Range Rover

Walter de'Silva is a powerhouse of modern automotive design. With cars like the Audi R8, TT and A5 among the many to his credit, his exteriors have a way of capturing the mind as well as the eye. But it wasn't always thus.
In 1999, when Volkswagen was just beginning the revival of Bugatti, then-head of Volkswagen Design Hartmut Warkuss asked de'Silva, then at Seat, to pen a preview of a Bugatti hypercar. De'Silva delivered what you see here.


Back in 1999, Hartmut Warkuss, then head of Volkswagen Design, met Walter de'Silva at the Geneva Show. At that time, Walter was head of design at Seat and working on the Seat Salsa Concept. Warkuss told De'Silva that Volkswagen was preparing the revival of the Bugatti brand and that "big boss" Ferdinand Piech was expecting some design proposals for a super sports car that was to become the Veyron. Hartmut Warkuss asked De'Silva to send in his take on the new Bugatti. De'Silva took the challenge against Warkuss himself and Giugiaro who eventually came up with the Chiron. De'Silva began to sketch and in a few months the work was completed, resulting in the full scale mock-up you can see here.


While it does bear some resemblance to the final Veyron, there's enough different to mark it out as its own entity. The aggressive wrap-around side scoops/roof layout and low, pointed roof brow put an odd hairline on an odd-faced vehicle.  Fortunately for enthusiasts and aesthetes everywhere, the design made it no farther than the full-scale mockup stage. It was Warkuss' design that was eventually picked to become the Veyron.
His failure to win the Bugatti design challenge doesn't seem to have hurt his career, however, as he's now in the position that Warkuss held ten years ago: head of VW Group design.
via:motorauthority