Some wealthy individuals who had traveled from abroad were wary of the prince's presence. At this point, Bugatti hadn't announced the price of the Veyron or its limited global production number.
This created a huge sense of suspense. If only five units were made, the Prince of Dubai could easily buy one, leaving only four for everyone else to compete over. That would immediately reduce the available cars by 20%.
Ignoring the commotion, the Prince of Dubai and his bodyguards went directly to the Bugatti exhibit. They entered the inner area without any trouble and found Bugatti's CEO, Baptiste, who was preparing for the press conference backstage.
"Hello, are you the CEO of Bugatti? His Highness the Prince is a friend of your chairman, Mr. Mavi. He came to show his support for Mr. Mavi today. Could you tell us how to pre-order the Bugatti Veyron?" Before the prince could speak, his servant asked on his behalf.
Bugatti had been unyielding since Mavi's company acquired it. No matter who the prince sent to inquire about pre-ordering the new car, the official response was a polite but firm refusal.
The Prince of Dubai felt awkward calling Mavi directly to ask for special arrangements. After all, Russia had been through a lot lately, from the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan to the naval standoff with France and South Korea, which even went to the United Nations.
Besides those reasons, another crucial factor was Russia's level of success in combating the Taliban and their support for the Northern Alliance, which profoundly impacted the direction of energy prices in the Middle East. Then there was the recent development of their long-range self-propelled rocket launcher.
If that thing were sold to a neighboring country, it would pose a direct threat to the safety of the UAE! What if terrorists in a neighboring country got a hold of it and used it to extort the UAE, threatening to fire rockets if they didn't pay? Life would become very difficult. A few years ago, Dubai had already received bomb threats, and the Dubai police had intercepted two planned bombings.
So the Prince of Dubai didn't want to bother Mavi with his personal business and ask for special treatment. That's why he decided to come in person today to see what the Bugatti Veyron looked like, and also to show his support for Mavi's business and leave a good impression.
For the Crown Prince of Dubai to humble himself to this extent, Mavi's influence was significant.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, our chairman specifically instructed that before the press conference, no one is to reveal any information about the new car. My sincerest apologies!" Baptiste carefully and nervously refused.
He was not like some people who had enough social standing to refuse the special requests of any royal family or dignitary.
The Crown Prince of Dubai had almost never been personally refused since he was born. But out of respect for a certain person on the other side of the ocean, the prince nodded and said he understood.
If this had been any other sports car manufacturer who dared to speak to the prince like that, they would have probably been investigated by the relevant authorities, such as the tax office or the fire department, within half an hour, let alone by tomorrow. They would have been ordered to close for rectification on some random pretext.
The other wealthy individuals from the Middle East and abroad saw how arrogant Mavi's Bugatti company was and that even the Prince of Dubai couldn't get any information. So they all waited, wanting to see if the Veyron they developed was as bold as their attitude.
At that moment, Baptiste, Bugatti's CEO, walked to the front of the stage with a microphone. He smiled and addressed the reporters and the crowd. "Thank you all for waiting here for the Bugatti Veyron new car launch."
"Before we begin, I must first express my most sincere gratitude to my boss, Mr. Mavi. If he hadn't reached out to help Bugatti in its time of need, we would still be in a state of bankruptcy right now..." Baptiste said emotionally into the microphone.
Unbeknownst to him, his boss, Mavi, was disguised and standing in the audience, quietly watching it all. But wanting to enjoy the simple life of a hidden billionaire, Mavi didn't want to reveal his identity and just wanted to stay quietly in the corner.
Baptiste's heartfelt speech lasted for more than five minutes. Afterward, he shifted the topic to the new car launch. "Alright, let's save the long talks for later. Let's talk about what you're all most interested in!"
Baptiste clapped his hands, and the staff on the side came up on stage and removed the black velvet cloth covering the car.
Instantly! A stunning, all-black, convertible Bugatti Veyron appeared in front of everyone. Its plump and streamlined body was completely different from the styles of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche! It could even be described as completely opposite.
The big, rounded front and back of the car would make people mistakenly think it was slow, just like its appearance. After all, people's traditional view of a sports car is a low-profile body.
But the reality was the opposite. At that moment, a large LCD screen next to the stage was turned on by the staff.
Before anyone could get lost in the Veyron's stunning appearance, Baptiste, standing on stage, suddenly spoke to everyone. "Everyone, please look over here. This video, which is about to be played on the screen, was specially arranged by our chairman, Mr. Mavi. It's a race between the new Bugatti Veyron and a Russian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jet."
As soon as Baptiste finished speaking, the crowd was immediately captivated by what he said! This included the Prince of Dubai and the wealthy individuals who had come from all over the world to see the car. They were all stunned by Mavi's incredible idea.
"What? Did I hear that right? A sports car racing against a fighter jet? And it's a MiG-29 jet fighter?"
"The sports car runs on gasoline, and the fighter jet runs on aviation fuel. They're not even in the same league. How can you compare them?" In almost everyone's mind, a car could never compete with a fighter jet, which can fly so fast. Unless the race rules were skewed in favor of the car. But if it was that unfair, what was the point? It would just be a publicity stunt.