It's the end of an era, boys and girls: Bugatti has sold the last Veyron ever to be made. And in doing so, it sets the sun on a saga dating back ten years to when production began – and even longer sinceVolkswagen began development of what would become one of, if not the most powerful and fastestsupercars of all time.

The story of the Veyron dates back to 1998 when VW bought the rights to the Bugatti name. It subsequently rolled out a series of concept cars to preview what it had in store for the storied Alsatian marque, setting upon the final design in 2001 and determining to put it into production.

It would be another four years or so before the Veyron would finally be ready, but once it was, nobody cared how long it had taken. It was one of the most impressive feats of automotive engineering ever undertaken and the harbinger of a new era of million-dollar exotics. (Or $2.6 million, we should say, because that's the average price paid for a new Veyron.)

Bugatti set about making 300 coupes, which it completed in September 2011, and subsequently undertook the additional production of 150 roadsters. Now that final example – the 450th and final Veyron ever to be made – has been sold to a customer in the Middle East (naturally), the news arriving hot on the heels of a similar development with another seven-figure European exotic as the Pagani Huayra has sold out its entire allotment as well.

Dubbed the Grand Sport Vitesse La Finale, the final Veyron will be showcased at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Some time after that, we hope the House that Ettore Built will tell us a little more about what it has planned next.