Bugatti Boosted by NASA for 253 mph at $2.1 Million

Review by Jason H. Harper
Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- It’s the ultimate test in self-
confidence. You’re refueling Bugatti’s new convertible at a gas
station in the Hamptons and the normally gawk-proof locals have
gathered around, gawking. One man finally asks The Question.
“How much IS this car, anyway?”
Sliding back into the fine-leather cocoon of your open-top
roadster, you fire up the 16-cylinder, 1,001-horsepower engine
positioned behind your head.
“Two million, give or take.”
Then, you whisk away in a roar of turbo power that drowns
out the sound of dropping jaws. You may want to practice the
answer first in front of a mirror.
With a base price of 1.4 million euros ($2 million), the
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport is the world’s most expensive car in
production. My test car is $2.1 million. Exchange rate
fluctuations could swing the U.S. sticker by as much as the
price of a new Porsche.

While the Grand Sport claims many superlatives, including
the title of world’s fastest convertible, I doubt you’ll escape
that question, even at a top speed of 253 miles per hour. Some
bystander would cry out at the blur, “How much?”
For readers who do not sacrifice Toyota hybrids at the
altar of exotic-car geekdom, allow me to catch you up.

Resurrected Marque

The Grand Sport is the convertible version of the Veyron
16.4, the 1.2-million euro coupe first released in 2006 after
the storied Bugatti marque was resurrected by Volkswagen Group.
With a top speed also of 253 miles per hour, it captured the
title of the world’s fastest production car at the time.
The Grand Sport is the ultimate one-upper. With 150 slated
for production, it’s rarer than the coupe, will go just as fast
when the clear targa-style roof is attached, and you can smell
your greenbacks burning as you tool around.
Roughly the size of a Honda Civic, the mid-engine, all-
wheel-drive roadster is powered by a W-16 engine with four
turbochargers that’ll fire you forward with 922 pound-feet of
face-deforming torque. It has an automated seven-speed dual-
clutch transmission, and a suspension that automatically adjusts
according to your speed.
Utterly distinctive if not drop-dead sexy, it features two
jet-like airtakes over the exposed mid-engine and a rounded, low
silhouette. The interior is gorgeous but simple, with no screens
and no storage. The roof is removed manually and must be stored
elsewhere. While there’s an umbrella contraption that can be
used in a pinch (really), best have Jeeves check the weather.

Maddening Hamptons

I get a day with it in the Hamptons, both ideal and
maddening. Showing off your latest acquisition here is
practically a religion, yet you’ll rarely exceed 35 mph.
It’s difficult to review the Grand Sport in a regular way.
You could buy 10 Ferrari F430s for this price, and it’s clearly
not 10 times as good. It’s a mega-luxury item, akin to a $9,000
Birkin bag which holds a wallet just like a regular bag.
What ostensibly makes the Veyron worth the $2 million?
Could it be a Swarovski crystal-encrusted engine, those supple
unicorn-leather seats or the tears of virgins in the window-
washing fluid. Well, no. Mostly it’s the cost of engineering and
the NASA-grade materials that keep the weight down.
To sustain sonic speeds, it needs special components, from
a windshield that can sustain a bird strike to tires that won’t
turn into sludge with extreme heat. VW probably spent the
equivalent of a Wall Street bailout to engineer, build and test
crash the two models.
How often will owners actually drive 253 mph? Never. But
how often will they talk about it at parties?

Polo Practice

To answer that question, I pull into the grass parking lot
of the Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge in Bridgehampton. My wife
and I are instant, mysterious VIPs. Russian oligarchs perhaps,
or Pablo Escobar’s former accountant, finally out of hiding.
We make new friends fast.
None of which has anything to do with the actual driving
capabilities. In traffic, the Veyron is compliant and puppy-dog
sweet, sans exotic-car antics. But drop your foot onto the gas
and it becomes an earth-bound jet.
I have never experienced acceleration like this. Never.
Sixty flashes by in 2.5 seconds; 125 mph in just over 7.
Basically, it’s twice as fast as fast cars. There is no lag; it
just goes faster and faster and faster until you run out of
courage and road.
You’re in a convertible, remember, and the engine sounds
like an F-16 is behind your shoulder, about to drop its full
payload. Absolutely delightful.

Spray the Hose

I do open the car up, but more in a dribble-the-spigot way
than a spray-the-hose fashion, not wanting to spend the night in
jail.
The carbon-ceramic brakes will give you whiplash and, on
twisty roads, the Bugatti will do a fair imitation of a Ferrari
430 Scuderia. It’s amazing to scream around a corner in a car
that costs the same as your dream two-bedroom home in the West
Village.
At the end of the day, I step out exhilarated, yet also a
bit relieved. Answering The Question (and its inherent need to
justify that sum) is just a bit too stressful for my own
particular man in the mirror.

The 2010 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport at a Glance

Engine: 8.0-liter, quad-turbo, W-16 with 1,001 hp and 922lb-ft of torque.
Transmission: 7-speed dual clutch.
Speed: 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds.
Gas mileage per gallon: 8 city; 14 highway.
Price as tested: $2.1 million.
Best feature: The mind-bending speed.
Worst feature: Trying to justify the equally mind-bendingprice.
Target buyer: A Master of the Universe.