Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Black Bess Headed to Beijing Auto Show

Bugatti’s recently gotten into the habit of making special-edition Veyrons.  The special-edition Veyrons are a six-part series of limited-edition Veyrons offered to the public.  The one I am talking about, “Black Bess,” is installment number five in the series.

The “Black Bess” Veyron pays homage to the Bugatti Type 18 “Black Bess.”  Like the original Type 18 Black Bess, the new Veyron Black Bess is painted black with gold accents throughout the exterior.  I’ve got to say it looks pretty darn good.  Some of these gold accents, believe it or not, like the grille and rear badge, are made out of legitimate 24-karat gold!

Inside the Veyron Black Bess, it’s got beige leather seats, contrasting brown leather trim, and a red steering wheel.  All three of those are homages to the original Type 18 Black Bess.  The inspiration for the Veyron Black Bess is notable everywhere, especially on the  interior door panels, which feature hand-painted scenes of the Type 18 Black Bess in action.  Each of the six Veyron Black Bess’s will feature different artwork to ensure that no two are alike.

As for the Type 18 Black Bess, it got it’s name from it’s original owner, French aviation pioneer, Roland Garros, who named it after a British race horse of the era.  The Bugatti Type 18 was one of the original supercars.  It had a 5.0-liter inline-four-cylinder engine making around 100 horsepower.  That gave it a 100 mph top speed, and all seven Type 18’s had (or still have) an impressive racing pedigree.

The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Legends Black Bess  made it’s debut at the 2014 Beijing International Auto Show alongside the original Black Bess on April 21.