Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Legend Jean-Pierre Wimille edition

Bugatti has announced that it will unveil a series of six special limited editions of the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, called “Les Légendes de Bugatti” (Bugatti Legends) at the Monterey Auto Week in California next month.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse “Legend” editions are released to commemorate the renowned names which have played a crucial role in its history and helped create its mystique. Each special edition Bugatti will receive special design cues from the car that made history.

In the 90th anniversary year of the 24 Heures du Mans, the first Legend is dedicated to a personality who is central to the history of motor sports and intimately linked with the Bugatti company: Jean-Pierre Wimille, who garnered two victories for Bugatti at Le Mans. The Bugatti Legend “Jean-Pierre Wimille” will make its début in the eyes of the world during Monterey Auto Week in California next month, and be on display at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering (August 16) and The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (August 18). The next 12 months will see the launch of six individual Bugatti Legends based on the Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse is officially the world’s fastest open top car, achieving a record 408,84 km/h (253 MPH) with the top down in April 2013. This is made possible by an eight-litre W16 engine delivering 894 kW (1,200hp) of power and 1,500 Nm of torque (at 3,000 – 5,000 rpm). It rockets from 0 to 100 km/h (62 MPH) in a lightening 2.6 seconds.

The first Bugatti Legend honors “Jean-Pierre Wimille” who won the 24 Hours Le Mans in 1937, driving a Bugatti 57G Tank co-piloted by Robert Benoist, and repeating the feat in 1939, this time supported by Pierre Veyron in a 57C Tank.

The blue Bugatti 57G Tank that propelled to victory in 1937  is the inspiration behind the design of the “Jean-Pierre Wimille” Bugatti Legend. During its the historic race, it appeared in the racing blue finish that habitually identified French racing cars.

Accordingly, this Vitesse now shines in blue clear-coated carbon fibre and a light Wimille Blue paintwork finish. Only three Bugatti Legend “Jean-Pierre Wimille” edition will be built.

The color scheme is continued in the supercar’s interior, as Achim Anscheidt, chief designer at Bugatti, explains: “The materials and colors selected, as well as a host of details, all reference the essential characteristics of the classic models driven by those figures to whom our edition pays homage. In each case, this care has resulted in vehicles in which the authenticity of the past is combined with the modern design, the sportive superlative and the luxurious comfort of Bugatti as an icon of the present. With these Bugatti Legends we are giving history a modern makeover.”