The Great Veyron Wind-Up
Years before it ever came to fruition in 2005, we saw the concept model at the more glamorous car shows around the globe. Would Ferdinand Piech’s mad engineering dream ever make it to showrooms and thence the road? And when should I order mine?
Problems were many but we all now know that the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the fastest and most expensive production car ever built. Rare and all.
Only 300 will be manufactured. The cost at launch was a cool £975,000.
The engine, made up of sixteen cylinders in a W formation displaces eight litres, with four turbochargers forcing its induction. The result, through an Audi-engineered four-wheel-drive system produces 987 bhp (1001 PS), a top speed of 253 mph (410 K/H) and a standstill to sixty dash in just over two seconds. Every schoolboy in the land knows these figures.
Achieving them was difficult, however. The plumbing required to keep four blowers from melting the entire mass demands more pipework and radiators than a five bedroomed house.
Everything ever known about building cars needed a re-think. And if you reckon that the near million quid price tag appears a smidge steep, let me tell you, every Veyron has lost VW, the parent company, money. Lots and lots of it.
This is the price of what is oddly known as the halo effect. With those tiny production numbers each car is effectively a prototype.
Used ones are changing hands for less than expected, so I thought I’d grasp the opportunity to snaffle one up. The blue and black one I fancied was knocked down by eleven percent - to a mere £875,000. A bargain, for sure. That said, I decided not to mention it over supper to the financially astute Mrs Ziegler. She doesn’t have much, erm, truck with cars, so I figured I’d hold my fire and present her with a fait accompli.
Fuel figures for such a machine put it in the Georgie Best/ Oliver Reid league. If you can find a straight road long enough the Veyron, with the taps fully open, will guzzle a full tank in just thirteen minutes.
No worries, my plan was for more sedate cruising; nothing over 200, ever.
The previous owner had taken care of the first service at 1000 miles, the bill for which was a not inconsiderable standard price of £13,645.
As the milage climbs this cost will rise. But again, I remained undaunted even though the 20K service will cost around a quid for every mile covered. Insurance quotes reflected, well, everything and only stunned me a little - like a quickie on the chin from Mike Tyson. Be OK if we both keep working...
Before calling the bank to fix the draft I did a quick bit of last minute belt and braces box ticking.
Had I covered every angle? Tick, tick - down the list=20 I went. Tyres?
Won’t get those at Kwickah Fittah, I’ll bet. As it happens , I won’t get ’em anywhere. Those four rings of rubber did for me. As I finally told Mrs Z, I’m not entirely irresponsible with our hard-earned. They were trying to pull my pants down, as the Dutch would say. The tyres need replacing every 2,500 miles - fair enough, but at £6,325 each?
That’s £25,300 a set. For tyres. Chap has to draw the line somewhere, you know. Some geezer domiciled in downtown Dubai can have "my" vulgar Veyron.
Zog Ziegler
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