2009 - 2012 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport
Rumors about an open-top version of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 circulated for a long time now, but we were finally able to see the vehicle during its official launch at the Pebble Beach Lodge on August 16, 2008.
Called the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, the new Bugatti will be a roadster with a unique, removable roof. The open-top Grand Sport allows driver and passenger to feel even closer to the car’s breathtaking power. Those who consider the wind in their hair and the roar of a thoroughbred racing engine in their ears to be essential to true driving enjoyment will find their perfect motor car in this new Bugatti. Even with the top on the Grand Sport does not loose any of its fascination and conveys to the passenger a new exciting panoramic view.
Production began in Spring 2009.
Updated 01/27/2011: Bugatti came to the Qatar Motor Show for the first time ever and brought the 2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport along with them for the ride. It may be an old model, but it was the perfect occasion to reveal new images of the supercar, and to christen Bugatti’s first appearance. Hopefully they will grace us with their presence at future show! Check out the gallery to see the new pictures of the Grand Sport!
UPDATE 04/27/2012: Bugatti has unveiled a new video for their Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport showing the car in action with a closed roof. A second video presents the Blanc Noir version with an open roof. Enjoy!
Latest Bugatti Veyron news and reviews:
Bugatti Divo Races Chiron And Veyron SS In Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 launched on November 9, 2021 and, as it was to be expected, we already have a lot of gameplay video. While there are of course a lot to choose from, one of our favorites puts the new Bugatti Divo against the Chiron and the Veyron SS. A race everyone dreams about having in real life too, don’t you think?
Veyron vs Chiron; the ultimate Bugatti showdown
We all know that the Bugatti Chiron is fast when compared to its predecessor, the Veyron. But by how much? Well, to find out, James who runs TheStardman Youtube Channel pits his Veyron against Bugatti’s latest hypercar, in a one-mile, multi-million dollar showdown.
Watch a Bugatti Veyron and a $50 Million Ferrari 250 GTO Play Cat and Mouse
It’s not uncommon to feast your eyes on some rare exotic vehicles when on the streets of London. The YouTube channel “TheTFJJ” is certainly making the most of it, as we see regular weekly content of expensive, rare, and exotic cars being enjoyed. Not only that, a lot of the footage is taken from inside of the cars. This video in particular shows two very expensive and rare cars, each of them very fast for their time, being enjoyed on public roads.
Hidden Within This 14-Minute Video is a Drag Race Between the Bugatti Veyron and the SSC Tuatara
Bugatti and SSC have been fighting for the production car speed record since the 2000s. Bugatti set its first record with Veyron in 2005, when the first iteration of the supercar hit 253.8 mph. SSC stole their record in 2007 with the Ultimate Aero TT, improving the benchmark slightly at 256.1 mph. Bugatti recaptured its record in 2010 with the Veyron Super Sport at 267.8 mph. The record is currently being held by the Koenigsegg Agera RS at 277.8 mph, but Bugatti set an unofficial record in 2019 with the Chiron Super Sport 300+, the first production model that reached beyond 300 mph with a 304.7-mph benchmark.
Bugatti’s W-16 Engine Is Pretty Awesome, But What Would a W-18 Be Like?
Drivetribe has released a new video that details what the Bugatti Veyron would have been like had it been based on a trio of Italdesign-designed concept cars that were introduced back in the late 1990s. The EB118, EB218, and Bugatti 18/3 Chiron were all different from one another in various ways, but one thing they had in common was the very odd, naturally aspirated, 6.3-liter W-18 engine. Yeah, you read the right, a W-18. Of course, we all know that the Veyron (and the Chiron, for that matter) was powered by a W-16, so what happened?
Ever Wondered How the Lamborghini Aventador and Bugatti Veyron Handle Snow?
It’s not often that you get to see a supercar drifting around in the snow, but two supercars? At the same time? That happens about as rare as a unicorn sighting. And yet, here we are, watching a Bugatti Veyron and a Lamborghini Aventador playing around in the snow like two kids in the middle of a sugar rush.
The video comes courtesy of YouTube channel Royalty Exotic Cars and it shows the two supercars engage in some snow debauchery. We see them drift, make snow donuts, and even race one another, all in the snow. It’s about as much fun as you can have with the Veyron and the Aventador in this wintry environment. It’s a great watch if you have a couple of minutes to spare.
Bugatti’s Monster W-16 Engine Is Here to Stay For 10 More Years
It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that 2019 was a mighty good year for Bugatti. The carmaker knows not to dwell too much on the past, though, and it’s already planning its future steps. On that note, we’re happy to report that Bugatti is planning to keep hold of the 8.0-liter W-16, which will live on “for [the] next decade.”
The info comes from Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann himself, via U.K.’s Autocar, who had a chat with the bossman about the company’s plans for the quad-turbo engine.
How Much Does It Really Cost to Own a Bugatti?
There’s no point in explaining to you how Bugatti operates in the rarefied air found in the car industry’s stratosphere. You know very well that such a business model entails sky-rocketing price tags attached to any of the French carmaker’s products, but that’s one side of the iceberg. However, buying a Bugatti is one thing, while owning one and properly maintaining it is a whole different equation. A costly one too, as you’re about to find out courtesy of Manny Khoshbin.
Watch How the $21,000, 27-Hour Oil Change is Done on a Bugatti Veyron
For most of us regular folks, a standard oil change typically costs anywhere from $30 to $100. It’s usually more expensive when we’re talking about premium cars, but that same train-of-thought is taken to the extreme level when we’re talking about a car like the Bugatti Veyron. The embodiment of excess, the Veyron is more than just a $1.5 million supercar that once held the title as the world’s fastest production car. Everything about it is expensive, right down to the oil change, which can ring you up a staggering $21,000.
Car for Sale: a 2012 Bugatti Veyron for $128,000 - Better Look Twice
How badly do you want to own a Bugatti Veyron? Do you want one bad enough that you’re willing to spend $125,000 to $128,000 for a Veyron that really isn’t a Veyron, but looks like a Veyron? If your answer is “yes,” then you should go take a look at this 2012 Bugatti Veyron that’s up on sale at Car Export America.
