While cars are meant to take you from point A to B, certain vehicles feel like they are more, jam-packed with nostalgia and influence. Each generation has a car that elevates a daily chore to the experience of driving an extraordinary work of art. These cars carve themselves into the minds of the consumer, impacting their dreams and aspirations in a way that is unexpected coming from a hunk of metal with four wheels and an engine.
For the 2000s, this car is the Bugatti Veyron.
Brief history of Bugatti
Bugatti, founded in 1909 by Italian Ettore Bugatti, has always been known for extremely high performance cars. The auto manufacturer was founded in the originally German and now French town Molsheim, and dominated the racing scene at the time, particularly in the grand prix. The Bugatti Type 39, a compact racing car, earned the top four positions in the 1926 grand prix, which was the model’s first race.
Ettore Bugatti’s passing in 1947 was a huge blow to the car manufacturer, especially since there was no successor after the death of his son, Jean Bugatti, in 1939. At this time, Bugatti had produced no more than 8,000 cars, and without solid leadership, they struggled financially.
Their business in auto manufacturing almost came to an end in 1963, as the new leadership decided to transition into the business of producing airplane parts.
Romano Artoli, owner of the Bugatti brand, wanted to bring Bugatti back onto the car scene. He hired architect Giampaolo Benedini to design a new headquarters in Modena, Italy. He also began development of Buggati’s first supercar, The EO110, a quad-turbocharged monster which helped get Bugatti back on its feet, flipping it into the market it would soon dominate.
Brief history of the Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron was designed in Germany, with help from the Volkswagen group, and built in France. It was named after the racing driver Pierre Veyron, who was a Bugatti development engineer.
The Veyron was first introduced in 2001, and represented to the public how capable Bugatti’s new hypercars were.
Specifications
The Bugatti Veyron is not a light car, weighing in at two tons. However, this did not stop the Veryron from outperforming any other road car of its time.
Its 1200-horsepower and 8-liter W16 engine are to thank for that.
With a seven-speed automatic transmission paired with an all-wheel drive driveline, this two-seater is able to launch itself from zero to 60 km/h in just 2.5 seconds, and could reach a record-breaking top speed of 253 MPH. The monster of an engine is able to empty its 26.4 gallon tank in just 19 minutes, and can only be filled up with the highest quality 93 octane fuel.
The hypercar began production in 2005 and lived up to the exceptionally high standards which came with its $1,750,000 price tag. In modern dollars, that translates to $2,825,277.78.
The initial purchase of the Veyron isn’t the last necessary expense; ownership of the car comes with a heavy bill as well.
Each set of four Michelin PAX Pilot tires costs a whopping $25,000, and that’s just to buy the tires. Mounting those tires on the wheels will require an additional $70,000, as this process can only happen in France. Something as simple as an oil change costs an absurd $20,000 — an especially crazy fact considering the price tag for the same procedure on a Ferrari is (an admittedly still high) $1,600.
What makes the Veyron so iconic?
Considering the high price of purchase and ownership, a potential buyer may ask themselves, “What makes this car worth it?” This comes down to just how exceptional its performance is, as it even broke the top speed record. The Veyron also wields an allure created by its sense of prestige and luxury. This helped launch the Veyron name into the world of pop culture, appearing in countless movies and video games and becoming a poster car for many 2000s children.
Despite being made 20 years ago, the Bugatti Veyron remains one of the most influential cars, shaping the modern supercar market. It branded Bugatti’s name into the mainstream media and pop culture, where it will stay for years to come.
