American Hand Builds Bugatti Veyron From Mercury

Published: Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 13:51 [IST]

It is everyone's dream to own a super car. Super cars such as the Ferrari Enzo, McLaren F1, the Porsche Carrera, Lamborghini Murcielago, Aston Martin Vantage and the Bugatti Veyron are some of the dream cars that have captured the imaginations of car enthusiasts. Unfortunately all these models are very much out of the reach of most people.

The Bugatti Veyron is the most expensive car to be sold in India. It is also the fastest road legal car in the world with a top speed of more than 400kmph. With a price tag of over Rs.16 crores, the Veyron is something even the richest people would hesitate to buy. What would you do if you are able to band build the super car yourself? Here is a man who has managed to get his hands on his dream car at less than one tenth of its cost.

Mike Duff, an ambitious 25-year-old from Florida,USA wanted to own a Bugatti Veyron but did not have the resources. Instead of worrying about the missed opportunity, he went on to convert a Mercury Cougar coupe in to his dream car. This hand built Veyron looks very much like the original. Mike Duff used fiberglass and composite materials to build the body panels and had it painted by professionals. He also filled the car's interior with high quality leather to match the original Bugatti Veyron.

Mike Duff has ensured the car looks exactly like the Bugatti Veyron. However there are obvious differences. The hand built Veyron misses the retractable rear spoiler and the quadruple exhaust. On the upside the hand built Veyron gets a fully usable rear seat which is not to be found in the Bugatti Veyron. Mr Duff has claimed he has put in nine months of work in developing the hand built Veyron. Duff his put up his creation up for sale for just $89,000 which in Indian currency is equivalent to about Rs.43 lakhs. This is an incredible price considering it is about 40 times lesser than the original Bugatti Veyron's price.

There is only one catch to the pseudo super car. It still has the Mercury Cougar's 2.5-litre V6 engine that can churn out just 170bhp as against the original Veyron's output of 1000bhp. Duff is unfazed by the obvious lack of power. He says he uses the car only within city limits and even if he did own a Veyron, he would never get an opportunity to test its top speed on city roads. He is more than happy driving around in his hand built Veyron with people watching with dumbstruck eyes.