Almost every manufacturer has produced a car that could be labeled as a “halo” model. These cars are designed to push the boundaries and entice mere mortals like you and me into their showrooms. We may not have the money to buy one of these cars, but the dealer will then have a golden opportunity to sell us a car that is more in keeping with our modest wealth. When the Volkswagen Group secured the rights to the legendary Bugatti name, they saw this as the perfect opportunity to showcase their engineering prowess by designing, building, and selling the fastest and most powerful production car that the world had ever seen. The result was the Bugatti Veyron, a car that completely rewrote the rulebook on vehicle engineering. This 2008 Veyron is looking for a new home, which is why the owner has listed it for sale here on eBay. It is located in Riverton, Utah, and it has already received an astounding 253 bids. This has pushed the price to $1,349,999, but the reserve hasn’t been met. There is a BIN option of $1,350,000, which makes me wonder why none of these interested bidders hasn’t hit the BIN button for the extra buck!

It’s hard to know where to start with the Bugatti, so let’s acknowledge the fact that the owner has applied a wrap to the car. I can’t say that I’m thrilled by the concept of purple satin, but I guess that if you can afford to own a car like this, you can afford to tailor it to suit your “unique” taste. When you look beyond the wrap, the Veyron appears to be in excellent condition. There are no signs of abuse or neglect and no evidence of previous accident damage. The massive rear spoiler appears to operate correctly, while the glass is in excellent order. The owner has fitted white Anarchy wheels, but the originals are included. The tires seem to have plenty of life left in them. This is an important consideration because the Michelin tires that the vehicle wears were designed specifically for the Bugatti. Replacing them will cost the owner around $25,000 per set, which ain’t exactly cheap!

This photo allows us to see what is hiding below the wrap. Even this combination of Light Blue Metallic and Black is not off the Veyron color chart, which signifies that the original owner utilized the company’s bespoke program to create a unique appearance. This isn’t unusual, and most buyers chose this route when ordering their new Veyron. Bugatti once claimed that thanks to their system, there are actually no two Veyrons in existence that are the same. That makes every car a genuine 1-of-1. Looking at what is hiding below the wrap, the news seems pretty positive. There is no evidence of any damage that would indicate neglect. The paint shines beautifully, while the trim is in excellent condition. It is the attention to detail that helps the Veyron to rise above mere mortals. During its development, the grille was constructed of aluminum. A prototype was on the test track one day when it struck a bird. Unfortunately for our feathered friend, the Veyron was ticking along at 205mph when the collision occurred. It is no surprise that the bird didn’t survive, but nor did the aluminum grille. The company instantly decided to swap from aluminum to titanium, ensuring that the same fate couldn’t befall a production example.

The Veyron’s exterior might be unusual, but it cloaks a drivetrain that rewrites the rule book. When Volkswagen set out to create the vehicle, the only requirement they had set in stone was that it had to be powered by an engine that produced at least 1,000hp. Early attempts failed to meet expectations, but eventually, the company struck gold. Powering the Bugatti is an engine that is known as the “16.4.” The first number refers to the number of cylinders, with the engine being a W16 with a capacity of 7,993cc. The second number refers to the fact that the motor wears four turbochargers to help it to achieve its official power output of 1,001hp. It was all well and good that Bugatti had reached their magic number, but it came at a cost. Early engines tended to melt under the loads imposed upon them, so to prevent the Veyron from going all Chernobyl, it is outfitted with no less than ten radiators. Getting all of that power to the road was the next step in the battle, so a 7-speed double-clutch transmission feeds all of those horses to the tarmac via a sophisticated 4-wheel-drive system. The figures speak for themselves. The Veyron can accelerate from 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds. Getting to 120mph takes 7.4 seconds, while a mere 18.4 seconds will elapse when accelerating from 0-180mph. The trip down the ¼ mile will take 10 seconds, while a brave driver should be able to coax it all the way to 253mph. This really was the king of the kids in 2008. I can remember a Bugatti engineer stating that if you were to drive the Veyron at maximum speed for more than 25 minutes, the unique Michelin tires could be prone to failure due to heat build-up. However, since you would run the fuel tank dry in under 20 minutes, it wasn’t a huge concern! This Veyron has 23,000 miles on the clock, and the owner treated it to its annual service in October of 2020. He holds receipts for more than $30,000 worth of work that has been performed, and it seems that the vehicle is ready to be driven and enjoyed.

The Veyron’s interior presents well, but there is one area of wear that is worth noting. The seats are upholstered in leather, and the outer bolster on the driver’s seat shows some significant wear. This isn’t surprising because getting in and out of these cars is akin to being an Olympic gymnast. The maneuver causes occupants to slide across the bolster, and this wear is an unfortunate consequence. Beyond that, the interior is in excellent condition. There is no other wear that is worth noting and no deterioration in any of the plastic. Equipment levels are all that you might expect in a car that commands a seven-figure sale price. There are a couple of airbags, air conditioning, power windows, keyless power locks, a leather-wrapped wheel that adjusts for tilt and reach, a stereo with a single CD and Bluetooth connectivity, Satnav, and heated seats. If you’re going to be traveling at warp speed, you might as well do it in comfort.

If this 2008 Bugatti Veyron is 100% above board, it could make a sound financial investment. I am dubious about some of the bids that have been submitted, but I’ll let our readers look at the listing and pass their own judgment on that. When this Veyron rolled off the showroom floor in 2008, it would have cost its original owner $1,500,000. Today, it is pretty common for them to command prices of $1,800,000 or more. The car pushed the boundaries when it was new, and even though there are now production cars that can trump it in both acceleration and top speed, there’s still a certain amount of cachet attached to owning a car that was a total revolution. I don’t see values dropping in the foreseeable future, so if you do happen to have a spare $1.3 million kicking around, maybe this is the car for you.