From autoblog.com
There are frightening bills, horrific bills, and Bugatti Veyron bills. The legendarily expensive to buy, it seems that the Veyron is equally expensive to keep running, with some pegging yearly running costs at $300,000. It's so expensive, in fact, that Autocar says there's an owner who trailers his car to a particular driving route, then follows behind in a private jet.
Let's just take the tires, for example: in the U.S., the Michelin Pilot Sport 2s fashioned with the Veyron's unique compound cost about $30,000; in the UK they're £23,500 ($38,216 U.S.). Bugatti recommends you change them every 4,000 kilometers, or 2,500 miles, and at every ten thousand miles the company recommends changing the wheels and tires, which runs north of $50,000.
In between those wheel changes will be things like routine maintenance, with a major annual service setting you back about $20,000. None of this is particularly unexpected so long as you remember the Veyron is more a roadgoing Space Shuttle than a car. And we won't even begin to talk about how expensive pelican insurance has become...
More fun facts
-The engine is hand-assembled by two technicians in Germany and makes a minimum of 987 horsepower, even at high altitude or in high temperatures. In perfect conditions its output is closer to 1050 horses.
-With 12 radiators required to cool that monstrous engine and the other systems, the Veyron carries 26 gallons in fluids, excluding fuel.
-The Veyron might do 253 mph, but it can't cover 253 miles in an hour because at that speed its 26-gallon tank will run dry after about 50 miles.
- With a tread depth of just 4 mm, the tires need to be replaced every 10,000 miles and the wheels every 30,000 miles. Total cost? Around $73,000.
- The seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox is made by Ricardo in the UK, shifts in less than 150m/s, and costs $172,000.
- The front grilles are made of titanium to withstand bird strikes at 253 mph. "At that speed, the effect could be disastrous," says an engineer. "We need them to arrive as French fries."
- The ultra-lightweight titanium bolts used to secure major components cost $85 each, and are thrown away if they are tightened or have to be removed for any reason.
- The paintwork is done by the same German company that worked on the BMW Z8 and Porsche Carrera GT, and takes two days to examine in a light tunnel.
- Only one piece of glass in 30 is deemed good enough to be fitted to the car; the rest are stored for spares and future restorations.
- For its 60,000-mile service, the Veyron must be split in half. The work can be carried out in just five locations, or a mobile workshop can be flown to your car. No Veyron has yet done more than about 30,000 miles.
And if you're too busy/just don't want to, I could always run it up there for you when the next oil change is due.
