Just weeks after introducing the first limited-edition model in its new “Legends” series, French maker Bugatti is rolling out a second model at the Frankfurt Motor Show, this one dedicated to the son of founder Ettore Bugatti.
In all, there eventually will be six “Legends” editions, each carrying an if-you-have-to-ask price tag of 2.28 million Euros – or just more than $3 million. And like the rest of the series, Bugatti says it plans to produce just three copies of the Grand Sport Vitesse “Jean Bugatti,” celebrating his role in his father’s company and, in particular, Bugatti fils’ most celebrated creation, the Type 57SC Atlantic, one of the world’s most widely praised classics from the pre-War “Golden Era.”
The Legends models are designed to bring together some of the best attributes of the Bugatti Super Sport and Grand Sport editions.
The Jean Bugatti is powered by an 8.0-liter W-16 engine generating 1,183 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque. To stick to the numbers, the limited edition will launch from a dead stop to 100 kmh (or 62.5 mph) in a mere 2.6 seconds.
Of course, power alone doesn’t justify $3 million. So, Bugatti has upped the ante with the already exclusive Grand Sport Vitesse with such details as a platinum-coated version of the brand’s horseshoe logo, black diamond-cut wheel rims, and a jet-black, clear-coated carbon fiber body
Meanwhile, the interior picks up on the original design and color cues of the Type 57SC Atlantic, with chocolate brown used for the seats, instrument panel, steering wheel, dashboard and center console, door trim panels and windshield crossmember. That’s contrasted with light beige silk detailing, “making it the embodiment of elegance and the apex of technical engineering,” the maker boasts.
(For a first look at the 2014 Audi A3 Cabriolet from Frankfurt, Click Here.)
While the name Bugatti is well known among classic car fans, especially the maker’s founder Ettore, many might be unaware of the role played by his eldest son, Gianoberto Carlo Rembrandt Ettore Bugatti. The oldest of four siblings, and better known as Jean, he staked an increasing presence in the company, taking over in 1936 at the still tender age of 27. He lasted only three years before his accidental death, but Jean Bugatti transformed the already legendary firm with his distinctive structural and design concepts.
Calling the son, “a Bugatti legend,” Dr Wolfgang Schreiber, President of Bugatti Automobiles, noted that, “Along with his father Ettore, Jean played a critical role in shaping our brand. Jean managed to combine the artistic roots of Bugatti with his father’s innovative automotive technology, and from that developed a design which is still reflected in the brand today, finding expression in our brand values of ‘Art, Forme, Technique.’”
(Click Here to check out Volkswagen’s Golf Sportsvan debuting in Frankfurt.)
Bugatti launched the new Legends series barely a month ago at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with the unveiling of the Jean-Pierre Wimille Edition Veyron Vitesse.
These are just “trophy” models for those with too much money.