Every decade or so we as car enthusiasts are treated to something that changes the way think and moves forward what we previously thought was possible

In the pre-war period you had Bentley pioneering the worlds most capable sports cars chief amongst which was the speed six and the subsequent legendary Blue Train built for Wolf Banarto. Or Bugatti themselves with the Monaco Grand Prix winning Type 51

Soon after the war manufacturers were at it again, this time Jaguar were at the forefront with the XK120 hitting a top speed of 126mph making it the fastest car in the world in 1948

The 60s was an era of embarrassing riches and one we now look back on with pure envy, AC Cobras, Ford GT40s, Jaguar E-Types, GTO's and many more

The 70s were perhaps a little less refined but wonderfully bonkers with cars like the Countach & De Tomaso Pantera paving the way for silly supercars of the future

In the late 80s came a car to define its era and in many ways its maker. The Ferrari F40 was the most special experience of the turbo charging era and has lasted as one of the greats of the game to this day

Now the 90s and the Mclaren F1, when the F1 was launched in '92 it was inconceivable that anything would ever beat it, an almost Michael Schumacher level of sporting immortality

Just as Hamilton came along and surpassed Michael the Veyron arrived in 2005, and much in the same way that Lewis will likely go on to leave all of Michael's records far in the distance the Bugatti was strides ahead of anything that came before it

This is just genesis for all modern hypercars, the concorde of the road. And really nothing has beaten it since, the new one from Bugatti is slightly faster but it doesn't redefine things like the Veyron did

The numbers are mind bending there is no denying that, 0-60 in 2 and a bit seconds, many many miles an hour and an extra digit required to record the horse power! It's all very exciting but its the level of refinement that really showed the Bugatti's superiority

Those that had come before were fast but generally it was always an ear bleeding bullish affair, the Bugatti was more in the silent sports car spirit of those early Bentley days although you can substitute silent for comfortable

The noises one hears only a few feet behind you when firing her up are utterly charming, the oils and fluids pulsing around the engine warming up the 16 cylinders make you just sizzle with excitement

To use nothing compares, the speed & engine are disorientating but one can't help be struck with the notion that this could be used everyday if you so desired

Our specific example is of the Grand Sport variant, only 58 produced, in Pearl White with Black Leather and Pearl stitching, they all have a mega spec so take that as read (although the Pano roof here is an option we certainly appreciate)

Having only covered 3574 klms or 2220 miles her last service was done on the 26th of November 2020 at 3553 klms, in other words she's only been road tested by a factory engineer since

Naturally her full service history is all from suppliers HR Owen and there are two years left on a 3 year factory service pack worth £21,000

All Bugatti certification is of course present, as is the special key that allows you to reach the top speed