Before you start tripping over yourselves rushing to buy this unique Veyron, you need to know that this is a replica Veyron and not the real deal. You also need to know that this replica Veyron sits on the shell of a 2002 Mercury Cougar. Yes, a Mercury Cougar. Think of it whatever you will, but there’s something oddly appealing about this replica Veyron. It’s not the real thing, sure, but where else can you see a Veyron that traces its roots to a Cougar? Nowhere else, I imagine.
Tracy Morgan’s Bugatti Isn’t Worth What He Paid for it Now
The Bugatti Veyron, once the world’s fastest car, remains popular among the world’s highest grossing celebrities. Jay-Z has one, and so do Tom Cruise, Chris Brown, and Xzibit, to name but a few. Tracy Morgan happily added himself to the list of Veyron owners just the other day but, 15 minutes into his Veyron experience, the pearl Grand Sport he’d just taken delivery of got sideswiped by a CR-V. The car lost $200,000 off its value that very second and Morgan lost his calm. And you thought your day was bad!
Remember when you last bought a new car last time? Not necessarily a brand new car, but one that was new for you and you were just ready to be its new custodian. Remember how you tentatively drove it home? And how you tried not to get the interior dirtied up and how you parked it away from everybody else so that there’s no danger of any oblivious simpleton with a rust bucket to park near you and carelessly scratch your car when opening his door as wide as it goes. Well, you probably never bought a Bugatti Veyron so imagine how Morgan must’ve felt when an SUV driver who was, apparently, on her phone, attempted to make a right turn from the left lane, completely missing the low-slung Veyron right next to it. You can’t? Well, I can’t either, and maybe that’s not a bad thing after all.
Tracy Morgan Bought a Bugatti Veyron and it Was Crashed an Hour Later
Comedian Tracy Morgan was featured in yet another news-grabbing car accident. Fortunately, this accident was nowhere near as serious as his last one. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same thing for Morgan’s just-purchased Bugatti Veyron, which bore the brunt of the accident when it got clipped by a Honda CR-V in the busy streets of New York. Morgan managed to get out from the passenger side of the car, but not after he stood up from his seat and read the driver the riot act. The comedian’s fury was understandable since he had just come from actually purchasing the Veyron from Manhattan Motorcars. If we were in his shoes, we’d be pissed, too.
You Can Rent a One-Off Bugatti Veyron for Just $20,000 a Day
Maxing a Bugatti Veyron on Volkswagen’s special test track is one thing, but doing so on a public road is another. Thankfully it is perfectly legal to try it on unrestricted parts of the German autobahn, which is what this Veyron owner from the Czech Republic did.
Someone Finally Did It - A Rear-Wheel Drive Bugatti Veyron
People are doing all kinds of insane things on the Internet these days, all in the name of getting noticed. Modifying a Bugatti Veyron to be RWD could certainly fall under that category.
Taking responsibility is Houston Crosta, owner of Royalty Exotic Cars, a Las Vegas-based rental company that specializes in top-shelf machinery.
Why would he do it? Good question. Crosta explains it like this: “when it’s all-wheel drive, 4,000 pounds, the car does not feel fast. It’s going fast, don’t get me wrong. The car beats other cars in a race. But, get in the 720S McLaren, it feels like its gonna kill you.”
Uh, okay. Whatever you say, bruh.
And just like that, Crosta and crew pull the front diff and the front axles. The vid actually provides some interesting views underneath the Veyron while they rip out all the required gear to make it RWD only.
After putting it all back together, sans the stuff to make it AWD, Crosta takes the freshly RWD’d Veyron for a cruise to see how the onboard computer adjusts to the hacked-up drivetrain. All seems well, so you know what happens next - foot down, tires burn.
As a side note, the Veyron uses a special type of Michelin tires that cost $17,000 a set. To unseat them from the Bug’s wheels, you gotta send them back to France and spend $70,000. So yeah, that’s some rather expensive tire smoke.
Congrats dude, you just ruined a $1.5 million car for a YouTube video.
When deep-pocketed car lovers want something more than a 253-mph coupe like the Bugatti Veyron, the only answer is to find a way to remove the top. And, that’s exactly what Bugatti did, effectively creating the Veyron Grand Sport. It wasn’t anywhere near as easy as it sounds, though, as Bugatti had to do a lot to make the car exactly what it was – an open top speed demon. To help set the model apart, and keep it safe in the event of the unfortunate, there’s a lot going on here. The windshield is lighter, it has restyled running lamps, and that roof – it was made from transparent polycarbonate. It had to be safe, though, too, so Bugatti added in reinforcement around the side skirts and the transmission tunnel. The B-Pillars got carbon fiber cross supports, and the new carbon-fiber doors were built around longitudinal beams that would direct the energy of an accident from the A to the B-Pillars, It even has redesigned air intakes and the necessary carbon fiber roll bars in the rear.
Needless to say, this is one timeless beauty, and that’s why it’s displayed across every computer screen here at Top Speed. Well, when we’re not cracking the whip and punching keys, anyway. We’re displaying our favorite wallpaper here, but there’s a huge gallery at the bottom of the page if you’d like something different. Go ahead and take your pick – they are free for the taking.
First World Problems: Bugatti Wants to Take Care of your Veyron For as Long as 15 Years
The price of buying a Bugatti Veyron will set you back at least $1.5 million, but the costs attached to owning one can run high too. An oil change, for example, will set you back $20,000. A new set of tires will hit you like a brick in the head at close to $50,000 per set. Add up the years you plan to own a Veyron, and you’re looking at maintenance costs that could reach around $400,000 to $500,000. Be thankful, then, that Bugatti is introducing a Loyalty Maintenance Program for the Veyron that will help reduce operating costs while maintaining the condition of your million-dollar supercar.
