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by Carlos de Alzaga
Engine: 5.7L V16
Retail Price: GBP 750,000 (incl. VAT) / MSRP US$ 1,200,000 / EUR 1,160,000 (incl. MwSt.) Competing Models: "Competing Segment" on right side of "Best Autos & Cars in the World" page More information on: www.bugatti-auto.com For those seriously interested
to acquire a Bugatti Veyron, please contact:
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When
the Italian Ettore Bugatti founded his company Molsheim in 1908 it still
belonged to Germany. In 1918 Molsheim became part of France. The genius
Bugatti constructed breakthrough motor sports cars, which had a unique
combination of light weight and power. At the end of the 1920s, Ettore
Bugatti combined two 8-cylinder groups into the shape of a U and put them
onto a mutual crankshaft housing. Thus, one of the first 16-cylinder motors
in automotive history was built. This idea was taken up by Ferdinand Piech,
former CEO and now chairman of the VW supervisory board, when he bought
the Bugatti company in the mid-1990s. The aim was simple: to build the
fastest and strongest street car in the world, which was to be named after
Pierre Veyron, the French driver who won the 1939 Le Mans 24 Hour race.
The top speed was set at 407 km/h – the fastest speed ever done in the
Le Mans by a Porsche 917, before a chicane was added to make this top speed
not achievable again ever after. Guess who the sports car project manager
was at the time - it was Ferdinand Piech lui-meme.
So
what can a genius such as Piech be interested in after turning around a
juggernaut like VW, which was on the brink of collapse? We think
that he wanted to start writing history - not as far as financial performance
is concerned - but by pushing the boundaries of automotive history. Bugatti
was an obvious choice to build on and 16 cylinders was an obvious choice
as Audi, also part of the VW Group, had good know-how in 8 cylinder technology.
Four turbochargers are needed for this performance or the mid-engine, placed
in front of the rear axle. The price for the Bugatti Veyron rose from originally
1 million marks (USD 500,000) to 1 million Euros (USD 1.2 million) plus
VAT, as the rest of the VW Group refused to pay the bill for this epitome
of excellence and superiority of automotive capability. The Veyron is a
piece of art, which will compete with an expensive Picasso or van Gough,
according to the current VW CEO, Bernd Pischetsrieder, the man who crashed
a McLaren F1 when he was CEO of BMW. The Bugatti Veyron is suffering from
a further delay and will come to the market in summer 2005, now.
"The
modern-day Bugatti will define its image through technology. It will be
the most exciting and progressive car of its time, no more and no less,"
says VW supervisory board chairman Piech about the Bugatti Veyron. The
original Bugatti factory was reinstated by acquiring and renovating the
Château Molsheim, where it all started nearly 100 years ago. Molsheim
will be manufacturing 50 to 100 cars per year, but there is no doubt that
quality of finish comes first for the Bugatti Veyron. And despite
being the most expensive car in the world with USD 1.2 million, a couple
of dozen of the 300 units have already sold with a downpayment of USD 300,000,
although this car will be only delivered to clients in autumn 2005. The
Bugatti Veyron will normally be limited to 360 km/h by an electronic chip.
If you should wish to drive faster and test the 406 km/h limit, a Bugatti
engineer will fly in with a set of high speed tires, and will aid you diving
the fastest speed a street car can go. There are also plans to close motorways
for high speed driving in Dubai – it just shows that a Bugatti Veyron owner
will be the member of probably the most exclusive club on earth.