By the end of last month, Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S, a Volkswagen AG subsidiary, has delivered 60 Bugatti Veyron 16.4s. The deliveries are deemed in excess of the intended production volume of the company.
In December 2003, the burden of managing Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. went to Dr. Thomas Bscher, the new president of the company. Additionally, Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber was appointed as the technical director and manager of the Bugatti Engineering department. With such changes, the entire Bugatti project was then totally reassessed and a new schedule for the completion date of the Veyron was fixed. The objectives established have all been achieved since then.
The delivery of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 started in March last year after its production in Alsatian Molsheim at the end of 2005. For the first production year, Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. has reached the planned 50 units.
Production of the super sports car has been limited to a maximum of 300 units. The number of Veyron units for the first production year has amounted to 50 vehicles, as previously set. At present, the automaker is already able to increase the annual production volume and thus is able to lessen the waiting time for customers.
“In 2007 we are planning to increase the production of the Bugatti Veyron,” said Bscher at the International Geneva Motor Show, “because the order entry for the Veyron is getting close to a 140 and we wouldn’t want our customers to have to wait longer for their Bugatti.”
Bscher continued, “It is not unexpected that most of the orders come from the US; traditionally the most important market for luxury vehicles. Thirty percent of the 140 contracts received up to now with a down payment of EUR 300,000, which is the condition for the production of the vehicle to start, come from the United States. This means that that is where – on a country basis – up to now most of the Bugatti Veyron have been delivered.”
In Europe, majority of the demand for the super sports car come from Germany and England and these countries are two of the most important markets for luxury cars outside the United States. Other European countries that showed interest in purchasing the Veyron include France, Monaco, Benelux, Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The Bugatti Veyron has also wowed the Middle East countries. Deliveries have also been made to the Arab countries.
Within a year, a network of Bugatti sales and service partners has been developed. So far, the network covers 26 locations. Consistent with the sales figures, the United States is also top in this area with nine contact points. Other points include five on the west coast, one in Florida and the traditional areas in the east with three partners sharing the responsibility.
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is currently the fastest car in the world with a top speed of over 400 km/h. The Veyron is also the most powerful and expensive street-legal production car. The Veyron is equipped with a W16 engine, which is composed of 16 cylinders in four banks of four cylinders. It is the equivalent of two narrow-angle V8 engines mated in a “W” configuration. Each cylinder has four valves, for a total of 64. However, the narrow V8 configuration allows two camshafts to drive two banks of cylinders so only four camshafts are required. The engine of the Veyron is supported by four turbochargers.
How much does a Veyron cost? The base price of the car is a €1,127,210 that when converted equals 757,359 or $1,440,800! The price could drill a hole in the pocket even to some well-offs.
The Bugatti Veyron comes with a fabulous appeal, a distinctive bumper, an ulta-powerful engine, and other remarkable auto parts accessories. The Veyron is made an international car to let other aficionados savor its impressive performance, sophisticated parts and extraordinary drive feel. It imbibes Bugatti’s philosophy – nothing is too expensive, nothing is too beautiful.
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Katie Jones