Amalgam’s 1:8 Scale Model Replica Of The Bugatti Veyron Vitesse Is Its Sickest One Yet
$15,000 can buy a lot of things. You can split that money up and pay for a year’s worth of rent. You can indulge on something like the Tonino Lamborghini Alpha One smartphone and save the rest for a rainy day. You can even use all of it in one go and buy a Ford Fiesta. All those things are on the table, though you can also use your $15 grand on something far less useful, though still pretty awesome: a 1:8 scale model of the Bugatti Veyron Vitesse.
I’ve seen my fair share of immaculate supercar scale models, but I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never seen anything quite like Amalgam’s scale model of the Veyron Vitesse. The details of this scaled down Veyron Vitesse are incredible. All the little minutiae of the supercar’s design are accurately depicted to the extent that you’d be forgiven if you thought that it was an actual Veyron Vitesse that was shrunk down by some kind of shirking device that Amalgam has at its disposal. Jokes aside, the company did say that the scale model is completely hand-crafted using the original CAD data supplied by no less than Bugatti itself. The involvement of the French automaker is enough reason to understand why the accuracy of the details of the Veyron is absolutely stunning. Amalgam even said that it takes 310 hours to build one scale model, and that’s just one part of a development process that roughly takes 3,000 hours, the equivalent of 125 days! It’s no wonder that the whole thing costs $15,000, and even after talking about it, I still haven’t gone to the best part of the scale model.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
Equatorial Guinea VP Gets Supercar Collection Confiscated
There are only a handful of people in the world that can claim to own a Koenigsegg One:1 or a Lamborghini Veneno. There are even fewer who can say they own both. Equatorial Guinea vice president Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue had that distinction until recently, when both his One:1 and Veneno were confiscated by Swedish authorities in Geneva.
No specific reason has been given behind the confiscations of the two prized exotics, but it is believed to be related to a series of investigations surrounding Mangue and his lavish lifestyle as the son of long-standing dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The extravagant son is accused of using public funds to finance his opulent lifestyle and according to other reports, he’s also accused of money laundering, among other charges.
The confiscation of the One:1 and the Veneno, not to mention a Bugatti Veyron, made headlines after Instagram user swissupercars posted a clip on his page showing the three exotics being loaded in the back of trucks by Swiss law enforcement authorities in Geneva.
Those who are familiar with Mangue’s reputation know that this isn’t the first time that his prized possessions has been raided by authorities. A similar incident happened in 2011 in Paris where French officials confiscated his entire collection of supercars, which included a Ferrari Enzo, Maserari MC12, Bentley Azure, Porsche Carrera GT, Ferrari 599 GTO, and a pair of Bugatti Veyrons. Those cars were eventually auctioned off in 2013, where it sold for a bargain price of just $4 million.
No word yet on what fate awaits the Koenigsegg One:1, Lamborghini Veneno, and Bugatti Veyron. But if history is used as a precedent, those cars could find themselves in an auction sooner than later. Better get those bids ready.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
2016 Mecum Monterey Auction – Preview
Mecum Auctions has been involved with collector cars for almost three decades now, growing from a small family business to selling roughly 20,000 lots per year. In addition to top-dollar automobiles, Mecum also offers vintage motorcycles, collectible road art, and believe it or not, tractors. But you and I don’t really care about all that other stuff – we’re in it for the cars, from cutting-edge performance machines to ironclad muscle cars, antique classics to no-frills racers. Thankfully, Mecum has the entire spread on tap. The auction house averages more than one event per month, but one of the biggest is in California for Monterey Car Week. Roughly 600 vehicles are slated to hit the block for 2016, and we’ve got some of the most interesting of them profiled right here.
Highlighting the lineup for Monterey is the Modern Speed Collection, a host of ultra-high-end speed-mobiles from the present day. Mecum calls it “the apex of 21st Century automotive performance,” and picking through the offerings, I’m inclined to agree. Think rare, gorgeous, and absurdly quick.
TopSpeed will be on the scene this year, bringing you all the latest. Read on for a taste of what’s in store.
Update 08-20-2016 5:00 P.M. PST We’re on the scene at Mecum and have updated this preview with a welcome video. Check it out in the preview below.
Continue reading to learn more about the 2016 Mecum Monterey Auction.
Can’t Afford a Bugatti Veyron? You Could Get These TMB Art Metal Cufflinks Instead
TMB Art Metal has done some awesome working in the past, offering keepsakes made from the metals of various cars. Different items have been made from vehicles like the Bugatti Type 35, Jaguar D-Type, the Spitfire, and even the Flying Scotsman train. More recently, the company created a series of poppy pins out of British shell fuses from the Somme battlefield to pay tribute to the soldiers killed during battle back in 1916. Now, TMB Art Metal is paying tribute to the Bugatti Veyron with a set of very special cufflinks made from the wheel of a Bugatti Veyron OZ Racing.
Most of the cufflinks are composed of the high-quality aluminum from the wheel of a Veyron OZ Racing in the design of the Veyron’s 12-spoke alloy wheels. The cufflinks are handcrafted and feature a silver rim and silver spokes. The wheels are crafted out of bronze to give a gold appearance, but can also be had in chrome black to offer a different, but equally gorgeous look. Every set of cufflinks from with a certificate of authenticity.
Christopher Bennett, the found of TMB Art Metal, said, “With the launch of the new Chiron, Bugatti has underlined its ability to make the greatest sports cars on the planet. These cuff links pay tribute to another of Bugatti’s glorious creations, and are a much more affordable way for owners and fans alike to carry a piece of the Veyron around with them.”
The cufflinks are priced at £295, or about $380, and can be purchased by contacting TMB Art Metal directly. All told, they look great and are sure to make any Bugatti enthusiast pretty happy.
Keep reading for the rest of the story
Father Of The Year Lets 13-Year-Old Son Go 202 MPH In His Bugatti Veyron: Video
When I was 13 years old, the closest thing I could ever get to driving a car was to take control of the wheel as my father pulled into our driveway. That was it. I didn’t get to actually drive a car legally until I got into college, and even then, I only did it sparingly. So imagine what it must be like to be 13-year-old Armik Aghakhani, who was allowed by his father to go all-out on his car. Oh, and that car just happened to be a Bugatti Veyron.
