Before the term “supercar” was coined (a portmanteau of “super sports car”) in the middle of the 20th century to describe the Lamborghini Miura, those cars that were truly fast were considered just to be high end sports cars. For these cars, which were often also ridiculously expensive for the time, you could buy them one of two ways. The first was buying them as designed by the original manufacturer, which led to some amazingly beautiful Bugatti‘s and Alfa Romeo‘s, among others. The other way was to have the chassis, engine, and suspension all set up by the manufacturer, but the body was a custom coachbuilt design.
An example of what a coachbuilder would do on a cars such as this Bentley Blower. The first thing they would do is construct a wooden frame that would form the basis of the look of the car for the metal shaping to be done against. Image via Wikimedia CommonsCoachbuilding may not be the most common of terms, but it is a term that survived from the 19th century to describe a customized body for a passenger carrying vehicle. In Victorian England, it quite literally meant building the horse-drawn coaches that the elite rode around in. Take away the horses, add an internal combustion engine, and it’s pretty much the same.
At the very tail end of the 20th century, coachbuilding was all but gone except in the ultra-luxury space. To wit, Rolls-Royce formed their entire business around making one-off, bespoke, or coachbuilt cars for the ultra-wealthy. Bentley wasn’t scared of making modifications or customizations to their cars to meet exacting client specifications, either, as they created the Mulliner Division of the company to do just that. Yet, once the 21st century landed, with unibody design where the chassis and body both share the stress load of the car, it pretty much died out entirely.
However, after a little bit of hibernation, bespoke and coachbuilt supercars are making a return, and we will both investigate why as well as list some of our favorites.
Why Coachbuilding & Bespoke One-Offs Are On The Rise
If you want a one word answer, there is one: Money.
To investigate a bit further, wealth is only one pillar that the coachbuilding industry stands upon today. One of the other major pillars is that throughout the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, modern society has put value on collectibles and “the only one in existence” types of objects. For some, it’s baseball cards. For others, it’s comic books. For some, it’s a manufacturer making a car for you, and only for you.
Restomodding holds a significant amount of the blame for the rise of coachbuilding and bespoke cars in the 21st century. One example is this Singer DLS Porsche 911 Turbo, developed in conjunction with Williams F1 Advanced Engineering. Image via SingerThe revival of the whole niche can also be traced to the modern trend of “Restomodding,” which is taking a car and restoring it, but also modifying it at the same time. There are even entire businesses that are highly respected that exist because of restomods, one of the most popular being Singer. They take an older Porsche 911, strip it all the way back to the frame, and then build it up custom to what the client wants, at the same time often bumping the power up quite a bit or even putting modern engines in the older car. They will sometimes also partner with outside suppliers, such as Williams F1 Advanced Engineering to create the awesome Singer-Williams DLS Porsche 911 Turbo.
The 2005 Ferrari P4/5, a bespoke one-off that has the frame, engine, and power of the Enzo, but with a “Coachbuilt” body on it from Pininfarina. Image via Wikimedia CommonsMany manufacturers also saw the potential of bespoke and custom builds as the 21st century came about. This is where the bespoke industry found its feet, after a few early pieces such as the Ferrari P4/5 by Ferrari and Pininfarina, a one-off using the running gear and base chassis of an Enzo. Another, slightly less extreme, example would be the Ferrari 612 Kappa, a one-off bespoke car for a prominent New York official that “perfected” the 612 Scaglietti.
Put simply, those with the wealth and an established history with a manufacturer can always request to have a bespoke car made for them, or have a “rolling frame” made so that a design house can coachbuilt them a car. These are the prime clients of those manufacturers, but as the world’s ultra-high net worth population has grown, so has the demand for custom and bespoke cars.
Yet, where did this desire come from?
How The Customization Trend Migrated From Ultra-Luxury To Ultra-Performance
As mentioned in the introduction, some manufacturers like Rolls-Royce have always catered to their wealthiest clients, providing them with custom luxury and appointments in the cars that they bought. The entire ultra-luxury market is very much on board with that idea as well, and any ultra-lux brand even today will often not even have a base price for their vehicles listed, as the customizations the client wants determine the actual cost of the car.
