Bugatti Veyrons flying out of U.S. dealerships
Of course, it's all relative, isn't it? With annual production of the Bugatti supercar pegged at 50 units, at a typical retail price of around $1.4 million each, it doesn't take too many sales to raise eyebrows. Still, the Detroit Free Press reports that U.S. dealers (all nine of them) have so far taken orders for 30 Veyrons, which would bring total Bugatti sales in the U.S. to $42 million.
Unfortunately for parent company Volkswagen, Bugatti is rumored to lose money on every sale.
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alex Nunez 6:27PM (7/09/2006)
Ditto for the UK, where Jack Barclay Bugatti (part of the H.R. Owen empire) has recorded an impressive 15 orders so far.
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ik 6:46PM (7/09/2006)
If I had the money, I would buy one.
Not because I like the car, but because it will definately appreciate in value.
The same goes for many other exotics and supercars.
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Jaymez 7:06PM (7/09/2006)
1.4 Million dollars for that ugly thing? Of all the super cars from the last 16 years, the 550 Marenello is the only one that I'd want.
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Jason 7:43PM (7/09/2006)
How it looks really isn't what it's about. It's about insanely excessive engineering and opulance. You can make a cheap and crappy car look pretty.
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Mark Berggren 7:59PM (7/09/2006)
Why is Volkswagon losing money on each one? My point is, with a car like this, isn't price irrelevant? Meaning, if people really want one, wouldn't they pay whatever they cost?
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Supercujo 9:30PM (7/09/2006)
I don't think VW really care. The Veyron is a halo car. Halo cars produces sales down the line, much like the perceived involvement in F1.
Volkswagen alone produces more than 5 million vehicles a year, add in Audi, Seat, Skoda and Lamborghini and the losses made on the 50 Veyrons makes barely a ripple in the VW accounts.
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Ty 9:54PM (7/09/2006)
They're losing money on these cars because each one costs something like $5 million to produce.
And VW deserves an enormous pat on the back for making this car. Not only for disproving all of the naysayers, but for their willingness to go above and beyond the call of automotive engineering. Because of this car, we'll see all new sorts of amazing technologies in our cars to come.
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ik 10:01PM (7/09/2006)
Involvement in racing is not for producing sales.
Its for accellerating the engineering and design developement in a company. Many technologies are created from an automakers involvement in racing. These technologies are then implemented into the company's cars. (think about VTECH for example.)
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superpimp 10:12PM (7/09/2006)
i want one
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Ian 10:42PM (7/09/2006)
"Involvement in racing is not for producing sales."
Ik, you are so, so, so wrong. Whatever happened to "race on sunday, sell on monday!" The whole reason to race is to sell cars. You are absolutely right about the benefits of racing spilling over into everyday passenger cars. That doesn't supercede the need to win to sell cars. Ferrari commits every penny of their car sales to funding their involvement in F1. Why?... to make sure they inspire more fans to buy their cars. There is no doubt that Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, Charger, Firebird, etc would be dead names with out the last 40-50 years of racing creating sales. Case in point - where did the Camaro, Charger, and 'Cuda, end up without racing?? Now they can resurect them due to nostalgia but more importantly... the promise of great racing rivalries on the street and track to come.
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Luis Longo 11:04PM (7/09/2006)
The point is the Development Costs> Imagine hundreds of Engineers working on this Car for 2 years, Hours and hours and hours of Design, wind test, data analysis of Lap times which by the way were done all over the world from Africa to lap in the 'Ring in Germany.
What ya all know is that actually without making profit, the car should sell out for abaout 5 Millions each, VW did the calculations thinking that they 'd sell more units than they actually did, so they took all the expenses divided into the quantity of cars already sold, and like i said, the pricetag should be around 5Millions, but dont worry this companies never 'loose' know they are gonna make a small-Cayman killer at 60k, and will sell a lot just with the atraction of being worlds fastest-supercar-little-brother, I personally cant wait to get my hands on one.
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mark Berggren 11:04PM (7/09/2006)
I still don't understand the "halo" effect. How many people are really going to by a VW or Audi based upon the Veryon? How many people even realise that Bugatti is part of the VW brand. I think the Ford GT is a cool car, but it doesn't make me anymore or less interested in the Ford product line.
Just my 2 cents.
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Luis Longo 11:07PM (7/09/2006)
If you dont understand a simple concept like the halo effect, stop autoblogin, go out and lease a real car for heavens sake
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mark Berggren 11:17PM (7/09/2006)
Luis
Have you ever bought a Dodge, just because they produce the Viper?
Also I don't lease - I own a TT.
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Mal Fuller 11:50PM (7/09/2006)
"Unfortunately for parent company Volkswagen, Bugatti is rumored to lose money on every sale."
I thought losing money on every sale had just become a tradition at VW.
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Luis Longo 12:02AM (7/10/2006)
So you own a TT im so impressed... check my rides.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2298840
No, i wouldnt and you that i didnt mean that, but i bet tons of teenagers buy the SRT-4, because they cant afford a Viper, and thats as close as they can get.
I mean What selfrespecting adult would ever denial the halo effect in ANY product, im not talking abaout cars anymore, you denied one of the biggest concepts in the bussiness world, thanks God to show that you are wrong.
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Luis Longo 12:04AM (7/10/2006)
#14 first LOL "I thought losing money on every sale had just become a tradition at VW."
second > yes in US it has.
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Buster Hymen 12:10AM (7/10/2006)
Could be why Porsche is taking more of an interest in VW by buying a larger stake in VW. Maybe Porsche sees that VW will fold and will allow Porsche to take control of VW and re-align it to be a better run and more profitable company. Would you then buy a VW knowing that Porsche was controlling the company?
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gkz 12:23AM (7/10/2006)
at least vw had the guts to give their engineers free reign to test the limits of what a no-compromises supercar could be. stop whining about the business plan and just be appreciative that such a car even made it to production. any real car enthusiast should realize how rare it is for something like this to be built, let alone by a major, publicly held company.
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m 12:41AM (7/10/2006)
Luis, stop acting like your passat is kickass, checked out your cardomain page..the passat's a nice car, but no need to throw down some of the comments you have towards mark
I for one agree with Mark's point about the Halo car, it's not about the Veyron being a halo for VAG
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