Before anybody starts thinking about how irresponsible Steven Aghakhani was for doing that, let’s put some context behind this story. Armik may only be a year into being a “teen,” but he’s already an accomplished driver, having started racing karts at the tender age of seven. As soon as he is legally allowed, the younger Aghakhani hopes to star racing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, an ambitious goal even for a young whippersnapper. Fortunately, he’s got a good coach in 2013 Formula Drift champion Michael Essa teaching him the racing ropes.
So back to the Veyron drive. The ride occurred at the recently held Shift S3ctor Airstrip Attack event in Colorado. With the event falling on Father’s Day, Steven gave his young racing prodigy a chance to go all out on his Veyron, and like the racing student that he is, Armik gamely obliged as he shot his dad’s prized supercar to speeds north of 200 mph, eclipsing his previous best of 195 mph in the same car.
It’s a nice video to watch and it might even be inspiring for a lot of fathers and sons out there.
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Gets Silly In Idaho Highway: Video
For the record, I’ve never been to Idaho and I don’t know too much about the state besides it being the country’s biggest source of potatoes. But I do know that it hosts the Sun Valley Road Rally, a gathering of supercar owners who are afforded the opportunity to drive their cars to their full limit on a closed section of road. It’s an annual event, and over the last few years, it has hosted some of the finest exotics in the business. This year’s event took place on Saturday, July 23, 2016 and from what I’ve heard, there was one supercar that really stood out from the rest: a bespoke Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse L’Or Rouge that its proud owner affectionately calls “Hellbug.”
The name probably alludes to its red-and-black, two-tone color scheme with the fancy striping. It’s a hard car to miss when it was idle. But once it came time to actually flexing its muscle, Hellbug became an impossibly difficult car to keep up with. That’s because the driver and owner of the car was able to hit an incredible 230 mph on the road. It may not have approached the Veyron GSV’s overall top speed of 254 mph, but just watching the car’s odometer slowly go past 230 mph is a sight in it of itself.
It’s hard to imagine what it would be like going at that speed on a public road. But every year, supercar owners get to do just that at the Sun Valley Road Rally. And, just as it did at last year’s gathering when it hit 235.7 mph, Hellbug once again stole the show for all the right reasons.
Cristiano Ronaldo Buys Bugatti Veyron To Celebrate Euro 2016 Win
It’s been less than a week since the Portuguese national soccer team won Euro 2016 in France, and its main star, Cristiano Ronaldo, is celebrating behind the steering wheel of his brand-new Bugatti Veyron. Also known for his passion for supercars, Ronaldo has recently taken delivery of one of the last Veyrons built. Word has it that Real Madrid’s player paid about £1.7 million (around $2.25 million) for the car. The Portuguese showcased his latest purchase on Instagram and referred to the car as an "animal."
Ronaldo has now joined a host of sports stars that at some point owned a Veyron, including boxer Floyd Mayweather and Brazilian footballer Roberto Carlos. Also, he is now the proud owner of one of only 450 Veyrons ever built. Being one of the last vehicles to leave the company’s shop, Ronaldo’s example is a Grand Sport, which is Bugatti talk for convertible/targa.
As a reminder, the Veyron Grand Sport uses a quad-turbo, 8.0-liter W-16 engine rated at a whopping 1,184 horsepower. It needs less than three seconds to hit 60 mph from a standing start, while its top speed is an impressive 254 mph.
The new Veyron Grand Sport is just one of Ronaldo’s many cars. The Portuguese player owns several Porsches, Ferraris, and Bentley, as well as a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Maserati GranCabrio. In 2009, he crashed one of his Ferraris in England, but hopefully the Veyron won’t have the same fate.
Images: Cristiano Ronaldo Instagram
Continue reading for the full story.
Several Bugatti Veyrons Recalled For Three Separate Issues
Automotive recalls seem to be a pretty common these days, but it’s not very often you seen a manufacturer like Bugatti show up on the recall list. The crazy part is that between March 23rd and April 8th of this year, Bugatti has issued a total of three recalls for the Bugatti Veyron. For a low-volume manufacturer like Bugatti, that is a little troubling. None of the recalls are for anything that poses and immediate risk, but they shouldn’t be taken lightly either.
The first recall that was issued on March 23rd involves certain 2006 to 2010 Veyron models, 2010 to 2012 Veyron Grand Sport models, and 2011 to 2013 Veyron Super Sport models. On these models, there are aluminum reference plates bonded to the undercarriage for jacking and lifting purposes. It was found that these plates may corrode and fall off the vehicle, potentially creating a road hazard or striking another vehicle. Bugatti techs will rivet the plates to the underbody and reseal them to alleviate the problem. A total of 87 vehicles are affected by this recall.
The next recall on the list involves the 2006 to 2010 Bugatti Veyron and 2010 to 2011 Veyron Grand Sport models. On these models, the fuel gauge may read too high, indicating that there is more fuel than there really is. To remedy the problem, Bugatti will replace the control unit for the fuel tank and update the software in the on-board computer system. This recall isn’t all that serious but, to avoid running out of gas on the road, it might be a good idea to keep the tank topped up until the repair can be completed. A total of 72 vehicles are affected by this recall.
The third recall is a little more serious than the others and affects just 2006 to 2008 Veyron models. It was found that the battery cable and its connection to the alternator may corrode and create excessive resistance in the battery cable. This will generate excessive heat, which could eventually spark a fire in the engine bay. Bugatti will replace the battery cable and clean up the corrosion on the alternator to take care of the problem. A total of 13 vehicles are affected by this recall, and to date, we haven’t heard of any fires being caused by this problem.
Continue reading for the full story.
Bugatti Chiron Vs. Bugatti Veyron
After many month of rumors, spy shots, and teasers, Bugatti finally introduced the Chiron at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Developed to replace the Veyron, considered one of the greatest vehicle engineered by man, the Chiron arrived 11 years after Bugatti began producing the world’s fastest production car. With the Veyron already an iconic supercar that has set so many benchmarks, the Chiron had big shoes to fill. It had to be faster and more powerful, yet feature the same luxurious interior and the same degree of exclusivity.
