Flight of fancy Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is one very fast car

To put the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 into perspective _ hey, who am I kidding? How can you put a 1,001-horsepower, $1.3 million supercar into perspective?

To call it gorgeous, fast, outrageous simply isn't adequate.

To suggest you can buy 139 Chevrolet Aveos, a subcompact built in South Korea, or one Bugatti Veyron, a two-door monster-on-wheels built in France, somehow cheapens the whole experience of driving one.

Parked outside Silicon Valley Auto Group in Los Gatos recently was a cream and silver-blue Veyron. Holding the keys was Butch Leitzinger, a 37-year-old race-car driver who has won the 24-hour race at Daytona three times. Here, he said, his role is "car protector." He drives the car for potential buyers, and then switches to the passenger seat to assure that nothing untoward happens to it.

And this is a car that needs protecting. It's unbelievably rare, and much regarded. So far, 30 orders have been placed for it in the United States, and nine have been delivered here.

Ettore Bugatti was born in Italy, but founded his car company in the Alsace region of France in 1908. His cars often won the Targo Florio in the 1920s and at LeMans twice in the late '30s. His Type 57 Atlantic, now owned by Ralph Lauren, is considered one of the finest cars of all time.

Bugatti's son was killed testing a car in 1939, and his factory was destroyed in World War II.

There was a small attempt at a revival of Bugatti in the '50s, and there was a major effort in the '80s and '90s that included a merger with Lotus and the production of the EB 110. It ended in 1995.

Volkswagen purchased the Bugatti name in 1998, and showed a concept in 1999 that would lead to the Veyron. Over the past seven years, other concepts emerged and rumors of the car's pending production frequently circulated. They have proved to be true.

The first cars were delivered in Europe early this year, and are just arriving in U.S. showrooms.

Bugatti has said it will make 50 Veyrons _ named for driver Pierre Veyron; the 16 is for the number of cylinders and the 4 is the number of turbo-chargers _ a year for the next six years. Of those 300, maybe 120 will enter the United States through six dealers, including the one in Los Gatos.

So, how can a car cost more than $1 million? Automobile magazine, in its June issue, details some of the reasons: 1,001 horsepower; 922 pound-feet of torque; 16 cylinders; four turbo-chargers; 253 mph top speed; 0-to-60 mph in 2.1 seconds.

And, my favorite fun fact: A Veyron at top speed will run out of fuel in 12 minutes.

Mostly hand-built, the Veyron is part rocket ship and part Concours classic car. It has a long, sloping hood. Two air inlets sit aside its massive rear engine. The cabin is cozy, with cocoonlike leather seats. It has a classy analog clock, and a finely patterned metallic console.

The car is 176 inches long, 79 inches wide and only 47 inches tall. It has an 8.0-liter, 16-cylinder engine and a twin-clutch seven-speed gearbox that operates either automatically or as a manual using shift paddles on the steering column.

It holds 28.42 gallons of gas, and gets 9.5 mpg in city driving and 18.8 mpg on the highway, the company says.

And it has a rear spoiler that pops up once you go fast enough.