Bugatti Needs Scary Fast Veyrons to Fly Off Lot: Review - Bloomberg
Volkswagen AG has a peculiar problem: It needs to unload some 62.5 million euros ($84.9 million) of Bugatti Veyron supercars. Soon, preferably.
Bugatti started selling its only model, the Veyron 16.4, back in 2006. It limited the number of coupes made to 300. It later added two convertible variants, the Grand Sport and Grand Sport Vitesse, and capped those at 150.
The coupes sold out in 2011. But about 40 convertibles remain unsold, with prices of 1.435 million euros for the Grand Sport and 1.69 million euros for the Vitesse. (The Vitesse is more powerful, and sales are generally evenly divided between the models.) The company won’t move forward with a brand new automobile until all have sold out, executives say.
Import taxes, transportation and custom options are extra. And the cars generally are not built until ordered. In the case of the Vitesse, how does one move a $2.3 million to $3 million car out the door, anyhow. You bring the car to the customer. The company has put together four regional events around the U.S. this year, offering test-drives of the 1,200-horsepower Vitesse convertible, both on open roads and a closed airport runway.
“The Dynamic Drive Experience is attracting individuals who haven’t been exposed to our brand before, other than possibly reading about it,” said John Hill, sales director for the Americas. “We bring the car to a location near them.”
Hill said the program is being offered to 20 to 25 prospects per weekend of the program.
