Just like the last time, when we drove the Bugatti Veyron, it began with an e-mail from Bugatti's PR firm: "Give me a call when you have a moment." And then, again, just like the last time, there came the question: "We have a Grand Sport. Can you do something with it?" Let. Me. See.

And that's how we ended up spending a day with the roofless Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport on a reference-resetting trip from Los Angeles to San Diego and back. Although you'll read many words after the jump to describe it, we really only need one word, and we'd draw it out in the same kind of smiling stupor we get when the dentist pumps us full of happy gas: "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh...."

Follow the jump for the story.



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Episode 2 of Top Gear's 13th season aired last night in the UK, and the main event was a one-mile drag race between the McLaren F1 and the Bugatti Veyron. Notice that we didn't say a McLaren F1 and a Bugatti Veyron. These two supercars are so super (and rare) that any single example tends to represent the whole run of each, and since your chances of encountering two of either kind in the same place are practically nill, they might as well be the only ones in existence.

The Top Gear crew chose Abu Dhabi as the location for its supercar shootout. With an arid climate that sees practically no rain or freezing-and-thawing cycles, the roads in Abu Dhabi are long, straight and, most importantly, free of pot holes. Richard Hammond chooses to pilot the Bug and The Stig takes the centrally located wheel of the F1. We won't spoil the results except to say that this is the most real and nail-biting competition that we've seen on Top Gear in a long time.

Follow the jump to watch yesteryear's supercar, the McLaren F1, go head-to-head with today's top dog, the Bugatti Veyron. Thanks for the tip, Will!

[Source: YouTube]

Production of the Veyron Grand Sport, Bugatti's roadster version of the ultimate super car, is just getting underway at the automaker's factory in Molsheim, France. Accordingly, Bugatti has released a batch of new high-res pics that were taken last year in such places as Napa Valley (hence the wine reference), Rome and Sardinia when the car debuted. Now, keep in mind, you don't just take a Sawzall to a Veyron's roof and get a Grand Sport. The GS gets a higher windscreen, daytime running lights and a transparent polycarbonate roof panel or umbrella-like soft top. There's also enough extra bracing beneath the carbon fiber skin to survive a black hole, and the two large air intakes above the engine are now reinforced to act as rollover bars.

The Veyron GS can go nearly 253 mph with its roof panel on, almost as fast as the straight coupe. Sans roof panel it can still hit almost 224 mph, and the soft top brings things down a top speed of just 99 mph. Only 150 units will be made, which means the 1.4 million euro Veyron Grand Sport is an ultra exclusive version of an already ultra exclusive car. Deliveries start in July and 30 have already ordered.

BONUS: This image is extra special because we took it while driving the car ourselves. Keep an eye out for Autoblog's First Drive of the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, coming soon.

Yesterday we happened to be in Beverly Hills and came across a dealership that had not one, but two Bugatti Veyrons for sale. Of course, we had to stop in to check the cars out, and found that one was actually production #001. According to the dealer, O'Gara Coach, the car only has 400 miles on the odometer. The price tag? As the saying goes, if you have to ask then you can't afford. We'll tell you anyway. O'Gara Coach has the price tag listed at just under $2.4 million. While having #001 would be pretty cool, we'd actually opt for the black-on-black model that was also in the showroom. Not that we will ever come close to being able to afford either, but we can always dream. We've uploaded a high-res gallery of both Bugattis that can be browsed below.



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Not all of us have over a million to spend on a new car, otherwise we'd all be driving Bugatti Veyrons, right? Or at least most of us would. So how about $25,000 – that's a bit closer, right? Well now you can get your hands on a Veyron for just that amount. Unfortunately the twenty-five grand will only get you one day behind the wheel of the super-fast, super-expensive supercar.

Holders Vehicle Contracts, an exotic rental company in England, has got a Veyron on its hands that it's willing to rent out to anyone who can shell out the £16,000 (about $25k). Oh, and did we mention would-be renters will need to put down a $160,000 deposit? That's a little bit steeper than the typical contract down at the your local Hertz, but then that Chevrolet Impala or Ford Mustang convertible isn't going to get you up to 250 miles per hour, now is it?

[Source: Top Gear]

The concept of an "ordinary Bugatti" doesn't exist, all the more so when you're talking about the ultra-desirable Type 57. But even by Bugatti standards, this example is... well, exemplary. What you're looking at here is Ettore Bugatti's own Bugatti, a unique example built in 1936 for the founder's birthday, and managed to stay in pristine condition ever since. While restoration is commonplace for vehicles of this vintage, this example is strictly original. Despite its embattled location in Alsace right on the French-German border, Bugatti managed to keep this Type 57 safe during WWII. Following the war after Ettore died, the company upgraded the car and sold it in the 50's. Since then it has only changed hands a couple of times, and is poised to do so once again at the upcoming Gooding & Company auction at Pebble Beach in August. If the controversial Auto Union D-Type #19 can't do it, then this vehicle surely stands a chance at breaking the auction record set last month by the $12m 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, especially considering that the long-neglected Type 57 Atalante found in a barn recently sold for $4.4m. More information in the press release after the jump, and high-res images in the gallery below.




