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Taking Stock of Bugatti's Future
Winston Goodfellow
12/01/2003
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If all proceeds according to plan, some time in the fall of 2004, the first car ever to be sold in America with a sticker price in excess of $1 million will be delivered to its anxious owner. This exquisitely sculpted machine, blessed with curvaceous lines and a dual-tone body, will house a 16-cyclinder engine generating 1,000 horsepower; moreover, it will be one of a maximum of 300 ever to be built. The particular model to be delivered  | The Type 41 Royale and the new Veyron,
two million-dollar Bugattis—one by virtue of
its heritage, the other by virtue of its price tag. |
bears a satisfactorily 21st-century moniker: the Veyron. But the only point of similarity between this car and others that have borne the Bugatti badge is its lofty price. Bugattis of the past redefined beauty and performance, establishing the marque’s reputation as on of the bluest of blue-chip investments in the vintage automobile market. Proudly stamped with the traditional emblem, the Veyron shares none of this heritage, emerging from the factory at Modena as a fascinating proposition with a very uncertain future, both for collectors and for Volkswagen, its parent company.
To the uninitiated, the Bugatti may conjure, if anything, misty hereditary memories of the Jazz Age. Then, Bugatti set lasting standards of grace, speed, and style; even today, those examples to survive remain among the most sought after and celebrated, commanding in some cases prices in excess of $10 million. The marque’s unique pedigree has doubled and redoubled the sums collectors are willing to pay, making Bugatti perhaps the best investment of any vintage automobile. Which, of course, begs the question as to how well the new Veyron will fair over decades to come—and what relation it holds to predecessors.
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