Although it has yet to set a new world record as of March 2016, it’s safe to assume that the Chiron didn’t disappoint. It has a completely new design that brings together modern cues with some of Bugatti’s heritage features and sports a beefed-up version of the 8.0-liter W-16 that made the Veyron the fastest production vehicle in the world. It’s quicker from a standstill and promises to hit a higher top speed despite being about 100 pounds heavier than its forerunner.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see the two cars being put through their paces on a test track, but until someone manages to unite a Veyron and a Chiron for a proper comparison, we’ll compare Bugatti’s record-breaking supercars using what we already know about them. Which one looks better, has the more luxurious interior, and the more impressive drivetrain? Keep reading to find out.
Continue reading for the full story.
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Performs Some Mean Donuts: Video
Ever wonder what it must feel like doing donuts in the fastest production car in the world? To my knowledge, I think I can count in one hand the number of times I’ve seen an actual Bugatti Veyron performing serious burnouts. There’s a reason for that. See, a set of Bugatti Veyron tires cost a little under $20,000. Since the Veyron uses special Michelin PAX tires, they can only be removed from the wheels in France in a process that reportedly costs around $70,000 to $80,000. That’s roughly $90,000 to $100,000 worth of replacement parts.
So yeah, people who own Veyrons don’t generally use them for burnouts because replacing those cars could put a serious dent in their wallets. But what happens when the tires themselves are so worn out that they have to replaced?
Well, magic happens. The folks over at DutchBugs happened to have with them a Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse World Record Car Edition. With those tires reportedly due for a change, they did what anybody would’ve done under the same situation. They took the special edition Veyron to an open area and proceeded to do some crazy burnouts that we’ll probably never get to see in our lifetimes again.
As for the young buck riding shotgun and bearing witness to arguably the most expensive donuts in history, that’s YouTube personality Gonth. For somebody who staked his claim to fame on YouTube, this is one heck of a video to have in his collection.
2015 has been some kind of year for the automotive industry, hasn’t it? Spending a year covering this wild and crazy industry has given me gray hair and yet, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. I love the craziness. I love the debuts. I love the goodbyes. And I love everything else in between.
To be clear, I didn’t even attempt to run through the minutiae of an even’s importance. I worked on the items that captured my attention the most, be it a company’s incredible rise and fall in a space of three months, or a supercar that made its goodbye after a decade spent as the king of the mountain.
All these things happened in 2015…and so much more. So as we bid 2015 adieu and welcome 2016 with renewed hopes of promise and optimism, let’s all take a look back at some of 2015’s most notable headlines in the auto industry. For the purposes of this story, I called them the “newsmakers” of the year.
Some are here for their success, while others are here for their failures. Then there are those who made it both for their successes and their failures. Whatever the case may be, none of us will forget what happened to them in 2015. They made the year memorable for everyone involved in the industry, even if it wasn’t always for the right reasons.
Continue after the jump to read the top newsmakers of 2015.
The results are in! Ok, that’s not the most fashionable way to intro the third and final part of the Hyper 5 video series, but it’s the best I can do given the excitement surrounding the dramatic conclusion to this epic hypercard throwdown.
Here’s a quick refresher: the Hyper 5 series is the brainchild of Alejandro Salomon. The filmmaker brought five of the world’s fastest and most powerful supercars together to run independent laps in each of them around the track to see which one could post the fastest lap time. As a bonus, four of the five cars also participated in an elimination-style drag race, with the winner taking on the supercar that has held the fastest drag record for a production vehicle for the better part of a decade.
So, before the lap times were revealed, the drag race took place with the Porsche 918 Spyder taking on the Pagani Huayra and the McLaren P1 duking it out with the Ferrari LaFerrari. The results of the first round of the drag race saw the 918 Spyder and the P1 beating their respective opponents. When it came time for the pair’s own drag race for a spot at the finals opposite the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, it was the 918 Spyder who blew past the P1.
Then it became a battle between the old guard taking on the new whippersnapper. The result of the race wasn’t particularly close, but I’m not going to spoil the winner because, well, you have to watch it to find out.
Once the drag race title was settled, the lap times of all five hypercars were finally revealed. Not surprisingly, the Pagani Huayra, the least powerful of the five, came in dead last, posting a lap time of 1:23.76 seconds. In fourth place came the Bugatti Veyron SS, the heaviest of the five, with a lap time of 1:23.006, leaving the battle for lap time supremacy down to the three hybrid hypercars.
In third place was the McLaren P1, which posted a lap time of 1:18.822 seconds, almost five seconds quicker than the Huayra. But, even that breathtaking lap time wasn’t enough to beat out the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder.
As for who came out on top, well, I’ll leave that for you to watch. Yep. No spoilers on this one, too. What I will tell you is that the winner finished with a lap time of 1:18.44 while the runner-up finished in 1:18.46. That’s a difference of two-hundredths of a second!
The Hyper 5 series was fun to watch so I have to give credit to Salomon and his crew for taking the time to create it. Well done, sir!
Last week, we brought you the first part of Alejandro Salomon’s three-part Hyper 5 series. Well, it didn’t take long for the second part of the series to be released, and now we finally get to see five of the world’s fastest and most powerful supercars in action.
First, a refresher. The Hyper 5 series is the creation of Salomon, otherwise known on the Internet as Salomondrin. He’s a well-off entrepreneur who also happens to be a huge car fan. So with his own resources, combined with steady contributions from the owners of the five hypercars in the film, Salomon decided to bring all of them together to see which one reigns supreme as the best of them all. The five supercars include the Bugatti Veyron, Pagani Huayra, Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, and the Porsche 918 Spyder.
Now, onto the second episode. GMG Racing’s James Sofronas is prominently featured in this episode, since he was given the task of driving timed laps for all five hypercars.
Before even getting into one of the cars, Sofronas gave Salomon a few predictions on which he thought would be the quickest in the quarter-mile (McLaren P1), which would be the hardest to drive (Bugatti Veyron), and best of all, which one would ultimately win the entire showdown (Porsche 918 Spyder).
