|
|
Bugatti was founded in France as a manufacturer of high performance automobiles by Ettore Bugatti, a man many describe as an eccentric genius. The original company is legendary for producing some of the most exclusive cars in the world as well as some of the fastest. Like many high-end marques however, the original Bugatti brand failed with the coming of World War II and the death of Ettore's son Jean. The company struggled financially into the 1960's eventually being purchased for its airplane parts business. Today the name is owned by Volkswagen AG who have revived it as a builder of very limited production supercars. 
Volkswagen AG purchased the rights to produce cars under the Bugatti marque in 1998. They commissioned ItalDesign to produce the Bugatti EB118 concept, a touring sedan which featured a 555 hp DIN (408 kW) output and the first W-configuration 18-cylinder engine in any passenger vehicle, at the Paris Auto Show. In 1999 the Bugatti EB 218 concept was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show; later that year the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron was introduced at the IAA in Frankfurt. At the Tokyo Motor Show the EB 218 reappeared and the Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron was presented as the first incarnation of what was to be a production road car. 
In 2000 Volkswagen AG founded Bugatti Automobiles SAS and introduced the EB 16/4 Veyron concept, a 16-cylinder quadruple turbo charged car with 1001 hp DIN (736 kW), 0-100 km/h in 2.5 sec., at the Paris, Geneva and Detroit auto shows. Development continued throughout 2001 and the EB 16/4 Veyron was promoted to "advanced concept" status. In July 2005 Bugatti Automobiles SAS announced that the car would officially be called the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. It was said that the car—built in a brand new Bugatti factory in Dorlisheim—would be delivered to clients in October 2005. In fact the Veyron finally entered production in late 2005, the first cars being delivered in early 2006. Maximum speed claims have been met in several high speed tests where the car slightly exceeded its target, reaching 408.47 km/h (254 mph)[2]. According to Car and Driver, the Veyron's fuel consumption at 253 mph was 3.0 mpg (78L/100km). Independent press tests have reported many failures (three out of five cars notionally available for testing in November 2005 were out of service), but the Veyron prototypes were put through the same gruelling regimen as other Volkswagen group models, with each pre-production car logging over 50,000 miles. This car comes in many different color combinations, including red and black, blue and dark blue, grey and black, and so on. Athan Aridas, the designer of the Bugatti Veyron model, released it at the Paris Autoshow and claimed it to be the world's fastest production car until they create a later model which is believed to be released in 2010, though that title has since been taken by the SSC Ultimate Aero TT.
|
| ||
