HARARE – A $2 million supercar delivered to Zimbabwe on August 28 paid $1.15 million in duty, we can reveal today.
The 2009 Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès edition was delivered by a KLM Cargo plane at a cost of $36,000.
Bugatti sent a representative to supervise the car’s loading in the Netherlands, its off-loading in Harare as well as its delivery to its owner.
ZIMRA parried questions about the identity of the owner, and the amount of duty paid citing confidentiality
But sources told ZimLive that the costs related to the acquisition and delivery of the car were broken down as: Euro 1.9 million (about $2.2m) to buy the car, Euro 31,000 ($36,000) to fly it to Zimbabwe and Euro 990,000 ($1.15m) for the duty.
The information was obtained from airport employees, who said the paperwork for the car – just as happened with the last Bugatti delivery in August – appeared to have been completed in advance, with mystery men thought to be state security agents ensuring the clearance procedures are not delayed.
The identity of the owner of the car remains unknown, but airport workers said they had been told the car would be staying in Zimbabwe.
A Bugatti Veyron by Mansory Vivere Diamond Edition owned by controversial South African businessman Zunaid Moti, and delivered in August, was only registered in Zimbabwe before being shipped to South Africa.
Bugatti Veyrons are left-hand-drive, and South Africa only registers right hand drive vehicles. This has fuelled internet speculation that the latest Bugatti could be in Zimbabwe only for registration.
“We heard the owner is a Zimbabwean businessman, and that the car is staying in Zimbabwe,” an airport employee said.
The Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès edition is the product of a collaboration with the renowned Parisian luxury brand Hermès.
It was designed by German automotive futurist and Hollywood consultant Daniel Simon when he worked as a designer for the French carmaker, alongside Gabriele Pezzini for Hermes.
Capable of delivering 1001 horsepower from its monster 8-litre engine, the Hermes edition can reach top speeds of 407 km/h. The car can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in a mere 2.5 seconds.
An oil change costs between $20,000 to $25,000 because of the exclusivity of the Butatti. The Veyron uses a dry-sump oiling system with 16 different drain plugs, accessible after intricately removing parts of the underbody, which takes hours.
Refilling requires removing the car’s grill, rear fender liners and rear deck including rear brakes, which are bigger than front brakes. The four tyres cost around $38,000.
