years since the launch of the Bugatti Veyron, this unique creation takes a modern Bugatti Mistral platform and incorporates design cues from the original, legendary 1,001PS hypercar. Displaying meticulous attention to detail with luxury materials and insane performance numbers, the Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage is a showcase of the French carmaker’s capabilities.

Bugatti Automobiles is a hypercar marque based in Molsheim, France. Now part of the Bugatti Rimac group, the French carmaker creates extremely luxurious yet high-performing vehicles for an incredibly wealthy clientele. It’s said that the average Bugatti owner has at least 84 cars. Bugatti’s history spans over 115 years, but its current form began in the early 1990s with the EB110, the first car produced by Bugatti in over 40 years. Despite having some notable owners, including Michael Schumacher, the EB110 wasn’t a huge success and had a short initial production run of four years. Nowadays, the EB110 is highly sought after and routinely sells for seven-figure sums due to its low production volume. But really, Bugatti didn’t hit its stride until the unveiling of its next modern concept, the Veyron, at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1999.

Image: NetCarShow

The Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak dash clock

Launched in 2005, the Veyron was the world’s fastest production car, hitting 253.81 mph and later 267.8 mph in the Super Sport variant. Bugatti followed up the Veyron with the equally bonkers Chiron in 2016, which could exceed 300 mph, although this was not officially recorded. This year, Bugatti will launch its latest production car, the Tourbillon, with a hybrid V16 engine and three electric motors for a combined 1,800 PS. But if these multimillion-dollar hypercars weren’t exclusive enough, Bugatti also has its Programme Solitaire for one-off bespoke creations. And to celebrate 20 years since the Veyron’s debut, Bugatti recreates the design language of the original Veyron using the underpinnings of a later limited-edition Mistral. Commissioned by an anonymous European collector, the F.K.P. Hommage also honors the late Ferdinand Karl Piëch, who spearheaded the Veyron program.

Bugatti Veyron in background, Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage in foreground — Image: NetCarShow

The owner also commissioned Audemars Piguet to create a bespoke Royal Oak Tourbillon as a mechanical dash clock for the Bugatti’s interior. Seamlessly integrated in the central console, the automatic movement maintains its power reserve thanks to its placement on a rotary system. The onboard computer will automatically move diagonally several times per hour to wind the caliber. Despite the familiar 41mm diameter for the Royal Oak, the stainless steel case is custom-made for the car and is much thicker to connect to the aluminum housing with perlage decoration. The smoky red dial is very similar to that of the ref. 26730ST.OO.1320ST.05, but the dash clock’s red is far more vibrant and matches the red clear coat of the F.K.P. Hommage’s two-tone exterior.

Image: NetCarShow

Final thoughts

This rotating system reminds me of the former Breitling and Bentley collaboration that also featured a mechanical dashboard clock with a self-winding housing. It’s worth noting that this is not an official collaboration between Bugatti and Audemars Piguet. Bugatti has had a timepiece partnership with Jacob & Co. since 2019. In fact, Jacob & Co. unveiled a new Tourbillon watch inspired by the upcoming Bugatti V16 hypercar. Interestingly, there is some crossover, as the Bugatti Tourbillon model name draws inspiration from fine watchmaking. Instead, this Royal Oak Tourbillon was a direct request from a customer who perhaps has a penchant for the timepiece’s design. The choice of a tourbillon mechanism may be more appropriate for a dash clock than for a wristwatch. This is due to the tourbillon cage, which contains the hairspring, counteracting the force of gravity whilst remaining fixed.

Image: NetCarShow

I was a massive fan of the Veyron when it launched, as it took high-performance production cars to the next level. Since then, Sweden’s Koenigsegg, Italy’s Pagani, America’s Hennessey, and even the electric range of Croatia’s Rimac have raised the bar to explore what is possible. But the Bugatti Veyron broke through that 250mph+ barrier first and stands up as one of the greatest cars ever made.

Despite its initial reputation for losing then-owner Volkswagen millions on each car sold, Bugatti’s spirit and tenacity of showcasing what it can do have reaped rewards, making it a hugely successful and revered hypercar maker with loyal, exceptionally wealthy clients worldwide. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon dash clock is the icing on the cake of this incredible one-off creation. The owner of the Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage has exquisite taste, and I hope he or she enjoys this incredible Veyron tribute.