Bugatti planning $1.9 million targa Veyron

Bugatti will launch a new $1.9 million version of its Veyron supercar in 2008, according to a published report. The so-called Veyron Targa will receive a glass roof engineered by Webasto -- the same German firm responsible for the folding roof on the Volkswagen Eos, according to Edmunds. Unlike the Porsche 911 Targa -- which has a glass roof that retracts and is stowed onboard -- the Veyron's roof panel will have to be removed by hand and kept in the garage.





The reason for this shortcoming is the Veyron's tightly packed design, which leaves no room to store the panel. To compensate, the car will offer an expandable fabric cover that will slide in place of the glass and shield the interior from the elements.

The report seems to suggests that, unlike the Porsche 911 Targa, the Bugatti will have no structural member connecting the windscreen to the pseudo c-pillar/roll-bar. Consequently, reinforcements will be added to the windscreen to maintain rollover safety, and other changes will be made to the underbody to maintain torsional stiffness.

Bugatti will make up for the added weight by giving the car a carbon hood and doors -- bringing the weight back to down to the coupe's level. While acceleration figures should remain unchanged, top speed will be electronically limited to 217 mph for safety reasons. The aerodynamics of the Targa model will not be suitable for the car's regular top speed of 250 mph, the report said.