Tuesday 28th March 2017

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport: Spotted

Didn't make the Chiron list? This is the Bug for you

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It has been said that the Veyron is simply a numbers car, a Top Trumps ace if you will. Hard to deny thanks to those numbers - given a quad-turbocharged W16 producing 1,200hp, 1,100lb ft, a limited top speed of 258mph and a price tag of 1.6m euros (plus taxes) it's hard to look beyond them and consider it as anything more. Are we missing something though?

When Steve Sutcliffe first drove a Veyron Super Sport for PH back in 2010 it was described as an experience beyond comparison, other than what it might be like going into hyperspace. Seemingly there is no shunt of acceleration, more a swelling to the point of explosion whilst still remaining refined and luxurious enough to cosset the billionaire occupants. Sounds like something you would use to race a jet down a runway doesn't it?

Limited to 30 units, the Super Sport had a revised aero package and more power, not that it needed it. Capable of hitting a certified Guinness Book of World Records speed of 268.9mph customer cars were limited to 258mph to protect tyre disintegration. Talking of tyres, a Veyron SS isn't going to be a common occurrence on your commute, especially when replacement tyres cost the same as this Renault Sport Megane Cup-S and the wheels will need replacing after every fourth set due to stress cracks. But that won't trouble the typical new owner who, according to Bugatti, also owns about 84 other cars, three jets and a yacht.

The Veyron showcase is known to have lost Bugatti - or rather its VW owners - a shocking £1.43bn by 2013, equalling a loss of nearly £4m per car. This one is number 27 of 30 built in 2013 in silver white wings and blue carbon fibre, priced at 2.1m euros plus VAT with 6,000 miles on the clock. The advert describes it as a Veyron plus 15 per cent - if you consider the Chiron merely a repetition of the same formula and crave the true trailblazing original this is a rare chance to make the dream a reality.

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BUGATTI VEYRON SUPER SPORT
Engine: 7,993cc, W16 quad-turbocharged
Transmission: 7-speed dual clutch, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 1,200@6,400rpm
Torque (lb ft): 1,100@3,000-5,000rpm
MPG: 12.2 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 539g/km
Recorded mileage: 6,000 miles
Year registered: 2013
Price new: 1.6m euros plus taxes
Price now: 2.1m euros plus taxes

See the original advert here

[Sources: Autocar]

[WCZ]

wonderful car.

[Krikkit]

I usually think the eccentric owners spec the wrong colours on a Veyron, but that's smashing.

The carbon rear quarter is rather lovely.

[lee_erm]

Looks better than the Chiron to my eye. Can't say I've seen a Chiron in the flesh though!

[boyse7en]

lee_erm said:

Looks better than the Chiron to my eye. Can't say I've seen a Chiron in the flesh though!

Me too

But I've not seen a Veyron in the flesh either, so that makes it a fair competition.

[Adz The Rat]

Krikkit said:

I usually think the eccentric owners spec the wrong colours on a Veyron, but that's smashing.

The carbon rear quarter is rather lovely.

I could be wrong, but I think Bugatti did so many of these special edition cars, like the Pur Sang and Pur Blanc, so many owners just bought whatever edition they could!

[williamp]

Interesting on the last top gear they said thr Veyron was respected, rather then loved. I know what they mean...

Anyhow I am lucky enough to have a Brochure for the veyorn (and the Sang Noir limited edition). They are beautiful works of art..

[FN2TypeR]

Adz The Rat said:

Krikkit said:

I usually think the eccentric owners spec the wrong colours on a Veyron, but that's smashing.

The carbon rear quarter is rather lovely.

I could be wrong, but I think Bugatti did so many of these special edition cars, like the Pur Sang and Pur Blanc, so many owners just bought whatever edition they could!

They did one called Sang Blanc and it looked fabulous IMO, white with a black interior/grilles and engine cover - superb

[RacerMike]

I'm not sure I'm ever really that convinced by the whole 'it cost VW X per car in lost revenue'. They cost £1-2million to buy (plus local taxes, as they love to say), and no matter how special the thing was, it was still basically just a carbon monocoque with an internal combustion engine. It's a (admittedly very special) supercar in the true, original, supercar mould. There's no special hybrid components, no expensive batteries and no one off tech that's only applicable to the Veyron. Whilst it no doubt cost a lot to develop, suggesting that the material cost of the car is more than £1-2million is almost certainly rubbish.

Contrast that instead to the £800k 918 which had two bespoke electric motors, a high density hybrid battery pack, a huge amount of calibration effort, a bespoke high revving V8, a bespoke infotainment system and a carbon monocoque, and no one has ever suggested that lost money....

To put it into perspective Autoweek estimate that an F1 car costs around £2million in material costs and that involves a huge quantity of very, very expensive components including stuff laser sintered from Titanium, Inconel exhaust manifolds and everything else CNC'd out of billet.

Personally, I suspect VW liked to suggest that it was a 'loss leader' when taking into account the development costs. In reality, I'm sure they made a decent wedge on each car, and the development costs (which was probably huge) was offset against VWs (then) burgeoning sales of diesel Golfs....

[Rawwr]

RacerMike said:

I suspect VW liked to suggest that it was a 'loss leader' when taking into account the development costs

I didn't think people thought otherwise?