Once all predictions were handed out, Sofronas went ahead and laid rubber with each of the five hypercars on a hot lap around the track. The lap times of each of the five cars weren’t revealed because, apparently, those are being saved for the climactic episode next week.
So, while we all wait to find out which of these five will be crowned the winner, we have more than enough time to watch all five hypercars engage in some pretty incredible hot laps. Enjoy the video!
What happens when you put a Bugatti Veyron, Pagani Huayra, McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, and a Ferrari LaFerrari in the same track at the same time? Short of the world actually melting into a puddle, you get to witness filmmaker Alejandro Salomon’s three-part series called “Hyper 5”.
The premise of Hyper 5 is pretty simple. You get five of the world’s fastest and most powerful supercars, run independent tests on each of them around the track and on the drag strip, then document the whole thing to see which one reigns supreme. This is the first part of the series. In it, Salomon spends the entire episode giving each supercar proper introductions. None of the actual tests were done in this episode because Salomon’s apparently saving that for the second and third installments.
Be that as it may, we still get top-quality, film making production, which adds to the incredible build-up of seeing all five supercars in action. Salomon did a good job giving each car its turn in the spotlight, even pointing out that none of these exotics came from their manufacturers. They’re all customer cars, free from any modifications, and all running on stock tires.
We’re going to have to wait for episodes two and three to see how these tests end up going. As far as putting my money on any one of them, I’m going to steer clear of picking a favorite because all of them have as good a chance as any at being the best among the lot. Besides, my choice would’ve been the Koenigsegg One:1, except that it’s not part of the quintet.
Although it has yet to launch the Chiron and the Veyron is sold out since early 2015, Bugatti has extended its presence in the United States by opening two new showrooms. Bugatti’s new dealers in North America are Manhattan Motorcars in New York and Braman Motors in Miami.
“North America is a very important market for Bugatti. About a quarter of our Veyron series, which is sold out, is located in North America and customers here are showing phenomenal interest in the next Bugatti super sports car," said Dr. Stefan Brungs, a member of the Board of Management of Bugatti Automobiles at the inauguration of the new showroom in Manhattan.
The new showrooms were used to introduce a new brand design developed specifically for Bugatti dealers. The dealerships are dominated by blue, the company’s official brand color, and complemented by distinctive lines and clear surfaces "reminiscent of Bugatti super sports cars." The concept includes a heritage section running films and animations highlighting Bugatti’s history, a comfortable lounge area with furniture from Bugatti Brand Lifestyle (including carbon-fiber armchairs), and adaptable background lighting with the company’s red oval logo. The new dealership concept will expand to other showrooms as well.
With these two new showrooms, Bugatti now has 27 dealers in 13 countries. Further dealerships are due to open in Munich, Monaco, and Tokyo over the next few months.
Continue reading for the full story.
We would never accuse Koenigsegg founder Christian von Koenigsegg of sandbagging, but if ever there were an opportunity, this would be it. During its 2Fast Touzani Tour, online tech retailer Trust brought its 1,000-horsepower Bugatti Veyron to Koenigsegg headquarters in Sweden for some hypercar drifting antics and an impromptu rolling-start drag race between the Bug and a 1,000-horsepower (on E85) 2007 Koenigsegg CCXR. The twist? Christian von Koenigsegg was the one driving the Veyron! Surely, Christian isn’t the kind of guy who would use less than 100 percent of the Veyron’s power to let his own car win. Or is he?
Actually, the somewhat unscientific race was of little consequence and probably just for fun. Mr. Koenigsegg is one of nicest, most affable guys in the auto industry, and seems up for just about anything involving cars. Both the Veyron and CCXR are a few years old now, and had Koenigsegg brought a 2015 Koenigsegg One:1 to the fight, then the Bugatti would have been a spec in its rear-view mirror, and the same would probably go for the CCXR it had gone up against whatever Bugatti has next in its product pipeline.
Still, it’s always fun to see two incredibly fast cars go at it on a long strip of tarmac. So, place your bets and click through to see which comes out on top.
Officially discontinued only a few months ago, when the 2015 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse "La Finale" was displayed at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the Bugatti Veyron is already a collectible. Proof of that is this 2006 model that’s set to go under the hammer during RM Auction’s sale in Monterey on August 13th to 15th. The auction house estimates that the 2006 Bugatti Veyron will fetch between $1.8 and $2.4 million, which is up to nearly $1 million more than its original sticker.
The example in question is the Veyron 16.4 "001," the first Veyron to roll off the assembly line. The car was originally delivered new to the East Coast and then to California, spending the next few years in Beverly Hills. Though its nearly 10 years old, the 16.4 "001" is in mint condition, having been driven for less than 800 miles. Recently, it also received a full service by Bugatti of Beverly Hills, which included a new set of tires.
On top of getting a rare and well-maintained Veyron, the winning bidder will also benefit from a unique pre-owned warranty from the Bugatti Certified program, which includes a two-year warranty plus two additional years of service free of charge. The offer is unprecedented for a used car and the value of the program exceeds $100,000. That’s not much, given this car will cost at least $1.8 million, but it’s something considering this Veyron is nearly a decade old.
Continue reading for the full story.
No other race in the world can match the shear scale of the Nürburgring 24: over 150 cars, 15.5 miles of tarmac, twice around the clock and more drunk Germans than you’ll ever find at five years worth of Oktoberfests. Our pal Shmee150 got a to take it all in from a pretty nice vantage point: the passenger seat of a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
Bugatti invited Shmee to its workshop at the Nurburgring to not only ride shotgun during the race parade lap, but to also get some seat-time the day before with Bugatti test driver and Le Mans winner Andy Wallace, in both the Super Sport and a Grand Sport Vitesse — both the very same cars that set the Veyron’s closed-top and open-top speed records.
