Waiting list for a US$1.2 million car.

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Yes, you read the title of this post correctly, the Bugatti Veyron is US$1.2 million, and there is indeed a waiting list.

You can read the article about this here -> http://news.en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/article.aspx?cp-documentid=469263

To sum things up...

They had planned an initial run of 50 cars. That would come to sales totalling US$60 million. They seem, however, to have greatly underestimated demand, because they have had to up production to 70 units a year, and there are already firm orders (I'm guessing that means that people have already parted with their cash) for over 70 cars.

What I found most interesting, is that this car is aimed at the US market, specifically New York "and, of course, Southern California" (I like the way the said "of course" when talking about Southern California, but I suppose that's an entirely different thread). They were basically saying that the European and Middle Eastern market is not their focus.

What do you get for US$1.2 million?

Well the car is made from carbon fibre (read extremely expensive, but also extremely light).

The above article was a little light on technical details, so I did some digging on Google and found this -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugatti_Veyron_16.4

To sum up...

The engine (this is the part, I'm sure, that everyone here is interested in) is a 8.0 L quad-turbo W-16 that produces 1,001 hp (I remember a few years ago a Cadillac prototype, the Sixteen, produced 1,000 hp, nice too, too bad they didn't make it. I digress) and torque is 922 ft-LB (approximately 50% more than a Bentley Arnage).

An interesting quote, "with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h". Just a guess here, but Germany is probably the only place in the world you can legally experience that. Coincidentally, I was surprised to find out that not all of the autobahn is unrestricted. Oh well, at least certain part of it you can enjoy at full speed.

In a world where people can pay over US$30 million for a house. Just today, they were talking on the radio how the most expensive house here in Canada, ever listed (and is just came on the market too), is C$45 million (US$40.54 million). What's US$1.2 million for a car?

I wonder how long until we see cars that are north of US$3 million. Whenever that is, I am sure they will be amazing. Will they be worth the money? That's an entirely subjective thing, but I'm sure the owners will indeed say yes.
 
They have already sold a few at the local exotic dealership down the street from me. They have had two "testers" running around here for the past few months. I should try to get a test drive as a prospective buyer
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quote:

An interesting quote, "with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h". Just a guess here, but Germany is probably the only place in the world you can legally experience that. Coincidentally, I was surprised to find out that not all of the autobahn is unrestricted. Oh well, at least certain part of it you can enjoy at full speed.

1. Even in Germany you'd have to rent time on the Nürburgring or Hockenheimring, if you want to go 400 km/h.

2. There are many Autobahnen in Germany, not just one.

3. Speed limits do exist where posted. Often there are flexible speed limit displays that will adjust the speed limit to match current traffic density, road and weather conditions. If there is no speed limit posted, suggested speed is 130 km/h, but you may go as fast as you can safely go without endangering yourself or others. If you blast by other cars going 400 km/h, you will be busted for reckless driving, no matter if you are on the Autobahn or not. How will they catch you? When you stop to gas up... And after your court hearing you won't be allowed to even ride a kid's tricyle for the next few years.
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Somebody on BITOG needs to score one of these things so that we can argue whether or not to run Supertech 5W-30 & Advance Auto filter in it or not
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I read an article about this car last night...it quoted that if you drove this car at it's top speed, it would run out of gas in 12 minutes. You'd cover a lot of ground, but that's a lotta gas.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Matt89:
Somebody on BITOG needs to score one of these things so that we can argue whether or not to run Supertech 5W-30 & Advance Auto filter in it or not
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^^^
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I nominate the honorable Dr. Haas.
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Sad to say that it's likely these cars will be snapped up by the same kind of irresponsible goofs that buy Enzos and break them apart on residential streets in California.
 
True..the car was written off as an engineering exercise. Never intended to make a profit but to flex some engineering muscle. I forget the figures but even with the markup over what it actually costs to build a Veyron they will still be 10's of millions in the hole.
 
quote:

Originally posted by CBDFrontier06:
I read an article about this car last night...it quoted that if you drove this car at it's top speed, it would run out of gas in 12 minutes. You'd cover a lot of ground, but that's a lotta gas.

Reminds me of when Bentley was in the development stage of the Continental GT (which weighs over 5000 pounds and can run 190+ mph) there was talk in the automotive press that tire companies would have to come up with new designs for a car capable of sustained speeds that high. Then someone pointed out that the word "sustained" would have a different meaning for the GT since at 190+ it would consume an entire tank of fuel in under 20 minutes.
 
The car operates normally in standard mode. There is a special key, supplied to the owner, and you need that key to set the car in high performance mode, to go over 200mph. I'll bet that the potential with the key inserted will never be approached anywhere on public streets. Ever wonder what oil it uses?
 
Bugatti/V.A.G. is reportedly losing money on the Veyron due to the astronomical R&D, not to mention production costs. They are hoping to re-establish the marque and introduce an affordable model in the 100K range. Car and Driver has had several articles in the last year (the source of my info).
 
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