The Super Sport version of the Veyron is one of the fastest street-legal production cars in the world, with a top speed of 431.072 km/h (267.856 mph).

[7] The Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse was the fastest roadster in the world, reaching an averaged top speed of 408.84 km/h (254.04 mph) in a test on 6 April 2013.

In December 2010, Bugatti began offering prospective buyers the ability to customise exterior and interior colours by using the Veyron 16.4 Configurator application on the marque's official website.

To succeed the EB 110 model produced under the previous ownership, the automaker quickly released a series of concept cars whose technological advancements would culminate in the form of the Veyron 16.4.

Between October 1998 and September 1999, Bugatti introduced a series of Giugiaro-designed concept vehicles, each with permanent four-wheel drive and powered by the Volkswagen-designed W18 engine.

The transmission is a dual-clutch direct-shift computer-controlled automatic transmission having seven gear ratios, with magnesium paddles behind the steering wheel and a shift time of less than 150 milliseconds, built by Ricardo of England rather than Borg-Warner, who designed the six speed DSG used in the mainstream Volkswagen Group marques.

It uses special Michelin PAX run-flat tyres, designed specifically to accommodate the Veyron's top speed, and cost US$25,000 per set.

The Bugatti Veyron has a total of ten radiators:[23] It has a drag coefficient of Cd=0.41 (normal condition) and Cd=0.36 (after lowering to the ground),[24] and a frontal area of 2.07 m2 (22.3 sq ft).

According to Volkswagen Group and certified by TÜV Süddeutschland, the W16 engine utilised by the Veyron has a power output of 736 kW (987 hp; 1,001 PS), and generates 1,250 N⋅m (922 lbf⋅ft) of torque.

[6] May noted that at top speed the engine consumes 45,000 L (9,900 imp gal) of air per minute (as much as a human breathes in four days).

At speeds above 200 km/h (124 mph), the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, snapping to a 55° angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are applied, providing an additional 0.68 g (6.66 m/s2) of deceleration (equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback).

[23] Bugatti claims the Veyron will brake from 400 km/h (249 mph) to a standstill in less than 10 seconds, though distance covered in this time will be half a kilometre (third of a mile).

[38][39] It has extensive reinforcements to compensate for the lack of a standard roof[40] and small changes to the windshield and running lights.

[52] The model was unveiled in 2010 at The Quail, followed by the 2010 Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca, and the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Later that day, Bugatti's official test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel drove the Super Sport version of the Veyron at the same track to establish the car's top speed.

With representatives of the Guinness Book of Records and German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) on hand, Raphanel made passes around the big oval in both directions achieving an average maximum speed of 431.072 km/h (267.856 mph), thus taking back the title from the SSC Ultimate Aero TT as the fastest production vehicle of all time.

Yet, after a query by the Sunday Times Guinness' PR director Jaime Strang was quoted on 5 April 2013: "As the car's speed limiter was deactivated, this modification was against the official guidelines.

Having evaluated all the necessary information, Guinness World Records is now satisfied that a change to the speed limiter does not alter the fundamental design of the car or its engine.

[77] All six models in the Legend series are limited to three vehicles:[78] A Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse driven by the Chinese racing driver Anthony Liu at Volkswagen Group's proving grounds in Ehra-Lessien became the fastest open-top production sports car, with a top speed of 408.84 km/h (254.04 mph).

[64] After the world record attempt, Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber, President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S, said "When we introduced the Vitesse, we established the top speed for open-top driving to be 375 km/h.

The fact that we have succeeded in reaching 408.84 km/h is a thrill for me, and it reaffirms once again that Bugatti is the leader when it comes to technology in the international automotive industry."

The D'oro's exterior design is identical to its predecessor's but it has a few differences such as the gold paint on the badge, rims and other features.

This car's exterior design features the iconic V-shaped front grille and an additional exhaust system below its rear lights.

[112] The successor to the Veyron was unveiled in concept form as the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo at the September 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.

A toned-down version of the radically styled Vision Gran Turismo concept car, now called the Chiron, debuted at the March 2016 Geneva Motor Show.

Clarkson test drove the Veyron from Alba in northern Italy to London in a race against May and Richard Hammond who made the journey in a Cessna 182 aeroplane.

Clarkson commented, "It was a car that just rewrote the rule book really, an amazing piece of engineering, a genuine Concorde moment".

In 2010 the Super Sport version achieved the fastest ever time of 1:16.8 (dethroned the Gumpert Apollo S, replaced by the Ariel Atom V8 in 2011),[120] as well as being taken to a verified average top speed of 431 km/h (268 mph) by Raphanel on the programme,[121] thenceforth retaking its position as the fastest production car in the world.

The book follows its author as he attempts to track down and drive the car, along the way interviewing chief designers, test drivers, and the president of Bugatti.

During its development period McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray said in UK auto magazine Evo: "The most pointless exercise on the planet has got to be this four-wheel-drive, thousand-horsepower Bugatti."