Bugatti Veyron Wimille Smashes Auction Record At $5.44 Million

This Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Wimille crushed its $3 million estimate, topping the previous record by roughly $2.35 million.

2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse 'Jean-Pierre Wimille'

Photo by: Simon Gosselin | RM Sotheby's

Brian Potter

By: Brian Potter

Sep 29, at 4:00am ET

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A Bugatti Veyron just became the most expensive one ever sold at public auction. It took less than three minutes of bidding to get there. RM Sotheby's brought a 2014 Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse to its Zurich sale on September 26, badged with a name most Bugatti fans know by reputation alone: Jean-Pierre Wimille.

The hammer fell at CHF 4,505,000 (about $4,910,000), about $5.44 million at current exchange rates. That's not just a strong result for a used hypercar. It's a new benchmark for the entire Veyron lineup at public auction.

Bugatti Veyron Jean-Pierre Wimille Sells For CHF 4.505 Million

2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse 'Jean-Pierre Wimille'

2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse 'Jean-Pierre Wimille'

Photo by: Simon Gosselin | RM Sotheby's

RM Sotheby's had pegged this car at CHF 2.4 million (about $2,616,000) to CHF 2.8 million (about $3,052,000) going into the sale, already a serious number for a Veyron. Bidders blew past that ceiling anyway, landing 61 percent above the high estimate once the gavel came down.

That kind of overshoot doesn't happen by accident. According to RM Sotheby's, the sale marks the highest price a Veyron has ever achieved at public auction. It clears the one-off Veyron Grand Sport Sang Bleu that sold in 2024 by roughly $2.35 million.

The auction house is no stranger to Bugatti records. It also handled the sale of a restored Veyron prototype that drew its own attention from collectors.

This particular car had covered just 3,766 kilometers since it left the factory in 2014, a remarkably low figure for a machine over a decade old. Low mileage on a Veyron isn't unusual among collectors who buy to preserve rather than drive. It still moves the final number, though.

Why Only Three Wimille Editions Exist

2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse 'Jean-Pierre Wimille'

2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse 'Jean-Pierre Wimille'

Photo by: Simon Gosselin | RM Sotheby's

Bugatti built exactly three Grand Sport Vitesse Jean-Pierre Wimille editions, and that scarcity is the whole story here. The name honors the Bugatti works driver who became the first person to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans behind the wheel of a Bugatti, back in 1937.

Three cars is a tiny number even by Bugatti's own standards, where total Veyron production across all variants sat in the low hundreds. Each Wimille edition carries styling cues tied to its namesake's racing career. That's part of why collectors treat the trio as a distinct tier above a standard Grand Sport Vitesse.

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Under the skin, this is still the Veyron hardware that made the model famous in the first place. The quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine produces 1,183 horsepower. That's enough to send the car from zero to 62 mph in 2.6 seconds and on to a claimed top speed of 254 mph.

Bugatti's own auction history has been busy lately, from a one-off restoration project to a prototype sale. But a production Veyron clearing $5.4 million under the hammer is a different tier entirely. Records like this tend to hold until the next exceptional example, tied to a name like Wimille, comes up for sale.

Gallery: 2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse 'Jean-Pierre Wimille'

2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse 'Jean-Pierre Wimille'

Source: Simon Gosselin | RM Sotheby's