2012 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport

Sold for $2,310,000 at 2015 RM Sotheby's : Monterey.
It would be an emotional and rather startling scene. There, displayed side-by-side would be two examples of Bugatti's monumental Veyron. They looked almost identical, with just the slightest of differences, and yet, between them there was more than six years of time passage. It was the Geneva Auto Show, 2015, and it was the end of the Veyron. How time did fly.

The two Veyrons on the stage at the Geneva Auto Show would be, arguably, the most important examples of the extraordinary supercar. In total, Bugatti would build 450 examples of the Veyron. The largest number of those built would be the coupe and just 300 of those would ever be created. There, on that stage in Switzerland would be chassis 001, the first, and, chassis 300, the last; this very chassis.

There is the wise saying, 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it.' It would be very wrong then to try and 'fix' the Veyron when it already works so well. However, that doesn't necessarily mean there is no room for improvement. Bugatti would understand this and would set about to do just that. This seemed nearly impossible given the Veyron's reputation already, but oh, Bugatti had an idea.

To further increase the already mind-boggling performance of the car, those at Bugatti would set about lightening the elegant beast by some 100 pounds. Combined with the increased engine performance, the Veyron 'Super Sport', as it would become known, would be able to reach an electronically-controlled top speed of 258mph. That kind of speed meant just ten minutes of running before the fuel ran out and just fifteen minutes until the Michelin Super Sport tires ripped apart. But oh, what fun those few minutes would hold.

Produced in 2012, chassis 300 would be special in more than the usual Bugatti Veyron ways. Most importantly, destined for an owner in the United States, this Super Sport would be one of just eight produced specifically for the United States.

Delivered to its first owner after 269 miles of thorough testing had been completed, chassis 300 has just 308 total miles accumulated as of the time of this writing. Because of the mere 39 miles the car has racked up since being delivered to its original owner, the car retains its ultra rare form being practically brand new to this very day.

Regularly maintained by Braman Bugatti based in Miami, this Super Sport remains ever ready to push the boundaries of its electronically-controlled limits. Seeing that it is the final coupe ever to be produced, the car retains that beautiful tension between museum piece and flat-out rocket-ship.

Along with chassis 001, the 2012 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, chassis 300, would bookend an already incredible lineup for RM Sotheby's 2015 Monterey auction.

By Jeremy McMullen