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Kraftwagen König
It's the noise. I got into the new Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport feeling pretty cynical, wondering how Bugatti could possibly justify charging $280,000 on top of the Veyron coupe's eye-watering $1.7 million -- plus local taxes and delivery -- for a convertible with less than half the stiffness of the closed-cockpit car, weighing 224 pounds more and a couple tenths slower to 60 mph. Afterthought open tops like this are always worse, right? Floppy, pointless and purely for poseurs?
And then I pressed the starter button. One of the many astonishing things about the Bugatti Veyron is the way it takes such an extreme power output -- way in excess of a modern Formula 1 car -- and puts it into a docile, driveable, reliable package. But you don't realize just how well-insulated the coupe is until you start the Grand Sport with the roof off. The driveline is unchanged, but now at standstill and at low speeds you hear from behind you the constant mechanical hum of that open-air engine's 16 cylinders and 64 valves spinning, by some miracle, in perfect synchronicity. Even at low speeds -- town speeds, under 30 mph -- the hum is punctuated by a loud, fierce hissing from the wastegates of the four turbochargers every time you ease the pressure on the throttle. You might think you're a purist, and prefer the uncorrupted induction and exhaust note of a naturally aspirated engine, but I defy you not to love this noise and not to sacrifice the smooth progress the Grand Sport is perfectly capable of making in favor of a little gentle, deliberate kangarooing to get the engine sounding like a riled cobra.
And when the road clears and you can push the throttle as far in as your nerve lets you, the sounds of the ancillaries fades out and you hear that 8.0-liter engine itself -- deep, deafening, imperious, and unique, like 16 rubber mallets beating on a barrel.
In truth, Bugatti doesn't need to justify the extra cost of the Grand Sport because its price, power, and performance mean it just doesn't compete with other cars. Only 150 will be made, in addition to 300 Veyron coupes, and Bugatti estimates there are only between 3000 and 6000 millionaires and billionaires in the world with sufficient means and enthusiasm to buy one.
Bugatti's people like to say the last thing their customers need is another car. On average, they already own 30 apiece and are more likely to be deciding between the Grand Sport and a race horse, helicopter, or yacht than another supercar. So when a car is so dominated by its engine, and when one of the few criticisms you can make of the standard Veyron is that it sometimes seems too refined and aloof, and when cost is almost irrelevant, paying an extra $280,000 just to be more directly connected to that mighty motor starts to look like a bargain.……
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport reveiw - Driving the $2 Million Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Super Car - Motor Trend
