Tonight is Conan O’Brien’s last night as host of NBC’s The Tonight Show. No one would begrudge him a bit of bitterness over his departure, but he’s taking it in stride. And he’s launched a gag in which he shoots off a few expensive zingers on his way out the door.

On Wednesday night, he introduced new comedy bits “that aren’t so much funny as they are expensive,” the joke being that he’s going to bleed NBC. That included rolling out a Bugatti Veyron, the world’s most expensive car, onto the stage, decorated as a mouse. (Watch the video here.)

The Veyron, which has a top speed of 235 mph, retails for about $1.7 million. Although O’Brien may have gotten a deal on his Bugatti:

He said the bit cost $1.5 million. (Although there’s a very good chance he got the car for free, as a loaner from Bugatti or a Bugatti dealer in exchange for free air time.)

But details, schmetails. It was funny.

“The good news is, until NBC yanks us off the air, we can pretty much do whatever we want,” O’Brien told the audience. “And here’s the beautiful part: We do whatever we want, and they have to pay for it.”

Thursday night’s expensive skit included 2009 Kentucky Derby winner “Mine That Bird” wearing a mink Snuggie and watching restricted NFL Superbowl footage. Total cost: $4.8 million. (Although for all we know, it could’ve been an equine actor.)

watch video here

As a deal nears for Conan O’Brien’s exit from NBC, one thing is certain: The characters and recurring comedy bits O’Brien originated during his 16-plus years on “Late Night” and “The Tonight Show” will not follow the host when he loses his coveted 11:35 p.m. slot to Jay Leno.

The network owns the intellectual property behind such popular O’Brien characters as Pimpbot 5000 and Conando, as well as recurring segments such as In the Year 3000 and Desk Driving. Sources involved in the settlement negotiations say NBC is keeping the copyrighted and trademarked elements of O’Brien’s shows as part of the deal. That means the bits and characters will likely never be seen after O’Brien’s “Tonight” ends its run January 22.

It’s unclear who controls Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the crass canine puppet that is perhaps O’Brien’s most popular recurring bit. Triumph was originated by writer and longtime O’Brien pal Robert Smigel, whose representatives declined to comment on its ownership.

In 1993, David Letterman got into a dustup with NBC when he departed “Late Night” for CBS’ “Late Show.” NBC attorneys attempted to prevent Letterman from taking intellectual property originated on “Late Night” to the comic’s new home. Letterman responded by dropping certain bits and renaming other recurring segments — “Viewer Mail” became “CBS Mailbag” and frequent guest Larry “Bud” Melman began referring to himself by his real name, Calvert DeForest. Letterman mocked the dispute on his first “Late Show” when NBC anchor Tom Brokaw interrupted the monologue and stole cue cards in the name of securing NBC’s intellectual property.

O’Brien, if he lands at another late-night show, might be in a tougher spot. Unlike comic personalities Letterman and Leno, O’Brien began his career as a writer on “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons,” and his shows relied more heavily on the cleverly scripted bits and outrageous characters. Losing those assets could hurt O’Brien as he looks for another home, although his “Tonight” had featured fewer of the characters than “Late Night” and the host — who is considered one of the top comedy writers in the business — may be looking for a fresh start. Sources close to him said he was not interested in taking his NBC characters with him.

Watch very funny “Irish song and dance”