Real Story Behind The Only Bugatti Veyron Of India (Video)
The Bugatti Veyron has been an iconic model. First launched in 2005, it was in production till 2015. It has had huge acceptance worldwide and was even named the ' 2000s Car of the Decade' by BBC Top Gear. Even in 2025, its design and the breathtaking performance make people go crazy about the Veyron. A video of it being driven on Hyderabad roads is now going viral on Instagram. This is, in fact, an old video, from the time when the car came to India to give test drives to prospective buyers. Let's delve into the details...
This happened in 2011, months after the Veyron went on sale in India. It starts by showing a Veyron tackling a speed breaker. Later, we see it speeding on a stretch. This seems to be from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) road, Hyderabad. The Veyron was powered by an iconic 8.0L W16 engine.
The 1000hp sports car had the former French race car driver and Bugatti Chief Test Driver Pierre-Henri Raphanel, behind its wheel. He was the same driver who broke the record in the Veyron SS (Super Sport). The SS previously held the record for the world's fastest production car. It clocked 431.072 km/h, piloted by Raphanel.
Image source: Facebook / Supercars Hyd
The car shown in the video was sent here to give test drives to prospective buyers and assess interest in the Indian market. When it went on sale in 2010, the Veyron had an ex-showroom price of Rs 16 Crores. It was back then, a huge sum.
Various reports confirm that a handful of billionaires took test drives and experienced the hypercar. In its later stints, the car was seen giving test drives in Mumbai and several other cities as well. Rumours say that even Shah Rukh Khan experienced it.
The test drive counts may make us believe that there was genuine buyers interest in the model. People were indeed fascinated about driving the global icon on Indian roads. Surprisingly, none of the test drives or inquiries led to conversions!
Most people were reluctant to invest in the car, due to its compatibility issues with Indian roads and the extremely limited after-sales support which was offered here. We can't blame them for these. A car like Veyron requires proper parts and service support for peaceful ownership.
Back in the day, even minor works on a Bugatti would require a lot of effort and investment. For example, changing one of its tyres would require a unique machine. Just two of these were available in the world back then- one in the Middle East and the other in the USA! This was too big an ask for peaceful ownership in India.
All these meant that the Veyron sold zero units here. The (demo) vehicle that you see in this video, is the only Veyron that's been driven extensively on our roads (we aren't considering Carnet entries which came in later).
In 2011, the Swedish high-performance car brand Koenigsegg Automotive AB launched the Agera in India with an ex-showroom price of Rs 12.5 Crores. Soon, a car was sent to India to give experiential drives to prospective buyers. Interestingly, it was piloted by the CEO Christian Von Koenigsegg himself.
Koenigsegg joined hands with Rahul Bhatia's InterGlobe Enterprises to launch the hypercar here. It had a mid-rear mounted 5.0L twin-turbo V8 petrol engine that made 960 hp and 1,100 Nm. This had a similar fate as the Veyron and sold zero units in the country.