It’s a description that usually refers to the royal family and its native minions, but the bottom line is that people from Saudi Arabia who are actually Saudis usually can boast an incredible amount of funds. So perhaps it’s scant surprise that Bugatti, where the price of admission is measured in seven digits, has chosen the petro-kingdom as the site of its newest retail dealership, Bugatti Riyadh. Fittingly, it’s already being described as one of the largest Bugatti showrooms in the world, operated by the SAMACO Automotive sales congolmerate.
The above automobile, the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, is a screamer that can be appreciated, in every sense of that word, by those with the income level typical of royal relatives in Saudi Arabia. Having been there during Operation Desert Shield, and having witnessed an S-Class Mercedes-Benz sedan there customized into a three-axle stretched limo with a built-in pool – no lie, I saw it in the driveway at the Dharhan Hotel, where the media was billeted during Gulf War 1 – we can tell you with full confidence that a Bugatti market exists in abundance there. To that end, Riyadh, the kingdom’s capital city, recently hosted a major high-end automotive salon, while Bugatti hosted its first Saudi ride-and-drive for prospective, and creditworthy, Chiron enthusiasts.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 