Bugatti Veyron

The Veyron is the car that created the modern hypercar template. Conceived under Ferdinand Piëch's leadership at the Volkswagen Group after VW acquired the dormant Bugatti name in 1998, the Veyron arrived in 2005 with three benchmark numbers: 1,001 horsepower, 0-60 mph in under 2.5 seconds, and a top speed beyond 250 mph. The 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and Haldex AWD became the formula every later hypercar measured itself against. The Veyron 16.4 was followed by the Grand Sport (open-top, 2009), the Super Sport (1,200 hp, 267 mph, 2010), and the Grand Sport Vitesse (Super Sport + targa, 2012). The Super Sport set a Guinness top-speed record of 267.86 mph in 2010 that stood for years. Production ran 2005-2015 across all variants, totalling 450 cars worldwide. Original prices started around $1.7 million, with the Super Sport at $2.4 million. Now firmly in collector territory — values have appreciated for clean low-mile examples and special editions.