www.QV500.com - Bugatti Veyron Part 2: The 18.4 Veyron
 
Despite the showstopping success of Ital Design's 18.3 Chiron, the first Veyron was styled by Ferdinand Piech’s good-friend, Hartmut Warkuss. Executed at VAG's in-house studio, the 18.4 Veyron debuted in late '99 at Tokyo’s Motor Show. Named Veyron in recognition of Bugatti factory driver, Pierre Veyron, who took victory at Le Mans in 1939 with a Type 57 SC, the new prototype derived many styling elements from the 18.3, particularly at the front where, despite more curvaceous front wings and large cooling vents underneath the lights, similarities were obvious.
   
Warkuss only subtly redesigned the distinctive headlights and cabin, but from the doors back, the Veyron was totally new. There were re-profiled rear wings, a tightly clipped tail with much shorter overhang and exposed aluminium engine cooling scoops peeking out behind the roof. Also new were heavily sculpted air inlets behind the doors, garish chrome wheels and distinctive two-tone bodywork in dark metallic blue with black (inspired by the 1939 Type 57S Atlantic). As with the front end treatment, Warkuss took his inspiration for the new cabin largely from the Chiron, changes including new seats, a new steering wheel and reworked transmission tunnel, two-tone leather being replaced by tan brushed suede. Revealed with the 18.4 were also the first mechanical details, Bugatti telling of full-time four-wheel drive and a normally aspirated W18 6.3-litre engine said to produce 550bhp at 6800rpm.
 
The 18.4 Veyron further enhanced Bugatti's reputation as potential supercar manufacturer par excellence. However, while VW chiefs were debating whether to put the model into limited production, engineers were beginning to experience problems with the W18 engine. Indeed, by the end of 1999, the 18-cylinder engine programme was dropped because of incurable reliability problems due to the necessity for such an oversized bore.