Bugatti, revived as a subsidiary of Volkswagen, said Monday it would ship its first supercar, a one million-euro automobile that has 1,001 metric horsepower throbbing behind the driver, next September. Thomas Bscher, president of Bugatti Automobiles SAS, said it would make no more than 300 of the Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron cars at the plant in Molsheim, eastern France and would only build the cars to order. The launch of the model, which trumps everything else on the road by price and acceleration, has been repeatedly delayed. The rakish car weighs nearly two tons and has a top speed of 400 kilometres per hour. Bugatti says it currently has about 50 millionaires interested. Most of those able to spare a million euros in cash plus local tax are Americans, but others live in Arab nations, China and Europe. "We won't start on a car without a firm order," said Bscher. The down-payment required will be 300,000 euros. The assembly plant was built especially for the model. The Veyron's huge 16-cylinder engine is being supplied by Volkswagen, the double-clutch transmission system designed by Volkswagen will be manufactured in Britain, and France's Michelin will provide tires. "The Veyron will never make a profit," declared Bscher Monday. But Volkswagen was determined to build it to preserve the Bugatti marque and its prestige and to demonstrate Volkswagen's technical prowess. --SP 2328 Local Time 2028 GMT
