Bye-bye Bugatti, the Veyron and Super Sport, that is. The last of the 300 $2 million exclusive, fast, record-setting supercar and its sibling Super Sport, has been ordered in Europe.
The Bugatti Veyron set numerous records, including fastest convertible at 223 mph (top up) and 253 mph (top down). The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal car in the world, with a top speed of 267.85 mph.
Designed and developed by the German Volkswagen Group and produced by Bugatti Automobiles SAS at their headquarters in Château St. Jean in Molsheim, France, the Veyron’s chief designer was Hartmut Warkuss. The exterior was designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen.
The car is named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti company.
Volkswagen bought the rights to the Bugatti brand in 1998. A year later, the company unveiled the final model of four concept vehicles at the Tokyo Motor Show, the close-to-production prototype EB 18/4 Veyron.
The Veyron is the first production vehicle to have a full carbon-fiber chassis and body. Its 16-cylinder engine develops 1,001 horsepower, with a 0-62 mph time of 2.5 seconds.
Bugatti received 26 customer orders by the end of 2005. In June 2007, orders reached 100 with delivery taking about 1 1/2 years.
Article Last Updated: June 25, 2011.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
$2 million could do a lot of good in the world, rather than being spent on a car.