• Bugatti’s technological tour de force; the machine that arguably defined the modern hypercar
• One of 58 examples of the Veyron Grand Sport; one of 450 total Veyron production
• Boasts the desirable “targa”roof exclusive to the Grand Sport and Grand Sport Vitesse
• Powered by Bugatti’s phenomenal 8.0-litre, quad-turbocharged W-16 engine that delivers 987 horsepower
• Capable of 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.46 seconds with a top speed of 408.47 km/h (limited to 369 km/h with roof removed)
• Initially retained by the Bugatti factory prior to being acquired by its first private owner in 2014
• First specified in Black Blue Metallic but later refinished by the factory in Uni Black and Italian Red over a red leather interior

From its earliest stages in concept car form to the final Veyron storming out of Bugatti’s Molsheim atelier in 2015, the French marque’s flagship hypercar has never failed to live up to its billing. The furore dates back as early as May 1998, when Volkswagen AG bought the rights to the historic Bugatti name, sparking a whirlwind of anticipation and speculation among the world’s motoring press. The concept that came closest to the eventual production car was shown in Tokyo in 1999, with its space-age design and promising otherworldly performance that seemed impossible for the time—to an extent, the same is still true even today. Bugatti made 252 examples of the standard “16.4” coupé, but began refining the formula part-way through its lifecycle.

First shown to the public at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2008—three years after the Veyron entered production—the new open-topped Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport upped the ante on the world’s most incredible hypercar. Only 150 examples of the Grand Sport would be produced between 2009 and 2015—58 in Grand Sport form, 92 as the later Grand Sport Vitesse—making it markedly rarer than the conventional Veyron. The open hypercar would account just one third of the Veyron’s 450 total production figure.

In order to compensate for the car’s open-top “targa” roof, Bugatti’s engineers reinforced the chassis and fitted the car with a marginally taller windscreen with a modified rear bulkhead to help accommodate the removable top. The Grand Sport also introduced a handful of new features that would also be available on Veyron coupé sister models, including a new camera integrated with the rear-view mirror, daytime running lights, an upgraded sound system, and new wheels featuring six “horseshoe” shapes reflecting the marque signature form of the grille. The Grand Sport matched the original Veyron’s 408.47 km/h top speed, though was electronically limited to 369 km/h with the roof removed.

The example offered here was built in Molsheim in 2009, first finished in Blue Black Metallic, and is believed to have been retained by the factory until 2014, when it was sold to one of Bugatti’s valued clients. At the behest of its first private owner, the Veyron was refinished in the shade of Uni Black and Italian Red over a red leather interior that it wears today. The Bugatti was registered in England in 2017, but resold at auction in the same year, later relocating to Luxembourg. At the time of cataloguing, the odometer read 34,940 kilometres.

One of the most desirable forms of the near-mythical Veyron, the Grand Sport offers not only class-leading 400 km/h+ performance, but also the spine-tingling soundtrack of one of the greatest production engines to ever grace an automobile.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/pa23.