The penultimate edition in a series of six special edition Bugatti Veyrons honoring the most important people and cars that have shaped Bugatti’s history has been revealed ahead of a scheduled debut at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show on April 20. Part of the Les Légendes de Bugatti (Bugatti Legends) series, this fifth car is reminiscent of the famed Bugatti Type 18 affectionately known as Black Bess, which at one point was the fastest road car in the world.

The Type 18, built between 1912 and 1914, was one of the most important Bugattis of the pre-war era. It was powered by a 5.0-liter four-cylinder engine that delivered close to 100 horsepower, which was enough to see it reach a top speed of 100 mph–a speed previously reached only on race tracks. This makes the Type 18 a legitimate forerunner for the Veyron, and is thus regarded as a Bugatti Legend.

The Type 18 known as Black Bess is one of three Type 18s still in existence. Only seven were built in total. The car was named after an English racehorse and is currently owned by Evert Louwman, who has it displayed at the Louwman Museum at The Hague in the Netherlands. He has allowed Bugatti to show the car in Beijing next week alongside the modern Bugatti Legend Black Bess Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse.

The exterior of the modern version features a carbon fiber exterior, painted black but with 24-carat gold accents. Inside, the car features leather trim on most surfaces, with a mixture of Beige and Havanna tones used. The steering wheel, in red, draws a clear reference to the historic Type 18 Black Bess. This accent has also been picked up and continued in the red decorative stitching on the outer bolsters of the seats and in the seat belts.

As with all of the Bugatti Legends, no changes have been made to the mechanicals of the special Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, which means peak output from the car’s quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W-16 remains at 1,184 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque. Top speed is limited to 233 mph, though we know the car is capable of hitting 254 mph–with its top down. The 0-62 mph run takes 2.6 seconds.

Three Bugatti Legend Black Bess Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse supercars will be built, each priced at 2.15 million euros (approximately $2.98 million). Considering all of the previous Bugatti Legends have been sold, we suspect this one won’t last long.

You can read about the previous cars in the links below:

Bugatti Rolls Out First Of Six Legend Edition Veyrons At Pebble Beach

Jean Bugatti Honored With New ‘Legend’ Veyron Special Edition

New Bugatti ‘Legend’ Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Debuts In Dubai

Bugatti’s Latest Legend Edition Veyron Honors Bugatti Founder’s Brother Rembrandt

via Motor Authority

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