Quote Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine View Post
^ whilst that's persuasive the problem I have is the Veyron FAILED at so many attempts to meet it's targets and took the pouring of money to achieve it. IF they'd designed and then built I'd put it up there with the F1, but because it tried/failed, tried/failed and then completely failed on profits I cant see it.

It's like Schwarzenegar becoming a governor or GWB becoming president
Nice analogy! And yes, it did fail over and over to meet its targets and then was a failure as far as profits are concerned, but 1) It did eventually meet its targets (and they were LOFTY!), and very few in the general populace will remember those failures but every carnut ages 6 and up knows what the Veyron is and what it can do, and 2) it was, as previously stated, an excercise in engineering (this is what we can do when given a seemingly impossible target and unlimited resources) and a publicity coup that lasted for years for its parent company. Every time there was a new unveiling of a preproduction car or news of progress on this awesome project, it took over the automotive press and took control of our attention and imaginations, even if only for a moment. That makes it one heck of a commercial achievement regardless of recovering the money invested from that specific project.