[Source: Gooding & Company]

The marque's faithful (read: the obscenely wealthy) have been waiting a long time for a convertible Bugatti. The last time a roadster rolled out of Molsheim was in the company's heyday before WWII, and despite our teenage fantasies, no roofless EB110 ever materialized from the Romano Artioli era. But after over a half century's wait, Bugatti has officially returned to the world of open-air motoring.

The most exclusive of exclusive automakers came to Pebble Beach last year with the Veyron Grand Sport, and auctioned off the first example for a whopping $2.19 million. Now the targa-topped Veyron is officially beginning its production run, with deliveries to commence in July. If you're one of those who's been waiting for the opportunity, good economy or bad, you'd better act quickly: Bugatti is only making 150 examples of the world's fastest roadster, with the first 50 units going to existing Veyron owners. Asking price, before the inevitable succession of special editions, is nearly $2 million, which ought to make your eyes water even more than the air kissing your face at 224 mph. Check out the details in the press release after the jump and the fresh crop of high-res images added to the gallery below.



[Source: Bugatti]

Although decades have separated the modern Bugatti from its heritage, the Alsatian exotic marque is one that prides itself on its racing pedigree. So to bridge that gap and celebrate its 100th anniversary, Bugatti rolled in to the Villa d'Este auto show on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy, as promised, with a quartet of special edition Veyrons.

Each of the four one-offs bares a different color to contrast with the chrome fenders, and each honors a different driver from Bugatti's glory days by taking their names. To more clearly emphasize the cars historical linkages, the four Veyrons arrived in Italy accompanied by matching historic Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix racers.

One of the most successful race cars in history, the Type 35 racked up some 2,000 race victories over the course of a decade of competition in the inter-war period. Thanks to its advanced lightweight construction and pioneering client-racer availability, the Type 35 was one of the most popular and indomitable racing machines of its day. Alongside its identically-colored historic counterpart, the Bugatti Veyron Jean-Pierre Wimille edition appeared in bright blue, the Achille Varzi in dark red, the Malcolm Campbell example in dark green and the Hermann zu Leiningen in off-white. No official word so far if these specials will be for sale or if they'll remain at Bugatti's headquarters in Molsheim, but if they do find their way to market, you can expect them to be marketed at a considerable premium.

The presentation at Villa d'Este is the second of many celebrations which Bugatti has lined up to celebrate its centenary this year, following the Bleu Centenaire edition presented at the Geneva show and ahead of Pebble Beach in August and the grand finale in Molsheim on September 12. So stay tuned, but in the meantime, check out the high-res images in the gallery below and the details in the press release after the jump.




[Source: Bugatti]

It's hard to believe that Bugatti is still pumping out more special editions of its already special Veyron when owners of some of the most exclusive versions to date have been going up for sale on what seems like a daily basis. A couple of weeks ago, we reported on one of the five Pur Sang editions being put up for sale in Abu Dhabi, and our man Jared Paul Stern over at sister-site Luxist found another one a few days later. But as exclusive as the Pur Sang edition was, an even more exclusive Veyron has now popped up on the market on a Polish website.

The Pegaso edition was a one-off built for one fortunate Eastern European customer living in Dubai (where else) at the exclusive Burj al Arab complex. It was painted a special pearl white and light red metallic with a custom interior bearing the Pegaso badge in tribute to the 1950's-era Spanish coachbuilder. We guess times are tight for everyone if the owner is motivated to sell, but then again, at €1.85 ($2.45M USD), the offering party is asking for a considerable premium over the standard million-€uro price of a new model for this barber pole Bug. Hat tip to everyone!




[Source: otomoto.pl]

It must be a month with the letter "R" in it, because Bugatti is releasing yet another special edition Veyron. Following up on the one-off Blue Centenaire that was shown in Geneva to celebrate the marque's 100th anniversary, the latest is actually a corral of four special editions, each in a different color and dedicated to the legend of one of the company's pre-WWII racing drivers: Sir Malcolm Campbell, Hermann zu Leiningen, Jean-Pierre Wimille and Achille Varzi.

Each car gets a two-tone exterior treatment in grand Bugatti style: polished aluminum on the front fenders and doors, with the rear section, roof and hood in contrasting colors to match the legendary drivers' classic machines: Italian racing red, French racing blue, British racing green and an off-white to represent Germany, whose historic racing color was silver. So far only these low-res images have surfaced over on Motorpasion, so they will have to hold us over until Bugatti rolls out the quadruplets at the exclusive Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este show, which opens its gates this weekend on the shores of Lake Como.



[Source: Motorpasion]