The World's Most Expensive Car: Bugatti 16/4 Veyron (Part V)

In this second to last part of my World's Most Expensive Car series, I want to set my sites on the current vehicle that hold the title of being the world's most expensive new car, the Bugatti 16/4 Veyron. Now those of you who regularly read my blog probably know by now that I am not exactly a huge fan of new cars. There are few vehicles that have been built in the last 40 years that have captured the passion, art, style, innovation, and individuality that cars from the 1950's and earlier possessed. Regrettably, this Bugatti is not among that select few.

The Bugatti Veyron is a product of the Volkswagen company (who bought the Bugatti name in 1998 for $60 million) and is related to the great Bugatti products of yore in name only (the story of that conflaguration is best left to another time, lest this post go on for too long). Unlike the McLaren F1 featured in the previous post, the Veyron was not the product of one man's dream, but rather one man's idea. Fredinand Piech, grandson of Fredinand Porsche (founder of Porsche, designer of the Beetle, among other things), wanted to have a vehicle to highlight the capabilities of the VW brand and its parts (Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat, Skoda, and Audi); he purchased the Bugatti name and got a company together to do just that.

The goals were extremely high: A top speed of 252 mph, 0-60 mph in less than 3 seconds, 1000+ horsepower, and racecar handling. All of this had to be put into a stylish package with all the creature comforts of a Bentley and all the drivability of a VW Golf. Concepts began to trickle out of the company and a full blown Veyron concept showed up in 2000 and again in 2001. Then the problems came. The McLaren had tried to do a few things (handling, speed, reliability, style, uniqueness) very well while eschewing others (radio, AWD, power anything, real-world street-ability). The Bugatti wanted it all, and all those parts created one major problem: heat. The engine was a quad turbocharged W16 that produced more heat that the main engines on a Saturn V rocket. Add to this all of the power and comfort bits (steering, ABS, traction control, stability control, power seats, leather, carpets, trim, sound deadening, climate contro, AWD) and you had a veritable BBQ grille on wheels. The car would consistently overheat, and it was not until 10 radiators had been shoehorned under the body work that the car performed normally under most any conditions.

By the time car car went into production in late 2005, some two years late, the sticker had ballooned from $800,000 to 1,000,000 Euros (about $1.2 million). The car is certainly fascinating, anything that can do 252 mph is pretty cool, but it just lacks the individuality that the McLaren had. It is a supercar by committee. The McLaren, as well as some of the supercars that have followed it, such as the Pagani Zonda C12 and Porsche Carrera GT, have also required a modicum of participation from the driver, forcing him/her to at least operate a clutch pedal. The Bugatti not only has an automatic (well, not a torque converter auto, but one without an exposed clutch pedal) but traction control, stability control, ABS, and a special suspension system that can adjust to road conditions at the touch of a button. These are all nice features...on a luxury car. On a supercar though, they steal away from its innate personality, making what is supposed to be a unique vehicle admired for individuality just an over-blown luxo cruiser that costs as much as a really nice house.

I love Bugatti, it is one of my favorite brands, but only in its original incarnation, the rest have been pretenders. This new car is no different. And if you need any more proof of the cars utter boringness, just look at who is purchasing it; not enthusiasts but rich people who just want to show off. That is usually the best indicator that a car is soft and unexciting, when the people who buy don't do so out of passion.

The World's Most Expensive Car: McLaren F1 (Part IV)

In continuing the subject of the world's most expensive vehicles, I want to come to a car built in the very recent past (the last 20 years) that has been one of the most expensive vehicles in the world since its inception: the McLaren F1.

The McLaren stands out for a number of reasons. First, it was the most expensive, most high tech, fastest, and most successful (homologation) racecar when it debuted in 1994 up until the last car rolled off the production line in 1998. Second, the car was unlike any other vehicle that had been produced, now and then. Finally, it was the vision of one individual, Gordon Murray, that really brought the car from paper to the road.

Costing $1 million when new, and designed to go zero to 60 mph (100 kp/h) in a hair of three seconds and topping out at 230 mph, the McLaren was truly a supercar. The entire body and monocoque chassis were constructed of carbon fiber, the engine was a BMW unit made primarily of magnesium (to keep the weight down), and the driver sat perched in the center of the car, with two passengers seated on either side (not the first time this arrangement had been used, but the first time it had ever seen series production). The car was designed to Murray's exacting specifications, using the lightest (and most expensive) materials, and featuring many elements that distinguished the car not just as a supercar, but the brainchild of one man. Murray didn't like to listen to the radio, so the McLaren didn't have one. He did like rock and roll though, so the car came with a custom designed Kenwood 10-disc autochanger and special speakers that didn't have magnets in them (it was lighter that way).

The vehicle was produced by McLaren Cars, and offshoot of McLaren Automotive, which primarily designed and built racecars. Only 64 road cars were built, along with a hand full of special road racing models, and an additional crop of dedicated racecars. In total, only 107 McLaren F1's were ever built. All were snapped up by unique individuals, many by well known entertainers, businessmen, and entrepreneurs. Today, when a McLaren turns up on the market, it sells 25% or more of what it originally cost new. Of course, the cost of ownership isn't cheap, with regular service requiring a technician to be flown in from England and major service requiring the entire vehicle to be shipped back to the factory. The owners are loyal though, more so than most supercar owners, and treasure their cars and marvels of engineering and a unique one man-one car achievement.

The World's Most Expensive Car: Ferrari 250 GTO (Part III)

Ferrari, as a brand, has carried with it a certain mystique that few brands have been able to match. Since the company's founding in 1947, Ferrari has been closely associated with three things: racing, sportscars, and millionaires. Enzo Ferrari cut his teeth as a team driver and manager for Alfa Romeo in the 1930's (the Scuderia Ferrari title, translated from Italian to mean Team Ferrari, along with the prancing horse crest of his team are still hallmarks of the Ferrari brand) and later founded a car manufacturer that bore his own name after WWII. Although many people know of Ferrari today for its street cars, Enzo was not a fan of road-going vehicles, producing them only to fund his racing exploits.

Ferrari's racecar were exceedingly successful. One stand out with the 1962-1964 Ferrari 250 GTO. GTO stood for Gran Turismo Omologato, or a grand touring race car that was homologated for street use. The 250 GTO was considered the ultimate 'Gentleman's Racer;' a car that could be driven from one's home to the track, race, win, and then driven back home again. The powerful, and now famous 3 liter V12, one of the Colombo engines, provided reliable power. The car's sleek and aerodynamic looks were not only sensual, but functional. Carroll Shelby employed the help of Peter Brock to design a successful competitor to the 250 GTO in the form of the Cobra Daytona Coupe not long after having his blocky Cobra racecars destroyed on the back straights of Sebring and Daytona raceway.

Shortly after Ferrari had completed the 36 250 GTO's it constructed (and 3 additional 4-liter V12 powered 250 GTO's, although they should be called 330 GTO's), Ferrari made the car outdated and obsolete with its new 330 racecars. An obsolete racecar was useless as it couldn't be used to win on the track, and was often too loud to drive on the road. Ferrari 250 GTO's fell in value and traded hands for as low as $5000 in the late 1960's and early 1970's (this is when Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason purchased his 250 GTO that he still owns today). Price rose rapidly with the Ferrari market bubble of the 1980's, however, and by 1987, rumors ran rampant about Ferrari GTO's selling for up $15 million in private transactions.

Today, prices have settled a bit, but market valuation for the car still stands between $6 and $12 million, but no 250 GTO's have traded publicly in some time. Even still, this makes it the most valuable post-WWII car in the world.