Even today, Rolls-Royce has a bespoke coachbuilding department. This is an example of a one-of-one Rolls-Royce Wraith with a coachbuilt body and roofline called the Arcadia Droptail, commissioned by a Rolls-Royce customer. Image via Rolls RoyceWhat caused the shift to ultra-performance is more of a societal shift than any other metric. Consider that up to 1960, owning a Rolls-Royce or a Mercedes-Benz was considered a display of wealth. You had to be properly rich to have one, and often they were driven by chauffeurs, another sign of wealth. Ultra-luxury was the way to show “hey, I have money” in a way that was a very large middle finger covered in a velvet glove to the world. Let’s not fool ourselves, a lot of powerfully rich people do want to show off in some way!
By the end of the 20th century, that display style of wealth was somewhat devalued as many manufacturers that used to operate in the highest areas of luxury transformed into providing a whole range of cars. This is not a bad thing at all, as it allowed the common man (or woman) to own a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW, and it also made those companies insane amounts of money. It even gave rise to performance divisions of those companies, such as AMG and the M Division. Suddenly, huge performance was also becoming a commonality of the middle class. So what were the wealthy to do?
Consider that in the 1960s, something like this Mercedes-Benz S-Class was entirely in the domain of the ultra-wealthy. These days, while it still is pricey, it is within range of the middle-class. Image via Wikimedia CommonsFor those that really wanted to “flex the dollar,” there were a few very limited edition supercars that came out in the 1990s such as the McLaren F1, the Ferrari F50, and the like that needed big time buying power to get. While they were rare, they were still “common,” at least in the circles that ultra-high net worth people operate in. As well, during these years, the number of high net worth individuals was also rising because of things such as the dot com bubble, a strong economy, and market booms that lined many bank accounts with millions of dollars.
So, for those that really wanted to show off, they had two ways to do so. The first was the rise of the hypercar, started by the McLaren F1. The desire to be the most powerful, the fastest, the most high tech became a tentpole for many companies, such as the resurgent Bugatti brand and the Veyron hypercar. The other way was to take what used to be the exclusive stomping ground of the ultra-luxury space and make it part of the supercar and hypercar world.
Some Of The Best Examples Of Bespoke & Coachbuilt Supercars Of The 21st Century
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera: The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (2013)
The 2013 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante, a complete coachbuild over the frame and engine of an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Image via Wikimedia CommonsCarrozzeria Touring Superleggera has an absolutely legendary history that can rival Carrozzeria Pininfarina in the influence it has had on the supercar landscape. They were the design house of the very first Lamborghini, the 350GT, as well as designers of the all-time classic Aston Martin DB4 and DB5 cars. In the 1950s, they were also brought in by Alfa Romeo to pen the design of a concept race car, the Disco Volante, or “Flying Saucer.”
The 2016 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spider, of which only 7 were ever made. Image via Wikimedia CommonsWhile that original race car never came to be, the name stuck, and when the Alfa Romeo 8C supercar came out, someone at both companies put 1 and 1 together. While the 8C was already achingly gorgeous, when Touring removed the body and put their own aluminum honeycomb and carbon fiber body on it, it became something extra special. Only one of the coupe version was made, and three years later, seven of the Spider version were built, making it a very rare coachbuilt supercar.
Carrozzeria Pininfarina: The New Stratos (2010)
Harkening back to the original 1970’s design but with modern lines and angles, the Pininfarina New Stratos takes a Ferrari 430 and makes it into a rip-snorting supercar that looks rally ready. Image via Motor1What do you get when you combine a freshly graduated design student that has just joined Pininfarina and a German billionaire owner of the Bose group and his son? Why, a new version of one of the greatest rally cars ever designed. The New Stratos came about because of the desire of that German billionaire to own a Lancia Stratos, which he already did, but with modern power and handling.
Starting with a Ferrari 430 Scuderia, the body of the car was removed and the frame reworked to have a shorter wheelbase. The engine was also tuned up to produce 540 HP. The body is a modern take on the original Stratos wedge shape, modernized to create usable downforce while also being extremely lightweight at just 1,250 kg (~2,750 lbs). The one-off was delivered in 2010 to the German, but proved to be so popular that many other wealthy individuals wanted one.
