Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport
Production of the Veyron might have dragged a little towards the end, with seemingly endless special editions, but we shouldn’t forget just what an incredible machine the Veyron was, and indeed still is. Think about it: the Bugatti name was resurrected with the sole ambition of building not just the fastest in the world but the fastest luxury car in the world. Making a car go fast isn’t an overly difficult task in itself, but building a car like the Veyron, with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, cruise control, an incredible sound system, gorgeous leather heated seats and so on, and making it do more than 250mph remains an unbelievable achievement.
The Grand Sport was the convertible Veyron, and came with a removable carbon roof and a temporary two-piece umbrella-like roof, for times when you were out and about and a sudden rain shower descended. With the umbrella roof you were limited to 81mph, but with the carbon top you could go just as fast as a regular Veyron: 253mph.
The Grand Sport at Retromobile was on display with RM Sotheby’s, and it was nigh-on impossible not to have a poke around. The Veyron is, and always will be, an incredibly cool car.
Photography by Pete Summers and Ben Miles.