Driving a super car is something that we all would love to do. Unfortunately, for most of us hard working individuals, such luxuries seem just too far out of reach. Well now you can set the bar a little lower; instead of fantasizing about owning a $1.5 Million Bugatti Veyron, having to mortgage your home for insurance and emptying out your check book for oil changes, for 24 hours and $25,000, you can enjoy the 250 MPH lifestyle.
This is all made possible by the UK based leasing company, Holders Vehicle Contracts, because they have just received Jensen Button’s favorite streetcar into their fleet and are making it available to whomever is willing to pay a little over $1,000 per hour to command the world’s fastest production car. If even renting the Bugatti is way out of your price range, but you still want to keep it in the family, HVC will rent you a VW Golf for only £45 per day. Imagine that, if you get four 2.0 Liter TFSI powered cars, you’d have the equivalent of the W16 in Veyron’s 8.0 Liter quad-turbo set up, kind of.
Don’t worry; they have more than just one million dollar super car and a few econoboxes. These guys deal in everything from yachts to planes to you guessed it high performance street machines, like Ferrari Enzos, McLaren SLRs and all sorts of Audi R8s, all for hire.
Now that the exotic automaker Bugatti’s latest open air super car, the Veyron Grand Sport, has officially gone into production, our friends from CAR had the chance to get behind the wheel and have a little fun with the wind in their hair at over 250 MPH. Unfortunately it didn’t rain during their test drive, so they didn’t get to try out the makeshift umbrella/roof that will keep you dry in a pinch, but the one thing you have to love about the Grand Sport is the 420 KPH speedometer.
The luxury car builder Bugatti’s plant in Molsheim has officially begun production on the ultra exclusive Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport model. The limited edition open air super car will only have a run of 150 units, 30 of which are already spoken for.
Bugatti is very selective about inviting members of the public into their ownership club; only the most exclusive clientele will have the chance to buy one. Just like the fixed roof version, the Grand Sport is powered by the same quad turbo W16 that develops 1001 HP. The targa top Veyeron is capable of hitting a top speed of 252 MPH, or 223 MPH with out the roof. My favorite feature is the special umbrella that can replace the roof panel in the event of a sudden rainstorm, however going over 200 MPH with that in place is probably not recommended.
The first deliveries will be made to customers this July at a price of 1.4 Million euro, about $1.9 Million.
Wheels of Fury: Five supercars that will get you noticed – in more ways than one.
No other piece of technology offers as much ’status points’ as having a slick set of wheels to show off. You can have a state-of-the-art handheld device or a lavishly set-up home entertainment system and it’ll still pale in comparison to someone who has a car that not only catches attention, but illicit howls and whistles in the process. Consider yourself even luckier if people discreetly stand near your precious bad boy and, in true guerrilla fashion, they snap a photo of their mugs together with your car. That’s when you know you’ve got the status symbol only others can dream of.
Speaking of dreams, run down this list of five supercars that, for the most part, you’ll only find in your dreams. Don’t fret, however. These cars are readily available – if you have a deep set of pockets. But if you don’t have wealthy parents or a trust fund to dig up on, you can settle for reading about these awe-inspiring supercars and dream that one day, you’ll end up in the wheel of one of them.
The SSC Ultimate Aero is far and away the one car that will leave all others with their gas pipes hanging loose. It has a galloping 1183 horsepower, can reach 0-60 in 2.7 seconds, and it can run up to 600 kilometers per hour – faster than the previous world-record holder, the Bugatti Veyron. The SSC Ultimate Aero certainly performs like its name and it can be yours if you have $654,400 in your bank account. As we’ve said, keep dreaming.
The Bugatti Veyron is a car even the rich and famous can only have as posters on their wall. It may have been trumped by the SSC Ultimate Aero in sheer speed, but the Veyron is still hands-down the ultimate combination of speed, power, and empty bank accounts. Pumping at a top speed of over 400 kilometers per hour, the Veyron has a sleek aluminum, narrow angle W16 engine and a menacing 1001 horsepower under the hood. While it’s a safe bet that your ‘pogi points’ will jump through the roof if you have one of these, you’ll have to be ready to shell out a staggering $1.7 million to get your hands on this supercar – which incidentally, only has 300 models all over the world.
If there’s one car that can threaten the SSC Ultimate Aero as the fastest in the world, it’s the Koenigsegg CCX. Made in the land of Volvo – that’s Sweden, if you didn’t know – the CCX comes with a 90 degree V8 engine, capable of pumping as much as 900 horsepower. Just like the Ultimate Aero and the Veyron, the CCX can reach speeds of up to 400 kilometers per hour, and it is widely expected that with a few more fine tunings, it could reach unimaginable speeds of up to 500 kph.