The first car of the MAT New Stratos line, the first of 25, was painted in the original rally car’s paint scheme. The price? $755,000. Image via HagertyManifattura Automobili Torino, along with Pininfarina and with the original owners blessing, started a limited-to-25 production in 2018. At the rate of only 4 or 5 cars made per year, they are actually still in production, as 2020 and 2021 saw no cars produced with the global pandemic.
Aston Martin Q Division: Aston Martin Victor (2020)
A perfect example of “beautiful brutality,” the Aston Martin Victor. It’s as fast as it looks too, with a One-77 under that carbon fiber body. Image via StratstoneWhen the Aston Martin One-77 came out in 2011, it was a velvet sledgehammer. Obscenely powerful but also one of the prettiest cars to ever emerge from the English automaker, it was already a toy for the wealthy. However, one owner thought that it could be improved.
It’s even more menacing from the rear, with a big hard spoiler and serious underbody aerodynamics. Image via AutocarThat One-77 was brought back to the factory and the Q Division at Aston Martin, named after the Q Branch of James Bond fame, took it down to the frame. They then built up a coachbuilt body that pulled from the brutalist 1980s and 1990s designs of the Vantage of those years. The result is a V12 powered Aston Martin named the Victor that is meant to be ostentatious, in your face, and shout about it while also punching you in the face. Repeatedly.
Oh, and it has a bespoke 6-speed manual transmission, built only for this car.
Ferrari Centro Stile: Ferrari P80/C GT3X (2019)
The 2019 Ferrari P80/C GT3X in all its side-profile glory. Rumored to have cost almost $6 million to make, it is one wealthy owners’ ultimate track toy. Image via FerrariAs stated by Ferrari themselves, this one-off bespoke car was their longest development of any car they specially built for a customer, ever. What made the P80/C GT3X particularly special was that it was never destined to be a road car, instead being a track car harkening back to the mid-1960 sport prototype design style.
From the front quarter view, it looks like a modernized prototype car, which was the design direction the client gave to Ferrari Centro Stile. Four years of work went into making this car happen! Image via FerrariStarting with a 2015 488 GT3, the car was pulled back to the frame, then painstakingly designed over the next 3 years to not just look good, but also create proper motorsports levels of downforce. This design was so specialized that even Scuderia Ferrari, the Formula One team, was tapped to help create the ultimate one-off race car. What came out of it was the P80/C, a 600+ HP turbocharged “GT3 Plus” track car that produces more than twice its weight in downforce at top speed.
Bugatti Sur Mesure: Bugatti Chiron Profilee (2022)
The 2022 Bugatti Chiron Profilee. It may look like a normal Chiron, but almost every panel of the car has been made bespoke for the car. A small stretch here, a redesigned angle there, and the inclusion of a built in wing at the back make it one of the fastest cars ever made. Image via BugattiWe couldn’t talk about bespoke and custom performance without including at least one hypercar. The Bugatti Chiron Profilee differs from all the other cars in our favorites list here in that it wasn’t commissioned by a wealthy collector. Instead, it was internally ordered as a one-off special of the Chiron to celebrate the nearing end of production, and was to be auctioned off.
Originally designed for a limited production run, the entire 500 car run of the Chiron was sold before the car could be offered. As such, it was made to be a one of one “pre-series” Chiron, as well as the fastest Chiron of all time. It is much more aerodynamic than the Pur Sport as well as is much more thermodynamically efficient, thanks to almost every panel being reworked and reshaped to be as slippery as possible while creating proper downforce. It has also been entirely reworked underneath with some parts that became the basis of the Bugatti Bolide, including the suspension and steering, making it the most agile and best handling Chiron ever made.
Where a lot of the speed comes from… a deeper, longer diffuser, a built in wing, and a reprofiled rear end with more air pass-through to reduce drag. This car is designed to go 380 KPH, so all of this aero work isn’t just for show. Image via BugattiIt accelerates to 300 kph (186 MPH) in 12.4 seconds, and will continue punching a hole in the laws of physics all the way up to an electronically limited 380 KPH (236 MPH). It was the last car to leave the Chiron production line, and was offered at RM Sotheby’s in 2023 without a reserve. Of course, it set a record for a Chiron at auction, garnering a winning bid of €9,792,500, or just under $11 million USD.
