The Bugatti Veyron is a car you rarely see, if ever, but we came across three at the 2009 Geneva auto show. Each of these cars was a special edition variant of the original Veyron launched in 2005.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
For Bugatti's 100th anniversary, the company created the Bleu Centenaire version of the Veyron, and showed it off at the 79th Geneva auto show. As with previous special editions, the Bleu Centenaire is cosmetic, with a custom paint job using a special shade of blue and combining matte and gloss elements.
The Grand Sport was launched at Pebble Beach in 2008, and is the open-top version of the Veyron. Rather than a convertible, the top panel is a piece that can be taken off, but can't be stowed in the car due to the lack of room. The windshield of the Grand Sport is also higher than that on the standard Veyron.
Although there are different editions of the Veyron, the power train remains the same. The Veyron has a 16-cylinder engine displacing 8 liters, using four turbochargers. This power plant makes 1,001 horsepower, driving the cars to 62 mph in 2.45 seconds, with a top speed over 248 mph.
As if the Veyron weren't enough straight out of the factory, tuner company Mansory took three of them and added a carbon-fiber body kit, newly designed air intakes, and a custom interior. The $700,000 upgrade to the Veyron also includes custom wheels and a new exhaust system.
