Bugatti Veryon Grand Sport sells at Pebble Beach, another Bugatti sets auction record

It was a big weekend for Bugattis at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The first Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport 16.4, which made its debut at the show, had a hammer price of $2.9 million at the Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction yesterday. Although the final price will be confirmed later today, this could mean that it is likely as much as $850,000 (the excess of the Veyron’s MSRP) will be donated to the Pebble Beach Company Foundation charity.

The Grand Sport features a see-through removable roof panel made from polycarbonate material for lightweight rigidity. Unfortunately there is no place to store the panel on the car, so if the weather turns bad, owners may need to use the included “umbrella” fabric top (much like the one used for the Lamborghini Murcielago roadster.)

The biggest changes to take the Veyron topless were stiffening the carbon fiber body and changing the windshield angle. The car now also includes new LED headlamps, different alloy wheels and a rear view camera display. According to Bugatti, the total production run for the Veyron Grand Sport will be 150 vehicles.

If the Veryon Grand Sport was the Bugatti to steal everyone’s hearts, then the 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante Coupe stole their wallets. The classic Bugatti set a new Pebble Beach record at Gooding & Company’s Saturday auction at $7.92 million. The car is one of 95 57Cs produced during the run from 1937 to 1940. The 3,257 CC Supercharged Inline Eight-Cylinder Engine is rated at 160 BHP At 5,000 RPM.