A wrecked Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, a blocked vehicle identification number and a social-media ultimatum have unexpectedly pulled one of the world’s most exclusive automakers into a public back-and-forth with a Florida influencer. What began as a bold threat to 3D-print replacement parts for one of the rarest modern hypercars has now evolved into direct communication between the owner and Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac.
The drama centers on Alex Gonzalez, known online as @fxalexg, who crashed his purple Chiron Pur Sport and later bought the remains back through Copart. The car had suffered significant front-end damage, deployed airbags and visible cracks in the carbon structure. Following the crash, Bugatti deemed the vehicle a total loss and locked the VIN, preventing any dealer from ordering parts for an independent repair. That decision matched the company’s practice of tightly controlling rebuilds of cars with compromised monocoques.
Gonzalez responded with an online warning: unfreeze the VIN within 24 hours or he would begin 3D-printing components to restore the car himself. The post spread quickly—enough for Rimac to enter the conversation directly through Instagram messages. The CEO outlined the technical limits of additive manufacturing, particularly for components such as the carbon-fiber tub, gearbox housings, structural elements and complex lighting systems. He also pointed out that the company would be willing to help if critical pieces of the chassis proved salvageable.
The background underscores why the dispute escalated so publicly. Factory parts for the Pur Sport carry extraordinary costs. Past estimates for the same chassis reported prices of roughly $174,000 per headlight, about $200,000 per front fender, more than $50,000 for a partial hood section and nearly $100,000 for the iconic grille surround. With a full repair once projected at more than $1.7 million, Gonzalez’s plan to fabricate components was as much a financial challenge as a technical one.
Despite the tension, the exchange appears to have shifted the situation. Gonzalez now says the VIN has been unlocked and that further conversations with Rimac are planned to determine a path toward an approved repair. Even so, he has hinted that some smaller components may still be produced through 3D printing if costs climb too high.
The episode highlights a changing dynamic between exotic-car brands and highly visible owners. Vehicles of this caliber typically undergo repairs privately and under factory supervision, but the rise of social-media influencers has pushed some of these disputes into public view. For Bugatti, the priority remains ensuring that structurally compromised cars do not return to the road in unsafe condition. For Gonzalez, the goal is to revive one of the most extreme hypercars ever built—ideally with the automaker’s support, but with his own methods ready as a backup.
As the two sides continue talking, the once-blacklisted Pur Sport may yet return to the road, this time under a far more coordinated plan than the ultimatum that thrust the story into the spotlight.
