Bugatti Restores Veyron Prototype That Helped Set Speed Record

Bugatti keeps finding ways to make money off the Veyron even though production ended more than a decade ago. In the process, it’s technically making the record-breaking W16 supercar less exclusive. Allow us to explain. This Super Sport World Record Car Edition isn’t one of the five customer cars sold back in the day. It’s technically a sixth vehicle, one with an interesting background.

It started life as a pre-production prototype before ending up in private hands. Now, Bugatti has completely restored the test car and given it the full Super Sport World Record Car Edition treatment, with a black-and-orange look and exposed carbon fiber. This pre-series 2.1 prototype has racked up more than 70,800 kilometers (43,993 miles), which must be some kind of record for a Veyron.

While not the prototype that broke the production-car speed record in 2010, Bugatti says this Veyron paved the way for the 267.8 mph (431 km/h) run with Pierre‑Henri Raphanel behind the wheel. It’s worth noting that the five production cars that honored the record were electronically capped at 258 mph (415 km/h) to protect the tires.

This Veyron was more than just a development prototype, as it also served marketing purposes. Bugatti showed it to the media and prospective buyers during a world tour that involved photoshoots and other activities to spread the word about the era-defining Super Sport. Now the workhorse is privately owned, following a six-month restoration to make it look as good as new.

In fact, it’s even better than the original. Bugatti swapped out some of the pre-series bits and pieces for production-spec components. The quad-turbo, 8.0-liter W16 remains original, as does the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission tasked with sending 1,183 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet (1,500 Newton-meters) of torque to all four wheels.

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Source: Bugatti

Motor1’s Take: Since this Veyron isn’t part of the 450-unit production run of customer cars, it means Bugatti’s original supercar from the Volkswagen Group era is slightly less exclusive. That obviously won’t matter to someone with the means to buy what remains an extremely rare car.

Having the opportunity to own a prototype that helped make history doesn’t happen very often, and while the car’s price tag hasn’t been disclosed, we imagine it was astronomical. In some ways, this example is even more special than the five customer cars that followed, and its future value will likely reflect its unique status in the Veyron lineage.