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      09-29-2010, 10:04 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cramp View Post
I think the $90,000 was too high of an estimate, but not that far off. I read in Road and Track that Michelin spent millions of dollars developing tires that were strong and heat-resistant enough to go 260 mph yet compliant enough for everyday driving. A set of tires alone costs $17,000; the special wheels with Michelin’s run-flat PAX system are an additional $43,000.
Not only that, but there is no stock of tires anywhere. Whenever you need them, Michelin will dust off the molds and pour some fresh rubber into them, just for you. And since they are unique (with unique aspect ratios and all) to the Veyron, there is no economy of scale for them and no alternative for the Veyron owner either.

To make matters more complicated, Bugatti requires that you change tires every year no matter the miles - that's because they might deform/age/get-hit-by-cosmic-rays/whatever and are no longer certified for top speed after 1 year.

And for icing on this cake, they require the wheels to be changed every 2 years as well - because, yep, you've guessed it, they can go out of round and basically are no longer certified for top speed runs after 2 years.

We haven't even gone into mechanical maintenance per se.


These things, perhaps even more so than the initial purchase cost, are what separates the buyer category who can really afford a Veyron from everybody else.
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