There are a lot of big birthdays in the car industry this year, and the Citroen 2CV joins GM and Land Rover in the candle-blowing crowd. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the deux-say-vay, Hermes created a special version of a 1989 Citroen 2CV6 Special for the Paris Auto Show. If you saw the Bugatti Veryon by Hermes you know what to expect, with hand-stitched swathes of Hermes trademark gray-beige leather contrasted with white on the front and rear benches. Of course the Hermes treatment is worth as much as the car itself, but anything the 2CV lacks in luxury is more than made up for by character.
You might remember the original Parmigiani Fleurier Bugatti Type 370 from our original Top 10 list of car watches. The splendidly complex (and fittingly expensive) timepiece features a unique sideways-mounted manual barrel movement that displays the time on the side so as to obviate the necessity for the driver to – heaven forbid – remove his hand from the wheel to see the time. In honor of the Veyron Fbg par Hermes, only twenty of these new Faubourg editions – so named for Hermes' famous headquarters in Paris – will be offered in either brushed white gold with dark brown dial and strap or rose gold with light brown, to match the car's original colors. While it may seem like a ridiculous luxury for the rest of us, this epitome of the "if you have to ask" mantra will surely be a must-have for owners of the Veyron Fbg.
We know what you're thinking, because we're in the same lamentable position ourselves: you'd totally order up that uber-exclusive Hermes edition Veyron, but you're not a big fan of the brown and tan paint scheme. Fortunately Bugatti has heard your cries, brother, and announced the availability of new color options for the Veyron Fbg. The announcement actually came from Monterey but was quickly overshadowed, somewhat ironically, by the unveiling of the open-top Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport and the subsequent auction of its first example for $3.2 million. The unveiling of the new-tint Hermes Veyrons took place at the Quail motorsport gathering on Monterey Peninsula, where Bugatti revealed the four new color schemes available: "indigo blue and vermilion", "indigo blue and lime green", " black and garance red" and "Prussian blue and blue jean". We're not entirely sure what all these colors are, exactly, and given that Bugatti put them in quotation marks, we're not sure they're sure, either. They undoubtedly would have shown us pictures of all four, but given that these 1.5 million euro hyper-exotics are made to order and available only from the end of the year, we doubt examples of each color option have been made yet. Of course they all come decked out with the H-pattern grille, eight-spoke wheels, lavish calfskin interior and exclusive package of specially-made Hermes luggage.
The big question for Bugatti is: What comes after the Veyron? Seriously, there isn't much that could top the 1,000-or-so horsepower, quad-turbo, 16-cylinder engine that's carried around in the back of the most gorgeous body ever with an equally exquisite interior. How about a revised model with 1,200-horsepower and 1,106 lb-ft of torque? Yeah, that'd do nicely. Rumors indicate that an über-Veyron could make an appearance at the very end of this current generation's production. Despite consistent rumors of the firm's eventual demise after that, head-honcho Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen says that another supercar and possibly an ultra-lux saloon (four-door to all you poor people) could be in the cards for 2012. In an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions, alternative-fuel powerplants will also be on the drawing board. We know that parent-company VW has plenty of worthy powerplants in its parts bin, and the idea of giant torque funneled through an all-wheel drive system has us saving our millions already.
"Even in times of recession, people still want to have something of great quality." This is the idea behind the Fbg by Hermes edition of the Bugatti Veyron. So rest assured that while you and I are watching our assets plummet, somewhere out there, there is someone with enough surplus income to spend on an even more expensive version of the world's most expensive supercar. We brought you news and images of the special-edition Veyron from the floor of the Geneva Motor Show where it was unveiled, and were left wondering if the idea of the empire was really dead. In the video after the jump, the Wall Street Journal seek to understand – and more than that, explain – the justification for such an outlandish expenditure.
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Congratulations, and a toast with a pair of champagne glasses, to Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. for selling 220 of their ultra-exotic Veyron 16.4 models. With 132 examples sitting safely in customer garages worldwide (except for this one...doh!), and 88 more on firm order, Bugatti is moving closer to the end of its reported 300-car production run.
We told you last year that demand has been strong for the 16-cylinder quad-turbo model. With deposits on the $1.4 million cars quickly pushing the waiting list to over a year, Bugatti increased production last July to bring the wait to under twelve months. Simply being otherworldly drivers isn't necessarily enough, either. With customers showing more interest in "special" cars, the factory is authorizing an "individualisation programme" to meet those requests. These days, if the "standard" Bugatti just doesn't do it for you, there is always the Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang with its polished aluminum body and unpainted carbon fiber. Not plush enough? Then try the opulent Bugatti Veyron Fbg Hermes for some exclusivity. Or, maybe you'd prefer the Bugatti Pegaso Edition instead?
Regardless of which Veyron floats your boat, if you're considering adding yourself to the lucky list of 220, do yourself a favor and check out the Bugatti online configurator before you march into one of the 32 sales locations around the world. Their available 'exterior color' palette is quite overwhelming, so you may want to take a few minutes to mull over it before you commit.
The press release says "This car's greatest strength is its ability to make you feel like a child again (a somewhat boisterous child, admittedly)." We can't agree enough. Who among us doesn't have childhood tales of doing 200-plus in our €1.55 million toys? This blogger used to do it all the time -- no, really, all the time, 'cause I was really boisterous -- and I am sure I'm not alone. Hyperbole aside, it's a Bugatti, and that makes it exquisite. And frankly, even if you aren't a fan of Hermes, they do amazing work, which, incredibly, makes the Bug even more exquisite. The "H"-logoed wheels and the fitted bag are spot on. The Hermes engraved fuel filler door could be over the top, but one loses any sense of O.T.T. after flying by the $2 million mark. But hey, if we're all feeling like kids again, maybe I can get them to take 1.55 million mud pies instead of euros.
We told you about the Bugatti Hermès Veyron two weeks ago. At the time, it appeared the uber-special Veyron would just have an ultra high-end interior package. Now, with the first pre-Geneva peek of a Bugatti Hermès Veyron, we are learning the exterior may get some special touches, as well. Although the car in the picture is almost entirely hidden by a blue fabric car cover, two new vertical slats appear flanking each side of the grill, which obviously imply other elements of the Veyron's visage will also change. Are these the only exterior "upgrades" to the million-dollar-plus Bugatti Hermès Veyron? We'll let you know when we see it in Geneva next week. Until then, hit up the source below to see the car covered in full.
When a vehicle costs $1.4m, can go 253 mph and has a lifetime production run of only 300 vehicles, it's a very special ride. How, then, do you up the ante to make the vehicle even more amazing? When you're talking about the Bugatti Veyron, more power than the stock 1,001 hp just isn't the answer, so the super-upscale automaker is looking to pile on even more luxury on the inside. Bugatti is tapping into its history to once again team up with Hermès on a ultra high-end interior package. Hermès, which became famous for its leather saddles in the 1800s, switched over to cars and planes early in the 20th century, and the company supplied materials for Bugatti in the '20s.
Bugatti is set to unveil the Hermès Veyron at the 2008 Geneva show, and we'll be there to snap pictures of the absurdly rare supercar right from the show floor.The Hermès Veyron will likely have a production run similar to that of the Pur Sang, which included all of five units, and sold out in less than one day. One would think that for $1.4m you would get the top of the line interior, but it looks like the richest and luckiest of society's elite will get their hands on this exclusive four-wheeled beast.
