Underrated? Are you kidding me? This car has been getting more attention from the auto press then just about anything. If anything it is rediculously overrated. The car is way too heavy and not very aerodynamically sound. It completely misses the point.
VW's executives made 3 incredibly flawed requirements for the Veyron-
1) Top Speed of 250mph- Top speed records are completely arbitrary and only stand as a marketing tool to brag about. Anyone that watches F1 or other series knows that top speed isn't what wins races. F1 cars have been shown to do well over 255mph with an aero package set up for it, but in races they opt for much more downforce, limiting them to around 200mph in the straightaways. Part of the beauty of the McLaren F1 is that they didn't care what the top speed was because they realize that it didn't matter. There is virtually no motorsport where you will need to be capable of reaching 250mph.
2) The Design- The VW execs wanted the Veyron to keep a certain shape, greatly limiting the engineers ability to create the aerodynamics the car needed to handle well and reach the desired top speed. Thus, the Veyron needed 1,000hp to reach 250mph. In an article written shortly after the Veyron was released, Gordon Murray, the head designer for the McLaren F1 explained how the Veyron basically had the aerodynamics of a dead cow. If they had wanted the McLaren F1 to do 250mph, they would have only needed about 750hp, much less then the Veyron needs.
3) 1,000hp- again, completely arbitrary. As amazing as the W16 Quadturbo engine is, it adds an obscene amount of weight. It might as well have a diesel engine from a semi. A supercar shouldn't have to sacrifice that much to reach a certain power mark. Weight hurts cornering speed, which is just as important (if not more important) for a supercar.
All the magazines talk about with the Veyron is top speed, but I havn't seen anyone put it around a track against an Enzo, Zonda F, CCX, etc. I think this is because they know it will lose to these ligher, better designed, less expensive supercars. It isn't very good as a road car either as it has no trunk.
Soon we will see the coming of the Caparo T1, the anti-Veyron. 500+hp from a 2.4L in a car that weighs 500kg and will be as fast as a LMP2 or A1GP race car around a track. This is how a supercar should be built, by engineers and designers, not by executives that don't know better.