Bugatti reveals fifth Vitesse Bugatti Legend

Bugatti has released the fifth of the six BugattiBugattiFrance, 1909 > present41 models
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Legend cars. The most recent special edition celebrates the legendary Type 18 “Black Bess”, which went down in automotive history as one of the first ever street legal super sports cars. The Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse “Black Bess”Bugatti Veyron Grand Spor...Germany, 2014 > present will debut at this month's Beijing Motor Show and as with all models in the Edition, the current Legends model is limited to a run of three vehicles and is available for a net price of € 2.15 million.

Built during the pre-war era, the Bugatti Type 18Bugatti Type 18 GarrosFrance, 1912 > present2 photos
became at the time one of the brand's most important cars. Its 5.0 four straight-cylinder engine was capable of producing over 100 PS and reaching a 160km/h top speed, a major achievement back in 1912.

The car was driven in races by company founder Ettore Bugatti himself, but other famous French personalities owned one of just seven vehicles. One of customers of an extremely select group was the famed and celebrated French aviation pioneer Roland Garros.

“Over the course of its history, Bugatti has not only been responsible for crafting enormously successful race cars, but has also created some outstanding road vehicles,” said Wolfgang Schreiber, President of Bugatti. “As the fastest road vehicle of its time, the Type 18 was in a class of its own. It truly is the legitimate forerunner for the Veyron, and is therefore a Bugatti Legend.”

Bugatti delivered the two-seater bearing the vehicle identification number 474 to Garros on 18 September 1913. This Type 18, later named after the English racehorse “Black Bess”, is one of only three of the seven vehicles still remaining.

Just like the other Bugatti Legends the “Black Bess” is based on the 1200PS Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport VitesseBugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand...Germany, 2012 > present18 photos
. Thanks to its 8 litre W16 engine it can accelerate from 0–100 km in 2.6 seconds.

Design

The body of the “Black Bess” Vitesse is constructed entirely of carbon fibre and is painted completely black like the original car. To match the gold-coloured accents of the Type 18 “Black Bess” some of the special edition body components have been coated in 24-carat gold. It has been used on the frame of Bugatti's horseshoe, which contrasts with the background of the black front grille. This is reinforced by gold-coloured stripes that start below the headlights and radiate out over the front wings towards the rear, fading until the end of the door line.
 
The EB logo on the rear of the vehicle also features a similarly brilliant gold finish, as well as the hub covers on the black rims, which also bear the initials of the company’s founder, Ettore Bugatti, in black. The tank and oil caps have been engraved with the “Black Bess” nameplate and finished with gold paint.

Inside the “Black Bess” Legend Vitesse has been upholstered using exclusive leather. The headliner, footwell, seats, centre console and rear bulkhead are covered in a light “Beige” tone, with the dashboard, dash panel, door trim panel and cowl panel contrasting in ”Havanna” brown. The red “Crimson” leather steering wheel rim draws a clear reference to the historic Type 18 “Black Bess”. This accent was also used in the red decorative stitching on the outer bolsters of the seats and in the seat belts.

“The ’Black Bess’ Legend Vitesse is yet another fine example of Bugatti’s innovative power when it comes to creating exclusive automobiles,” explained Bugatti Head Designer, Achim Anscheidt. “We have developed a new process for individually hand-painting the leather in the vehicle’s interior, the like of which has never been used before in the automotive industry.”