The Saleen S7 Twin Turbo is more than just a sexy name for a car. With a Twin Turbo All Aluminum V8 engine that comes with a 750 horsepower, the S7 is one car that will definitely get you noticed. Imagine yourself driving down the expressway at over 380 kilometers per hour, leaving behind every other car eating your gravel. That’s what it’ll feel like when you’re behind the wheel of an S7. Now, imagine yourself crying in your bedroom, holding your credit card bill in your hand. That $555,000 charge on your card is sitting in your garage. Get the drift?
No list is complete without the supercar of supercars. The venerable McLaren F1 may have inspired a new generation of supercars, but nothing still commands the same amount of respect as the F1. The McLaren F1 is loaded with a BMW S70/2 60 Degree V12 Engine with 627 HP, allowing it to reach speeds of up to 380 kilometers per hour. One of the first cars to ever use the carbon-fibre monocoque, the McLaren F1 was made with only the finest materials in the world. By finest we mean carbon fiber, titanium, gold, magnesium, and kevlar. No wonder it comes with a tag of $970,000. While other supercars can make varied claims on their product, there is still – and will always be – one McLaren F1
This is all part of Bugatti’s 100th anniversary celebration. These four cars pay tribute to the Type 35 Grand Prix racers that racked up an impressive 2000 wins over ten years. The cars are mechanically similar to a standard Veyron, but it combines polished aluminum wings and doors with a driver’s corresponding national racing color — Jean-Pierre (France - blue), Achille Varzi (Italy - red), Malcolm Campbell (England - green) and Hermann Zu Leininger (Germany - white).
While some companies make a limited number of vehicles for a special edition run, this is it for Bugatti. There will be no extra copies made of these Veyrons. Each car is rumored to cost €1.6 million (currently about $2.08 million) per example — about €400,000 more than a “standard” Veyron.
This is the second time Bugatti is celebrating it’s 100th anniversary. The first time was with the Bleu Centenaire in Geneva, and Bugatti is also planning a century-mark celebration for Pebble Beach in August. This will all be leading up to a grand finale at its headquarters in Molsheim, France in September. So between now and the year’s end, Bugatti should still have at least two more surprises up its sleeve.
Even if the planned run of 300 Bugatti Veyron coupes ensures that every car will be special, Bugatti still likes to make special editions. But unlike some that are only about appearance, the four cars its brining to Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza in Italy are about celebrating history.
They are called the Bugatti Veyron Centenaire Edition. Each pays tribute to the Pre-WWII Type 35 Grand Prix racers and their drivers. The cars are mechanically similar to a standard Veyron, but it combines polished aluminum wings and doors with a driver’s corresponding national racing color — Jean-Pierre (France - blue), Achille Varzi (Italy - red), Malcolm Campbell (England - green) and Hermann Zu Leininger (Germany - white).
These limited edition cars also include special LED lighting and a special badging featuring the name of the selected race driver. There is no word yet on how limited this special edition will be, but expect to shell out €1.6 million (currently about $2.08 million) per example — about €400,000 more than a “standard” Veyron.
This Bugatti Veyron was spotted in Monaco with some special “Le Mans” badging. Does this mean it has more horsepower? Is it the special paint? Did someone just attach $5 worth of hardware store letters to their $1.5 million supercar?
Unfortunately we don’t have the answers, but it does give us a good excuse to show off this 1001 hp car.
If you’ve got the $1.5 million for a Bugatti Veyron, why try to hide it. This ultra-rich owner decided that being one of 300 Veyron owners wasn’t special enough, so he had it painted a very appropriate gold. Now he can be sure to stand out on the streets of Kuwait from all the other Veyron owners.
The details are still a little hazy about this one, but the video does clearly show a replica of a Bugatti Veyron. A company called Supercar Replicas are making these imitation Veyrons using a menu that starts with $23,500 for a C5 Corvette reskin to $50,000 for a 24-cylinder replica car. That’s right 24-cylinders. The company will mate two 12-cylinder BMW engines in series at the output shaft to create an engine with fifty percent more cylinders than a real Veyron.
There are still plenty of questions still left to answer. How many donor parts does the price include? Can two engines tied together at the output shaft be at all reliable? Is it safe, or will I die if I hit a Schwinn?
Then again, there is only one real question for thos interested in buying this car: how many women can I fool into thinking this is really a Veyron?
We’re guessing you’re not one of 150 lucky people who will be able to buy the real thing, so this simulation will have to be the next best thing. On the other hand, if you are one of the lucky few who will be getting the targa-top Bugatti, and you fancy a TopSpeed hat, we could probably work something out.
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