The Veyron’s run might be over, but at one point, wondering aloud how fast the Veyron’s replacement will be, Shmee asks Wallace, “Where does it go from here?” Wallace doesn’t answer, but, as a Bugatti test driver, we have a feeling he knows more than he’s letting on.
Motorcycle versus car drag race videos tend to be at least somewhat pointless. The huge disparity in power to weight ratios makes nearly every one of them a foregone conclusion. But this is a slightly different take on the whole thing. For one, the car is a Bugatti Veyron, a car that’s a bit faster than most. In addition it’s a half-mile race instead of a quarter-mile, and the two vehicles are taking off from 50mph rolling starts. This puts the two closer to reaching their top speeds, where the Bugatti has the advantage.
Except that the bike is a Kawasaki Ninja H2R, an absolute beast of a machine with 300 supercharged horsepower all wrapped in carbon fiber. The bike has a theoretical top speed of 250-260mph (still not quite as fast as the Bugatti, but pretty close) although nobody has actually taken one there yet. The H2R is technically a track bike, and not street legal, meaning that something like an Ariel Atom would have been a more appropriate match, but why nitpick when you could just sit back and enjoy a crazy fast drag race.
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Office furniture tends to be pretty conservative in terms of its design, often minimalist to the point of being depressing to look at. Not every workplace is so set on spirit-crushing anonymity, but those that aren’t have a somewhat limited selection of practical furniture that’s also fun. But Design Epicentrum has car lovers covered with a new series of desks made to look like the front ends of supercars.
At the moment, the desks seem to come in only two varieties, Bugatti and Lamborghini (sold without any badging, presumably for legal reasons), although a number of different colors are offered. Given what must be a fairly limited market for such things, we wouldn’t count on any more models being introduced. The desks are also large, so space is a consideration, but they could certainly make for a cool reception desk, or a home office desk for someone who has the space. That person will also need some money, because the price is listed as “on request,” which is code for “expensive.” But the craftsmanship really is top notch, looking every bit like someone simply sawed the front off of an exotic. The design also blends the desk and car together well, making for the best desk/car combination you could hope for.
Continue reading for the full story.
There’s no such thing as the "perfect car." There — said it right off the bat. Not because I subscribe to the platitude that perfection is completely subjective, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder or any of that. Objective standards do exist. For instance, objectively, Scarlett Johansson probably looks better in a bikini than Steve Buscemi. Any dissenting opinion there? No? That’s because we can apply certain dimensional criteria, certain mechanical evaluations to determine who likely wears Spandex best. The same is true for non-human machines, like cars.
Even so, finding "perfection" that way means setting criteria, as opposed to expecting perfection as some kind of absolute. Absolute perfection is always an ideal. It’s kind of like the North Star. You can use it to navigate, to figure out which direction you’re going; but no matter how long you sail toward it, you’ll probably never get perceptibly closer. You’ve got earthly limitations in the here and now that kind of preclude the possibility.
So for this article, we’re going to stick to the earthly limitations of the here and now. We’ll look at our guiding star of ideal perfection first, just to get a navigation point. But from there, we’re on our own, left to sail those uncharted waters to find the closest thing to automotive perfection, sticking as closely as possible to the shores of today’s technology.
XCAR’s look back at the Bugatti Veyron is an unusual one, in that it feels much more like a review of a current model than any kind of retrospective. But if ever there was a car where this approach makes sense, it is the Veyron. Bugatti’s own obsession with top speed has encouraged many people to think of the car as nothing more than a collection of numbers, and in that sense it has become somewhat outdated in the decade since its launch. But the car is much more than that, and even the monstrous power, speed and acceleration figures aren’t nearly as important as what an accomplishment it was to make that kind of power usable, and so long before other companies really had that part of the equation nailed down.
This video talks a lot about the car’s speed. Not in terms of 0-60 times or top speed, but about what that speed is like on regular roads; even country roads, which is where most of the footage was shot. That’s because the Veyron wasn’t built to be a track-only machine, and even if it took 10 years for a review that acknowledges this, we finally have one here.
Back in January, a video began circulating from the Vmax200 EVOmax event showing a Bugatti Veyron and a LaFerrari going head-to-head in a long-distance drag race held on a two-mile runway in London. From the video footage, the lighter hybrid Ferrari beat the all-engine Bugatti. Nobody likes losing in a race, but I have to imagine that the sting of defeat has to be even worse when you’re piloting the fastest car on the planet. Now it’s time for a rematch.
Held at Vmax200 Stealth, this race pits the same Bugatti against a new LaFerrari challenger, and supercar chaser extraordinaire Schmee150 was there to capture the multimillion dollar race on video. This time around, the more powerful Veyron easily beats the Ferrari hitting a top speed of 214 mph versus 206 mph, but weather likely played a key role. The video description says that the track was damp during this run, which is evident by the Ferrari struggling to get traction off the line giving the all-wheel-drive Bugatti the advantage.
As the track dried up, Schmee says that the Veyron later hit a top speed of 224 mph. Regardless of who wins, it never gets old watching two of the most expensive and powerful production cars on the planet going all-out.
As a proper farewell for the 450th – and last – Bugatti Veyron ever made, the one-off La Finale was revealed earlier this month at the Geneva Motor Show, and now Bugatti has released a short video that, like the car itself, celebrates 10 years of the fastest production car this planet has ever met. If you’ve ever wondered what it took to build the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse La Finale (or the 449 Veyrons that came before it), then you’re in for a treat.
Although most of the build process has been glossed over for time considerations, the highlights are there as La Finale is hand-built at Bugatti’s Molsheim, France headquarters. The highlight of the video is the glorious moment when the massive 8.0-liter quad-turbo W-16 engine and the seven-speed DSG are married to the main cabin of the car. The sheer size of the Veyron’s drivetrain components is absolutely remarkable.
Like the ending credits to a movie, the video ends by introducing us to some of the team members that have been responsible for building the Veyron. With the La Finale, the curtain has officially fallen on the Veyron, but the good news is that there is definitely a sequel coming.
