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Just last week, news broke that Bugatti had a scant eight Veyrons left in the pipeline before closing down production of the world-beating supercar altogether. And although that means development of the upcoming ‘Chiron’ is ramping up, it’s also quite sad that the Veyron’s chapter is ending.
2007 Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang
Sometimes less is more. That statement seems to fall a bit flat in relation to a 1,001-horsepower supercar, nevertheless Bugatti’s engineers created the Veyron ‘Pur Sang’, which translates to “thoroughbred”, by striping away its color coating and leaving bare carbon and aluminum. The result is a clean cut special edition that came quite early to the Veyron lineage.
2012 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Wei Long
Taking that same simplistic design language a bit further, Bugatti showed up to the 2012 Beijing Motor Show with its one-of-a-kind Grand Sport Wei Long, developed together with Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur, a famous German porcelain shop. On the outside, it’s clad solely in white to celebrate the Year of the Dragon, and on the inside it’s vibrant red interior makes this roadster stand out of the pack, much like the porcelain firm’s previous co-op with Bugatti.
Part three of the ‘Legends’ series payed homage to Meo Costantini, a close friend of Ettore Bugatti. The pair met after World War I when the young Costantini showed exceptional racing talents in a Bugatti Type 13. In 1923, Ettore invited him to Molsheim to work as a racing driver and advisor. He’d soon go on to win the Targa Florio and eventually head Bugatti’s factory racing team.
2011 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport L’Or Blanc
And this is it. “L’Or Blanc”, which translate to “White Gold”, dons fine porcelain on its body and features one of the more radical designs ever affixed to a Veyron, or frankly any car for that matter. The design draws inspiration from Ettore Bugatti’s younger brother, Rembrandt Bugatti, and features an effigy of his famous elephant sculpture. This might just be the fastest porcelain in the world.
Rembrandt got another nod last year in the form of this Vitesse Roadster, part four of the automaker’s six “Les Légendes de Bugatti” collection. In addition to his brotherly ties to Ettore, Rembrandt was also an extraordinary sculptor and his bronze dancing elephant even came to represent the brand and adorn the Bugatti Type 41 Royale. Those bronze masterpieces are remembered in the color combination of this special supercar.
2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Jean Bugatti
Opinions differ, but when discussing the world’s most beautiful cars, one vehicle in particular tends to float to the top of that short list – the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. Designed by Jean Bugatti, the eldest son of Ettore Bugatti, it’s a shape that seamlessly merges art and automotive design. This is the car that remembers that creator, and it comes clothed in black clear-coat carbon fiber, evocative of Jean’s iconic Atlantic design.
The Bugatti name has been synonymous with the title of the world’s fastest car, and in 2013 that relation became even more concrete. Bugatti took its open-top Grand Sport Vitesse roadster and flung it around VW’s Ehra-Lessien proving grounds to record a top speed of 254.04 miles per hour. This isn’t that car, but it is one of eight World Record Car (WRC) editions to bear its likeness. And what a looker it is!
100 miles per hours. In 1912, that might as well have been light speed. Nevertheless, Ettore Bugatti got cranking and churned out the epic Type 18 ‘Black Bess’. Its 5.0-liter four-cylinder engine walloped a heady 100 horsepower and smashed the triple digit mark. The 2014 ‘Black Bess’ recalls that heroic performance and shares its drippingly cool gold styling. Some parts are even 24-carat gold.
