Driving with the top down is a rush, but all other convertibles may pale in comparison to the open-air experience in the latest supercar from Bugatti, called the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport.

Pictures are circulating now, but the production car will be unveiled in the flesh on Aug. 16 at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The car features what Bugatti calls a “unique removable roof,” which seems to be code for targa.

The open-air edition of what will likely be the world’s fastest roadster gets the eight-liter, 16-cyclinder double-V powerplant making a whopping 1,001 hp and hitting 0 to 62.1 mph in 2.5 seconds.

That means the wind-in-your-hair experience will now be available at 240-plus mph--if you so choose. It will really hurt when you collect that grasshopper in the forehead.

Shifting is via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and, like the coupe, it is all-wheel-drive.




Concours-goers will need to move quickly to get a look at the Grand Sport. The day after it is unveiled, the very first car--chassis 001--will be auctioned by Gooding & Co. following presentation of the event’s Best in Show award.

The proceeds will go to the Pebble Beach Co. Foundation. Expect bidding to hit redline quickly.

As auctioneer David Gooding best said it, “The Grand Sport is the most exciting contemporary car to come to auction. There has already been a great deal of interest shown, and we expect the bidding to be as fast as the car.”

Fans of Bugatti will want to circle this year’s Pebble event on their calendars. Gooding & Co. is also auctioning off an entire collection of vintage Bugattis that weekend, including a Type 57SC Atalante Coupe and a Type 35B Grand Prix. The sale is expected to raise more than $15 million, much of which will go to charity.