The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport

With each passing day it seems as though the hard truth is harder and harder to come by. So here’s a crisp jab to the heart of all automotive dissembling: He who owns the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport sits behind the wheel of the world’s fastest street legal convertible. It’s that simple. Lay down around 2 million greenbacks and another drop-top will never streak past you again. That is, unless it’s one of the other 149 Grand Sports that Bugatti has manufactured. The Ferrari 16M Scuderia Spider is a thorough bred speedster and the Mercedes Benz SLR McClaren was once the pick of the topless litter, but in 2009 the Grand Sport holds the crown.

Now we’ve all heard the grumblings about Bugatti’s single minded pursuit of asphalt eviscerating acceleration. Some claim, creating a car around the notion that speed and speed alone is king, is inherently detrimental to a more holistic vision of car design. The naysayers assert that the other qualities such as aesthetic grace or ergonomic refinement that cultivate a lasting emotional bond between car and driver are bound to suffer when blazing speed becomes a manufacturers bulls eye. We say, to hell with soft core sideline quarterbacks who are afraid to run with the big dogs. If you want a full body massage, go to the red-light district. If you want the feeling of an 8 liter, 16 cylinder 1,001 horsepower engine under your command get a Grand Sport. Who cares about cup holders when you can hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and achieve a max speed of 253 mph. And believe it or not, the Grand Sport isn’t all muscle. Bugatti offers your choice of seven different bucket seats upholstered with just about any animal known to land or sea. And the carbon fiber, aluminum and titanium that make up the car’s frame are generously reflected in its cabin’s accents.

But enough with the frills. In a world of pseudo-science and politically correct propositions let’s get back to the hard truth. The Grand Sport won’t save your soul and it certainly won’t save you money, but if you lust for supremacy of the open road Bugatti is your only option.