by Brad Anderson
- Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang is one of five units ever built worldwide.
- This specific car covered just 4,740 miles despite being 17 years old.
- One of five ever built, it was auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s for $2.3M.
Every Bugatti Veyron is, by definition, special, but one of the most recognizable versions of the record-breaking hypercar headed to auction this weekend. The model in question is the Veyron 16.4 Pur Sang, a five-unit limited run that reimagined what an exotic car could look like without relying on paint or ornament.
The exterior finish of the Pur Sang makes it stand out from your normal, run-of-the-mill Veyron (if there’s such a thing). Rather than having painted surfaces, most of its body panels are mirror-polished aluminum, including much of the front end, the sides, the doors, and the rear quarter panels.
The parts that aren’t polished aluminum, areas like the center of the hood, the roof, and the rear end, have an exposed carbon fiber finish.
Read: This Is The Most Expensive Bugatti Veyron Ever Made
While Bugatti didn’t aim to make the Pur Sang faster than the standard Veyron, the exposed exterior materials are said to have shaved 90 kg (198 pounds) off its weight, potentially having a tiny impact on its performance.
Like every 16.4 model, it carries the formidable 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W16 engine producing 986 horsepower. The numbers remain staggering even today: 0–62 mph (100 km/h) in roughly 2.5 seconds, and a top speed that touches 253 mph (407 km/h).
Production of the Pur Sang stopped at just five examples, all spoken for almost immediately. The car now under the hammer is chassis number one, originally delivered to Germany, where it remained until 2010. It later moved to a Swiss collector before changing hands again in 2018 and returning to Germany.
Seventeen years on, it has covered only 7,629 kilometers (4,740 miles) and remains in immaculate condition, the kind of car that looks as if time forgot it.
RM Sotheby’s expected the Pur Sang to sell for between $2.1 million and $2.55 million. When the hammer fell, the final price landed at €1,973,750, or about $2,301,298 at current exchange rates.
That’s a remarkable figure, and a reminder that for some collectors, beauty and rarity still speak louder than outright speed.
