After the collapse of Bugatti Autombiles SpA the Volkswagen Group purchased the Bugatti trademark rights and set about reviving the brand.

Bugatti presented 3 Guigiario styled concept vehicles known as EB118 models with 18 cylinder W motors before presenting the Veyron EB 18.4 Concept model in 1999 which also had an 18 cylinder W motor.

Working under Volkswagen’s Chief Engineer Wolfgang Schreiber designer Hartmut Warkuss and exterior designer Jozef Kabaň finalised the Veyron’s design with a quad turbo 16 cylinder W motor.

Production of the Veyron EB 16.4 commenced in a new purpose built facility located in Bugatti’s spiritual home Molsheim, France in 2005.

The 64 valve quad cam, quad turbocharged 8 litre / 488 cui W16, essentially two VR8 blocks bolted together, produces 1001 hp, good enough to power the Veyron EB 16.4 up to 62.5 mph from rest in a fraction under 2.5 seconds and on to a restricted top speed of 213 mph or unrestricted top speed in excess of 250 mph.

Last year reports emerged that a brokerage firm had “estimated” that each Veyron 16.4, which costs between 1.5 to 2 million US$ was loosing the Volkswagen Group in excess of 4 million US$.

Bugatti’s only comment was that the estimates were incorrect, but with only 40 units thought to have been built up to October 2013 it will be a long time before the Research and Development costs of the technical tour de force that is the Veyron EB 16.4 will, if ever, be recouped.

Thanks for joining me on this “1001 Street Legal Horses” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be returning to the Autumn Classic meeting at Castle Combe. Don’t fprget to come back now !