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Salome, who was born in Paris, has been drawing since he was young, a hobby and passion that his mother, a finance director, strongly encouraged.

\"I draw all the time,\" he said. \"Drawing is my life. This is how I communicate with my team.\"

\"PHOTO:
Morgan Korn/ABC News
PHOTO: Salome has been a designer with Bugatti for 11 years. He said drawing has been his passion since he was young.
>

He designed cars for Kia, Mazda and Renault before landing at Bugatti, where he's been for the last 11 years. Salome said he could never work for another automaker after Bugatti, a marque that many enthusiasts regard as the pinnacle of the automotive industry.

Widely known for its $3 million Chiron hypercar, Bugatti has been slowing increasing production at its atelier and headquarters in Molsheim, France, to reduce the three-year wait time, according to Salome. The company delivered 76 cars, all hand assembled, to customers in 2018, up from 70 in 2017.

\"PHOTO:
Morgan Korn/ABC News
PHOTO: Etienne Salome stands next to his creation, the Bugatti "La Voiture Noire," the Black Car, at the Geneva Motor Show, March 5, 2019.
>

The goal is to deliver over 80 Chirons this year in addition to one Divo, its $5.8 million, 1,478-horsepower hypercar. Bugatti has restricted production of the Divo to 40 units and every one was accounted for before the car's debut in August.

\"I honestly didn't believe we'd sell 40 cars,\" Salome said.

View this post on Instagram

To date, a modern #BUGATTI has represented a perfect balance between high performance, straight-line dynamics and luxurious comfort. With the #Divo we have shifted the balance further towards lateral acceleration, agility and cornering. The Divo is made for corners. #BUGATTIDivo

A post shared by BUGATTI (@bugatti) on Aug 24, 2018 at 2:00pm PDT

He concedes that the pressures to always create exceptional, unrivaled sports cars in a sector where \"all the cars seem to look alike\" can be daunting. Design is just one step of a very intricate and labyrinthine process.

\"The car is the most difficult object to design because of the investment and time required,\" he said. \"There are safety requirements, performance [targets], endless requirements. You have to work hand-in-hand with engineers. I can't do it without them.\"

He added, \"When you work for Bugatti people expect you to deliver more than just doing a job. You have to give love to this brand. You have to overdeliver always.\"

\"PHOTO:
Morgan Korn/ABC News
PHOTO: Etienne Salome doing what he loves most: sketching cars.
>

Salome won't limit himself to just cars. His next projects may be designing boats, bikes, watches -- even hotel lobbies.

\"If you can do a car you can do any other product,\" he said.

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