Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Gets a Rubdown

The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is the definition of automotive exclusivity. Just 46 examples of the 268-mph-capable Super Sport were built, and only two have made it to our shores, including the Carbon Blue 1200-hp rocket you see here. While all Veyrons have officially been sold, this pre-production example -- which has seen 2000 miles at the hands of ham-fisted journalists -- will be put up for sale to a qualified buyer soon. (Wonder if they're going to mention the ham-fisted journalists?)

So how does Bugatti prepare a $3 million hypercar for sale? By detailing it at Meguiar's Irvine, California, headquarters, and we were invited along to watch the process.

When we arrived on a sunny hump day at Meguiar's HQ, the über Veyron was being washed with nothing more than de-ionized water and Meguiar's car wash soap. We were a bit skeptical - its staggeringly priced, $400,000 Carbon Blue livery looked great already. How could it look any better? Hard work seemed to be the answer. Meguiar's had a team of four working four hours straight cleaning and detailing the car before turning it back over to Bugatti later that afternoon. According to Meguiar's, the company uses a five-step process on every car, even one that has a carbon-fiber finish and costs more than a five-bedroom house.

The first step is simple. Meguiar's calls it washing (gee, wonder how they came up with that one). The car is washed and then dried with microfiber towels to remove dirt, bugs, and road grime. In this case, the Veyron was washed with de-ionized water (to prevent mineral spotting) and Meguiar's branded soap. (If you're washing at home and can't find de-ionized water, distilled water should achieve the same results.) Meguiar's says it's important to use specialized car wash soap instead of, say, dishwashing soap, which is designed to strip grease. On a car, it'll strip down the wax layer on the finish - not something you want to do.

The next step is what Meguiar's calls paint cleaning, which consists of claying the surface of the car to remove grime that's bonded to the clear coat. It also helps clear up slight defects below the paint surface, such as minor scratches from keys.

See All 6 Photos6

The third step is polishing. Meguiar's uses a specialized electric buffer called the G110V2 dual-action polisher. From the looks of it, the dual-action polisher is essentially just a fancy buffer specialized for detailing duty. The polisher has an orbital action unit that spins a specialized disc to help cut down on paint swirling. It's also equipped with a variety of different microfiber pads that apply what Meguiar's calls a correction compound in order to complete this step. Meguiar's says the pads are delicate enough that it wasn't worried about burning through the Bugatti's clear coat and into the carbon fiber.

Step four is protecting - essentially, waxing the car. In the Veyron Super Sport's case, they gave it two coats of wax, both using the Dual-Action Polisher to apply to the finish. The first coat of wax was applied using a microfiber finishing disc on the polisher. The wax used in conjunction with the microfiber disc is called Meguiar's Finishing Wax. The Finishing Wax gave the car a pretty glossy finish. According to Meguiar's PR reps, the second layer of wax was applied to make the Carbon Blue carbon-fiber finish "pop" in the sunlight.

Using a spray-on wax, they coated the Veyron and then moved it out into the sunshine for the fifth and final step, called maintaining. All this step really requires is a good eye and patience. The sun allowed the staff to notice any dirt or dust that may have made its way onto the car during the waxing process, and gave them a chance to remove it from the car's surface.

The end result was impressive. In the sunlight, the extra layer of wax made the carbon-fiber texture jump off the car with a 3-D "Avatar"-esque effect. After Meguiar's finished detailing the Super Sport, I asked Michael Stoops, the PR rep, what special steps had to be taken with this world record holder. Surely, a $3 million car with a paint finish the price of four Nissan GT-Rs and a Ford Mustang Boss 302 has to be treated differently.

See All 6 Photos6

The answer was a simple "nope." The reason for treating it similar to any other car is that it has a clear coat protecting the carbon-fiber finish, much like any normal car. So how much does it cost to detail a multi-million-dollar piece of automotive sculpture? Not counting the man-hours, around $315. Supply your own polisher and you're only in the hole $165. Pretty impressive stuff, because that means you could do something similar to your own car and expect similar results.

While part of the reason we headed over to Meguiar's was to see them detail the car, let's be honest, the main reason was to check out the one-of-a-kind Veyron Super Sport in the flesh. It's much bigger in person than it looks in pictures. While low-slung and rather short, the Veyron iswide. Its hand-made Michelin tires ($10,000 a pop, $80,000 for all four rims and tires) are steamrollers; they're 365-series width front and back. One interesting thing we noticed were the rear brake calipers, because there were two of them: one conventional, and a much smaller one mounted on the bottom of the brake disc to help the car slow down faster and safer after a top-speed run.

While the whole Veyron Super Sport is made primarily from carbon fiber and titanium, it still weighs a ton. A couple of tons actually-the Super Sport checks in at a relatively portly 4400 pounds. Bugatti USA spokesperson John Hill said the Veyron Super Sport could have been lighter had Bugatti decided to go full carbon fiber, but the material wasn't strong enough for the front end's leading edges, so Bugatti used titanium. The problem Bugatti ran into is usually something airplane manufacturers have to deal with, not carmakers. According to Hill, during early tests, a fully carbon-fiber Veyron Super Sport hit a bird during high-speed testing, almost completely destroying the carbon fiber on the front end of the car. To combat this, Bugatti made the hood strakes and other leading-edges of out of titanium, which is light and also very strong.

See All 6 Photos6

While the Veyron is capable of 268 mph, Bugatti limits each customer's car to 258 mph to lessen liability. In order to hit 268 mph (the base Veyron can touch 253 mph), the Veyron Super Sport gets more carbon fiber and some extra aerodynamic bits that enable it to go faster than the "standard" Veyron. The Super Sport uses the same 8.0-liter quad-turbo W-16 as the standard Veyron, although in this application it makes 1200 hp. In order to support that extra horsepower, the Super Sport also gets two extra fuel pumps over the standard Veyron and larger turbochargers.

We also learned some interesting things about the Veyron's top speed mode. We already knew you need a special key to activate it, then the car is lowered to just 2 inches off the ground and the spoiler retracts to further improve aerodynamics. The Veyron will also disable top speed mode if the driver touches the brake with the mode on, or turns the steering wheel by more than 15 degrees. According to Hill, doing so tells the car that you're either not prepared to go to light speed, or you're not in a location where it's safe to do so.

Speaking of top speed mode, every time a customer activates it, Bugatti Headquarters in France knows -- it electronically monitors every car it makes. While you or I might have a problem with Big Brother tracking our cars, Veyron owners don't seem to mind. Bugatti says some of its customers call to ask if anyone has driven faster than they have, or to see if anyone has put more miles on their Veyron then they have. Fun fact: The average Veyron is driven at least 1500 miles a year.

Bugatti also keeps track of the Veyron for its customers' well-being. They keep track of fluid levels and the overall health of the entire car and notify customers if it's safe, or if it shouldn't be operated full out. Bugatti is also capable of tracking a Veyron if it were stolen, like one was this past month in Switzerland. Bugatti says its owners love that kind of insurance, and would want to know if a valet took their pride and joy on a "Ferris Bueller"-style joyride. And ultimately when you're dropping $3 million on a car, shouldn't you be coddled in every way possible?

See All 6 Photos6