Bonhams To Auction A Pair Of Rare Bugatti Veyron Sport In Cheserex, Switzerland
Bonhams are auctioning a pair of rare Bugatti Veyron Sport models at the Bonmont sale in Cheserex, Switzerland.
The sale will take place on the 20 September at the Bonmont Golf and Country Club. The sale backdrop is the picturesque Lake Geneva. The former 12th century abbey chapel will provide the atmospheric venue for the Bonhams saleroom.
Bugatti set a new benchmark for performance with the Veyron back in 2005. Designed by Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro, then boss of ItalDesign. Bugatti unveiled the EB118 Concept car at the Paris Auto show in 1998. The car featured permanent four-wheel drive and the Volkswagen-designed W18 engine. It took two years to develop the concept Veyron EB 16.4.
The car was the dream of one man, Ferdinand Piech, then CEO of the Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen had acquired Bugatti in 1998. Group head Piech’s ambition for the brand to create a 1000hp car which could exceed 400 km/h, or 250mph. It would also cost €1 million.
It certainly achieved that, including the price. Autocar at the time said, “The Bugatti Veyron has recalibrated that which can be achieved by the motor car.”
Styled in house by VW by Hartmut Warkuß at VW, the car named the Veyron after Pierre Veryron. Together with co-driver by Jean-Pierre Wilmile they won the 1939 Le Mans 24-hour race.
Another five years of development took the car through to production. Some 95% of components were either changed or redesigned. The 16-cylinder engine is two narrow-angle 4.0-litre V8 engines sharing a common crankcase. The 1001PS just about made the required 1000hp at 987bhp. But it came with 922ft/lb of torque. Even with a kerb weight of 1888kg the power to weight ratio was still impressive. The dual clutch seven speed transmission, built by Ricardo, put the power to the ground. Specially designed Michelin run-flat tyres.
The rather neat aerodynamic tricks kept the car stable or in low drag configuration. The large air brake deploying to help slow down the car. Top speed mode can only be selected from a standstill. That is if you wanted to exceed 213mph…
For the follwing Super Sport, the maximum power was increased to 1,200PS (1,184 hp) and it also came with revised aerodynamics. Bugatti test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel set a new two way average speed of 267.856mph (431.072km/h) at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg test track . The Super Sport’s electronic limiter had to be deactivated to do this as it is restricted to just 258mph…
Production of the Super Sport was limited to 48 units, and came with many adornments to signify it’s limited status. But they only made 450 Veyrons in total.
This 2012 Bugatti Veryon 16.4 Super Sport Coupe has one owner from new and only 693km. Most of these will have been from Bugatti as each car was tested for 300 to 400km before delivery.
Registered in Switzerland, this car built to GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) specification and delivered new via Bugatti Gstaad to the current owner. It comes with the following specification:
Full carbon fibre body Individualised tank and oil caps Fully painted Super Sport wheels and wheel caps Blue brake callipers Blue ‘EB’ rear logo Individualised door sills Individualised centre console inlay Individualised rear centre box cover Individualised headrest embroidery Blue stitching and quilting Sport Comfort seats
2012 Bugatti Veryon 16.4 Super Sport Coupe
This 2012 Bugatti Veryon 16.4 Super Sport Coupe has one owner from new and only 693km. Most of these will have been from Bugatti as each car was tested for 300 to 400km before delivery.
Registered in Switzerland, this car built to GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) specification and delivered new via Bugatti Gstaad to the current owner. It comes with the following specification:
Full carbon fibre body Individualised tank and oil caps
Fully painted Super Sport wheels and wheel caps
Blue brake callipers, Blue ‘EB’ rear logo
Individualised door sills
Individualised centre console inlay
Individualised rear centre box cover
Individualised headrest embroidery
Blue stitching and quilting
Sport Comfort seats
2013 Bugatti Veryon 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse Targa Coupe
The second of the pair is a 2013 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse Targa Coupé. Bugatti produced an open top version which they introduced at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. It came with the same powertrain as the Super Sport with 1200ps. But these were limited to 375km/h (233mph), maybe too much of an aerodynamic change.
This is one of only 92 Grand Sport Vitesse produced. One owner and a low 577km.
Built to GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) specification and delivered new to the current owner, believed via Bugatti Gstaad. This was one of the first Vitesse models built, and not many were finished in red. The specification contains:
Horizontal exterior colour split in red and black
Black painted horseshoe grille
Red painted air intakes, Red painted Vitesse wheels and wheel caps & Red brake callipers
Black painted engine cover
Red stitching and quilting
Sport Comfort seats
Undoubtedly a future classic at launch and evidently collectable now. If you can afford it then it’s great, but these cars do come with eye watering running costs. Still, with very few available, finding new homes shouldn’t be a problem.
Thanks for Bonhams for the use of the images.
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