Bugatti’s widely renowned Veyron will be getting a Targa variant next year, according to a source at parent company Volkswagen. The news confirms what we had speculated almost a year ago, and the fact that a former Bugatti executive has spoken out lends a good deal of credibility to the claim - not to mention that Bugatti’s communication chief, Georges Keller, has also confirmed the convertible Veyron is in the works.

According to the exec, the targa option was the only one available to Bugatti “because there was no other solution which could fit with the car’s safety cage”. While the hard-top will be removable, there will be no storage space for the roof within the car, meaning the cover will have to be taken off at home. If the weather turns nasty a concealed fabric cover can be extended to protect the cabin, reports Automotive News.

Without the roof, the car will require added reinforcements and underbody changes to maintain torsional rigidity. These changes are expected to come at a cost to performance, and top speed is rumored to be limited to 217mph (350kmh).

Bugatti is yet to reveal how many convertibles Veyrons will be produced and when the first cars will be available. Previous reports claim production numbers will be somewhat lower than the 300 coupe models, with many suggesting there will be just 80 Targa models.