2008 Bugatti Veyron on 2040-cars

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Average Bugatti owner has 84 cars, 3 jets, 1 yacht

Between Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti, the Volkswagen Group has no lack of prestige marques under its umbrella. And while some of these marques may produce models that compete against each other, each seems to be profitable enough in its own right to justify its existence. But what about Bentley and Bugatti? Surely these marques cater to the same customers, right?
Not according to their shared CEO. "The clientele between Bentley and Bugatti is remarkably different," said Wolfgang Dürheimer in an interview with Bloomberg. "The Bentley customer on average owns 8 cars. The average Bugatti customer has about 84 cars, 3 jets and 1 yacht."
That may be a slight exaggeration (we'd have expected three yachts and one jet), but it puts things into perspective: Bentleys are for the one percent. Bugattis are for the one percent of that one percent. Which only goes to show why it's taken Bugatti over eight years to sell 450 Veyrons - a number of units it would take Bentley about two weeks to move, albeit at about one tenth the price.

Audi CEO's Dieselgate arrest threatens fragile truce among VW stakeholders

FRANKFURT — The arrest and detention of Audi's chief executive forces Volkswagen Group's competing stakeholders to renegotiate the delicate balance of power that has helped keep Audi CEO Rupert Stadler in office. Volkswagen's directors are discussing how to run Audi, its most profitable division, following the arrest of the brand's long-time boss on Monday as part of Germany's investigations into the carmaker's emissions cheating scandal. The supervisory board of Audi, meanwhile, has suspended Stadler and appointed Dutchman Bram Schot as an interim replacement, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Schot joined the Volkswagen Group in 2011 after having worked as president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Italia. He has been Audi's board member for sales and marketing since last September. The discussions risk reigniting tensions among VW's controlling Piech and Porsche families, its powerful labor representatives and its home region of Lower Saxony. VW has insisted the development of illegal software, also known as "defeat devices," installed in millions of cars was the work of low-level employees, and that no management board members were involved. U.S. prosecutors have challenged this by indicting VW's former chief executive Martin Winterkorn. Stadler's arrest raises further questions. Audi and VW said on Monday that Stadler was presumed innocent unless proved otherwise. Munich prosecutors detained Stadler to prevent him from obstructing a probe into Audi's emissions cheating, they said on Monday. Stadler is being investigated for suspected fraud and false advertising. Here are the main factors deciding the fate of Audi. Background: Audi's role in Dieselgate Volkswagen Group was plunged into crisis in 2015 after U.S. regulators found Europe's biggest carmaker had equipped cars with software to cheat emissions tests on diesel engines. The technique of using software to detect a pollution test procedure, and to increase the effectiveness of emissions filters to mask pollution levels only during tests, was first developed at Audi. "In designing the defeat device, VW engineers borrowed the original concept of the dual-mode, emissions cycle-beating software from Audi," VW said in its plea agreement with U.S. authorities in January 2017, in which the company agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine to reach a settlement with U.S. regulators.

Bugatti has sold all nine of its Legend edition Veyrons

You may have balked at the release of each of Bugatti's Legend edition Veyrons and dismissed them as simple a way for the Alsatian marque to sell the last 50 cars it needs to move before it can put the series to rest. But what you can't argue with is the fact that it's working, because Bugatti has sold every last one of them.
The "Legendes de Bugatti" series launched, as you may recall, with the Jean-Pierre Wimille edition (pictured above and in the updated image gallery) at Pebble Beach this past August. The Jean Bugatti edition followed at the Frankfurt show, and the Meo Costantini edition debuted in Dubai. Each one is based on the Vitesse roadster and comes with a special paint scheme and interior palette created in tribute to a legendary driver from the marque's hey day in pre-war grand prix racing. Each of the three limited runs is limited to three examples, each of which, Bugatti has confirmed, has sold for around 2.2 million euros - equivalent to approximately $3 million at present exchange rates. And here we thought the million-dollar asking price for the original Veyron was a lot.
Before all is said and done, there will be three more of these special series - nine more examples - for a total of eighteen vehicles. Bugatti is set to unveil the fourth version next week in Geneva, anticipated to pay tribute to pioneering female driver Elisabeth Junek. We're still expecting Ettore's son Rembrandt Bugatti to be the subject of another one, leaving the sixth up in the air. Whoever those remaining examples honor, however, you can bet Bugatti will sell them all, which will only bring it closer to selling those last few Veyrons and moving on to its successor, whatever form it may take.