[GranCab]

They have probably factored in the cost of building and equipping the Bugatti factory at Molsheim into that figure.

[bloomen]

I can't really tell the difference between this and the Chiron.

If I was losing 50 trillion per car I'd at least make the new one look like more than a warm facelift.

[RacerMike]

Rawwr said:

RacerMike said:

I suspect VW liked to suggest that it was a 'loss leader' when taking into account the development costs

I didn't think people thought otherwise?

Yeah, but so many hypercars are in a similar situation. I highly doubt that Porsche have directly recovered the cost of the 918 from sales of the 918! And Ferrari for the LaF. Such expensive projects are always going to have to take budget from elsewhere, so I don't really understand why it became such 'a thing' for the Bugatti....

[Podie]

Krikkit said:

I usually think the eccentric owners spec the wrong colours on a Veyron, but that's smashing.

The carbon rear quarter is rather lovely.

Blue and silver really suit the car. Some of the other combos are hideous (at best)

[Uncle John]

The colour scheme suits it perfectly. Very nice as some are quite hideous.

[gigglebug]

bloomen said:

I can't really tell the difference between this and the Chiron.

If I was losing 50 trillion per car I'd at least make the new one look like more than a warm facelift.

Personally I think the rear of the Veyron is far more elegant but some of the new details on the Chiron are fabulous. I'd probably want a car that was a mix of the two to be honest.

What doesn't seem to be in any doubt is the fact that the Chiron now has more driver involvement as a higher priority which would make a bigger difference to some over aesthetics.

[Dave Hedgehog]

RacerMike said:

Personally, I suspect VW liked to suggest that it was a 'loss leader' when taking into account the development costs. In reality, I'm sure they made a decent wedge on each car, and the development costs (which was probably huge) was offset against VWs (then) burgeoning sales of diesel Golfs....

They veyron is built like an aircraft not a hyper car, its construction is utterly daft, the fuel tank alone took 8 days to weld, the indicator stalks cost 30k each to make and you have to factor in design, development, tooling and factory costs into the unit cost

so i have no doubt VW lost a fortune on each one, however if you look at the monumental amount of global press and TV coverage they vayron achieved the actual cost is a fraction of a % of what it would have cost VW to buy that coverage as advertising

[RacerMike]

Dave Hedgehog said:

They veyron is built like an aircraft not a hyper car, its construction is utterly daft, the fuel tank alone took 8 days to weld, the indicator stalks cost 30k each to make and you have to factor in design, development, tooling and factory costs into the unit cost

so i have no doubt VW lost a fortune on each one, however if you look at the monumental amount of global press and TV coverage they vayron achieved the actual cost is a fraction of a % of what it would have cost VW to buy that coverage as advertising

This is the hyperbole I mean. There isn't a chance in hell that one of the indicator stalks costs £30k. Even if it's billet titanium, it wouldn't be £30k. I'd love to know where all these figures came from. A laser sintered titanium F1 upright costs £15k and an entire F1 steering wheel assembly is £20k so there isn't a chance in a million years that the indicator stalk in a production car costs that much. I'd estimate that in realistic it costs at most £300 which would be monumentally expensive for an indicator stalk. Normal production car components are a couple of quid.

[PHMatt]

Can't believe how many say they look alike. It's a bit "Buggist" isn't it?

The Chiron is longer, lower, the bonnet is lower with a less curved profile, the front lights are totally different, the rear light bar is like something totally different to any car ever, the C shaped side intakes go from the roof down to the bottom rather than the bottom of the window.
Those were all from memory but here's pictures of each so you can see for yourself.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/efz5JYCPVyQ/maxresdefault.j...

http://indianautosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016...

https://photos-1.carwow.co.uk/blog/1600/chironveyr...

https://photos-0.carwow.co.uk/blog/1600/chironveyr...

I actually always thought the Veyron was a classy looking car, which you'd expect for a million quid. But the Chiron has made it look like a Fisher Price plastic toy.

[PHMatt]

RacerMike said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

They veyron is built like an aircraft not a hyper car, its construction is utterly daft, the fuel tank alone took 8 days to weld, the indicator stalks cost 30k each to make and you have to factor in design, development, tooling and factory costs into the unit cost

so i have no doubt VW lost a fortune on each one, however if you look at the monumental amount of global press and TV coverage they vayron achieved the actual cost is a fraction of a % of what it would have cost VW to buy that coverage as advertising

This is the hyperbole I mean. There isn't a chance in hell that one of the indicator stalks costs £30k. Even if it's billet titanium, it wouldn't be £30k. I'd love to know where all these figures came from. A laser sintered titanium F1 upright costs £15k and an entire F1 steering wheel assembly is £20k so there isn't a chance in a million years that the indicator stalk in a production car costs that much. I'd estimate that in realistic it costs at most £300 which would be monumentally expensive for an indicator stalk. Normal production car components are a couple of quid.

Is it not a case that the tooling to make a lot of the parts is where the expense went and due to such limited numbers of vehicles, the cost was disproportionate?

[Mattjevans]

I'm not sure I get the economics. They've lost over a billion on it, but I don't see anyone saying they've got to buy an A3 or a Golf because Veyron's are made by the same company.