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It took the production team two years to finish the one-off Bugatti Divo "Lady Bug."

There’s nothing in Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S’s history to suggest it's one to shy away from a challenge. So, when an imaginative customer approached the French luxury automaker with the idea of painting a geometric-dynamic algorithmic fading pattern on the body of the mid-engined, track-focused Bugatti Divo shortly after its world premiere in August 2018, Bugatti obliged.

Why not? It wouldn’t be the first (nor last) time the automotive firm would collaborate with a dreamy customer to grant their request for everything from one-off materials to bespoke wild colors. Bugatti has more than sufficient resources, expertise, and experience to grant such requests just as it can build truly exceptional supercars.

So, Bugatti proceeded to craft the one-off Divo aptly called the Lady Bug. “With the custom-made Lady Bug,” said Bugatti President Stephan Winkelmann, “Bugatti has demonstrated the full range of its customization expertise. What initially seemed impossible was executed to perfection by the designers and developers in collaboration with the customer. We are proud to have matched the customer’s personal taste and expectations with this unique Divo.”

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The intricate bodywork is undoubtedly its foremost attribute, but the “Lady Bug” is a masterstroke of art, design, and technology. In other words, the one-off Divo Lady Bug is more than the pretty clothes it’s wearing. Nonetheless, applying the specially developed red and graphite with metallic tones was so intense and time-consuming that Bugatti nearly threw in the towel mid-project. We're glad they didn't, but we wouldn't blame them if they did.

The original Bugatti Divo is already a symbiosis of creativity and craftsmanship with no need to be stretched further to meet the whims and caprices of insatiable customers with overactive imaginations. Divo is a track-oriented sports car named after the French race car driver Albert Divo who had twice won Bugatti the Targa Florio race in the 1920s.

Divo inherited its breathtaking looks and beastly performance from the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic and the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Concept. The Bugatti Divo's main features include an evolved quad pipes exhaust system, a 71-inch fixed rear wing 23% wider than the Chiron’s retractable wing, and an aerodynamic NACA duct on the roof that pushes air to the car’s rear on a central fin and ultimately on the rear wing to improve downforce. The automaker says Divo generates 1,005 lb of downforce at top speed.

The revised side skirts and larger intakes on the front fascia further improve the Divo's aerodynamics while the large front chin spoiler and redesigned head- and taillights help the car's aggressive appearance. A vent on the hood aids ventilation for the radiator while the front wheel arches improve brake cooling.

Inside, Divo features premium interior touches mirroring the Chiron, but with Alcantara instead of leather seating material and carbon fiber trim to minimize weight. Notably, Divo is a full 8 seconds faster than Chiron around the Nardò Ring test track, propelled by the same quad-turbo W16 engine as the Chiron, mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. The car could generate 198 lb more downforce than Chiron.

Related: This Is What Makes The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport So Special

Bugatti explained that the customer who approached them with the idea of the "Lady Bug" insisted on a geometric pattern consisting of diamond shapes in unique color contrast. It would take the automaker two intense years to achieve the “one-of-a-kind custom paint scheme among other truly unique features.” Out of those two years, more than a year and a half were spent on getting the technical and graphics requirements right.

"The 'Lady Bug' was an exceptional challenge and, at the same time, an unforgettable experience,” said Buggati Design’s Head of Color & Trim Jorg Grumer. “Due to the nature of the project, where a 2D graphic was applied to a 3D sculpture, and after numerous failed ideas and attempts to apply the diamonds, we were close to giving up and saying: ‘We cannot meet the customer’s request.’”

What actually happened was that getting the effect the customer envisioned required a lot more than just developing and spraying unique colors in a unique method and calling it a day. The customer specifically requested diamond-shaped geometric patterns in certain color contrast. Bugatti was right when it thought it was up to the task; it just didn’t expect the execution to be as complex and challenging.

Attempts to achieve the graphics effect often came out distorted, folded over, or just out of place on the Divo's various contours and ribs. In other words, translating the digital CAD creation to the actual body of the Divo proved discouragingly problematic. But they did it, eventually.

Well, when a deep-pocketed customer is willing to unload $6 million on the "stock" Divo, what's a few more to have the apex-hunting automaker infuse extra touches and a certain paint job, even if it took two years to complete? The idea, of course, is to stand out from your peers who merely look a million bucks in their Bugatti Divo. We're not sure how much exactly customers paid for the "Lady Bug," but what we do know is that the car is simply stunning. We also know that only forty of them will ever be made.

The attention to detail is what we love most about the "Lady Bug" Bugatti Divo. It took nothing less to bring the customer’s imagination to fruition. To nail the unique color contrasts of the diamond-shaped geometric pattern, the guys at Bugatti’s design department had to meticulously doctor each one of the 1,600 diamond shapes that made up the Lady Bug’s complex and intricate red and graphite surface design.

The diamond pattern should travel precisely from the front over the sides to the rear, on par with Divo’s silhouette. The team explained that one mistake with any of the 1,600 diamond shapes ruined the entire design. Of course, mistakes were made.

A test vehicle was covered with 20-foot films to see how the digitally contrasted diamond pattern turned out on a real car. If they were going to pull out, now was the time. There's no going back once they get started on the customer's $6 million Divo. After months of the painstaking methodical process of transferring each 1,600 diamond shape to a transfer film and ultimately to Divo's body to create the Lady Bug, the customer was elated to hear the job was done.

Not so fast. Bugatti still needed to paint the car, which took another painstaking two weeks to complete by hand, and that, after trimming some stray diamonds. Well, it’s like Ettore Bugatti said, “If it bears comparison with another car, it is not a Bugatti.” The Lady Bug just had to be perfect.

Philip Uwaoma, this bearded black male from Nigeria, is fast approaching two million words in articles published on various websites, including toylist.com, rehabaid.com, and autoquarterly.com. After not getting credit for his work on Auto Quarterly, Philip is now convinced that ghostwriting sucks. He has no dog, no wife- yet- and he loves Rolls Royce a little too much.