The Bugatti Veyron not only landed a knock-out blow to the rest of the exotic automotive world when it was introduced back in 2005, but it also became one of the most iconic and talked about supercars ever produced! With its 8.0L, quad-turbocharged W16 motor producing a staggering 1001 hp that made it capable of a top speed just shy of 254 mph…this car was the real deal.

Fast forward a few years, and Bugatti introduced the Veyron Grand Sport, which is a removable hard-top version giving exclusive (esoteric!) owners the ability to enjoy top-down driving at insane speeds.

Now typically my full-detail articles showcase a car, and all of the steps and products necessary to make an already good looking car even better. The before and after photos are always a big hit, and you could always count on learning something as you read through the writeup. This article however, will be a bit different!

For those who typically just scroll through all of the photos instead of reading the details (let’s call them the Playboy crowd!)…you’ll appreciate this article. 🙂

Having said that though, I will take the opportunity to provide a bit of a lesson that not only appeals to detailers, but really just about anybody. The lesson here is in networking!

I regularly work on networking in order to reach and make contacts with as many people as I can from all walks of life and industry. I’m constantly reaching out to those in the automotive industry and the media in order to promote what we in highline detailing industry do. The more coverage we get, the more educated the general population is about proper detailing, and thus the stronger the industry becomes.

While going through potential new contacts on Linkedin, I came across the Director of Bugatti NA and saw this as a great opportunity to reach out. Once I learned that we both attended The Ohio State University, I figured that we shared a commonality other than just our love for cars, and worked on building a relationship accordingly over the course of a year or so. Well long story short, the Director had plans on bringing a car to Columbus for a show and a few media drives, so naturally he got in contact with me about a visit to the Esoteric Auto Detail Studio 47 facility, and to have their demo car detailed to prep it for the upcoming events. Had I not put in those networking efforts in the past, I may not have received that phone call!

So the lesson here is to continually network and build up your base of contacts. You never know when you may get the opportunity to help them, or when they may be able to help you. And when you’re building your network, keep in mind that you can potentially open doors to their networks as well!

Anyhow…on to the Bugatti!

When the car arrived, we knew that we had just a short period of time to get it looking good. This wasn’t a full-out paint correction detail, but rather one where our goal was to do whatever necessary to make it look as good as we could in the few short hours it was in the shop (about 9 man-hours worth of time total). So a full wash, wheel-cleaning, and interior detail was in store, along with some spot polishing, metal cleaning, and waxing to add some protection. We wanted to make sure that when the media and the general public saw it, the car looked like it was brand new and not one that had made its rounds on the media and test drive circuits.

So when we arrived at the shop early that morning (7am!), our delivery truck was waiting to unload the special package.

Once inside the detailing studio, we proceeded to washing and wheel cleaning. My staff was kind enough to work while I snapped photos.  🙂

Once that was completed, I proceeded with some spot polishing to freshen up the finish a bit.

These cars have a lot of people getting in and out of them, so we needed to pay attention to all of the little details as well to make the car look “new” again. The foot scuffs on the leather interior (not an easy car to get in and out of) were all cleaned up nicely with just Leatherique Prestine Clean.

And in a few short hours later with 3 people working on it, the Veyron Grand Sport was ready to show!

I love this shot!

The interior on this car was absolutely stunning!

The Esoteric Crew!

And now for the best part (for me, at least)! When we were done detailing the car, the Director asked me if I’d like to go for a drive. The decision wasn’t hard, so off we went. To say this car is crazy, cool, fast, or handles well would be an understatement…I think a better way to sum it up would be to say that it’s just plain ridiculous! And to make this story even better, we pulled over at one point, and he told me to drive…I obliged! 🙂

Despite the fact that this is a car capable of 254 miles per hour, and runs from 0-60mph in about 2.5 seconds, it actually makes a fine car to drive around town. It was not high strung at all like you might expect. But put your foot on the gas, and be prepared to have your breath taken away from you. It’s really THAT fast…

So when we returned, John and I took the opportunity to snap a photo together in hopes of capturing my ear to ear grin!

I hope you enjoyed the show!

A special thanks to John and to Bugatti USA for the opportunity!