When Bugatti introduced the Grand Sport Vitesse La Finale, the "last production unit" of the supercar, at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, I honestly believed it would be the last Veyron to emerge from Molsheim. As it turns out, I was wrong, as a bespoke model delivered back in January just surfaced in the Interwebs to steal the show. It goes by the name Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Cristal Edition and was created for a Chinese collector who commissioned it for his girlfriend. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you fancy pink accents on a supercar.
Yup, this Veyron was wrapped in a two-tone, white-and-pink livery, which is probably why Bugatti didn’t bother to issue a press release or give it a proper introduction at an automotive event. With most Veyrons linked to classic Bugattis one way or another, I can understand why the French opted for a quiet delivery. On the other hand, the Cristal Edition isn’t the first pink Veyron to roam the streets, but more about that in the detailed review below.
Continue reading to learn more about the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Cristal Edition.
With the last of the 450 Bugatti Veyrons having been unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, this would be as good a time as any to remember what is probably the main reason behind the supercar’s enormous success: it’s 16-cylinder engine. Bugatti isn’t the first – although it will probably be the last – to fit a 16-cylinder powerplant in a production car, but it was the first to use a W-16 configuration.
If you ever wondered how the W16 monster is built, Carscoops recently came across an older YouTube video of the assembly line in Molsheim, France, where each of the 450 Veyrons were hand-built, including their powerplants. The footage was most likely taken closer to the model’s launch in 2005, which is why it’s probably not as glamorous-looking as you would expect. The most interesting part is probably around the 2:30 minute mark, where you can see that cylinder no. 3 was initially tagged with a different number.
Essentially composed of two W-8 engines united with a single crankshaft, with each four cylinders being fed by a turbocharger, the W-16 powerplant delivers between 987 horsepower in the original Veyron and 1184 horsepower in the Veyron SuperSport. Despite using a good deal of aluminum and titanium parts, the sheer size of the engine translates into a weight of around 900 pounds. With the seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission adding another 550 pounds or so into the equation, you can probably see why the Bugatti Veyron is such a heavy car.
As the world waits for the arrival of the Chiron, Bugatti has announced that the sun has officially set on that car’s predecessor, the Veyron. After 10 years of setting speed records around the world, Bugatti has produced the final Veyron ever, and it is aptly named “La Finale.”
Now, before you get up hopes of snatching up the last-ever Veyron, you’re too late. "La Finale" is already sold. However, the owner was kind enough to let the French showcase it at the Geneva Motor Show. where it will be displayed alongside the first-ever production Veyron from 2005. That should make for an incredible show stand!
La Finale represents the 450th example of the Veyron, and the 150th roadster model. To put that into context, Bugatti sold as many Veyrons in a decade that Ford sells F-Series trucks in the U.S. each day… before lunch. Wolfgang Dürheimer, president of Bugatti Automobiles, said that “an unprecedented chapter in automobile history has reached its climax” with the Veyron’s conclusion, but with the Chiron on the horizon (rumored for a 2017 introduction), there’s an entirely new chapter waiting to be written.
Updated 03/02/2015: Bugatti unveiled the official details and specs on the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse "La Finale" - the last Veyron that the company will build before bringing a new successor for the supercar.
Continue reading to find out more about the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse "La Finale".
As much as I love supercars, I’ve never been a fan of the Bugatti Veyron. Despite Bugatti’s claims, the Veyron has nothing to do with the brand’s racing origins. Unlike the EB110, the Veyron wasn’t developed with racing in mind. Bugatti built it for the sole purpose of becoming the world’s fastest production car in its attempt to shatter a record McLaren had held since 1993. I could also mention I find its potato-shaped design rather ugly, but I’m well aware that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Rants aside, from a performance standpoint, the Bugatti Veyron is indeed spectacular. It can hit in excess of 260 mph and it needs only 2.6 seconds to charge from 0 to 60 mph. However, these figures only tell part of the story. There’s Top Gear’s infamous Veyron vs F1 drag race, which the Bugatti won, but there’s a new video that proves the French hypercar has its own flaws, mainly a 4,162-pound weight problem.
The footage in question brings together the Veyron and the Koenigsegg Agera R, which has 1,140 horsepower, 43 fewer than its French counterpart. In the acceleration contest above, held at Germany’s Paupenberg track, the racing starts from 50 km/h (31 mph) and goes beyond 350 km/h (217 mph). Click play for the outcome.
You can get a lot of car for $40,000. The Ford Mustang GT, Subaru WRX STI and Volkswagen Golf R all come to mind, but each is still cheaper than the QuickSilver Exhaust Systems Titan, titanium cat-back exhaust for the Bugatti Veyron. At £26,760 or a little under $42,000, QuickSilver claims it’s the most expensive exhaust system in the world.
In this video, fitted to a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, it sounds absolutely monstrous. Titanium systems tend to resonate higher, giving the exhaust note a slightly higher timbre, and in this case it definitely makes the Veyron’s quad-turbo, 1,200-horsepower, 8.0-liter W12 sound a bit more unhinged. Veyrons have a unique sound anyway, and while you would never say they sound bad, this gives it more of an edge. We’d love to hear what it sounds like under load outside a garage.
Unless you’re a certified Bugatti mechanic (cool job, by the way), installing QuickSilver’s Veyron exhaust doesn’t look like something you would want to attempt. Lots of expensive carbon-fiber bodywork has to come off, including the rear deck lid and a sizable panel above the rear bumper.
As pricy as they are, titanium exhausts don’t really offer many tangible benefits for the street over traditional steel systems, which is why they’re use is mostly limited to race cars and exotics. They heat and cool faster, but that only provides slightly more power at low engine temperatures. They’re considerably lighter, but when you’re working with a two-ton, multi-million dollar car, you’re probably just doing it because you can. Mostly, they just sound cool and turn pretty colors when they’re heated up.
Introduced 10 years ago, the Bugatti Veyron is facing retirement in 2015, when the 450th and final example will roll out of the Molsheim assembly plant in Alsace, France. To celebrate the event, Bugatti will showcase the final Veyron at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show in March, company president Wolfgang Durheimer revealed in an interview with German magazine Auto Motor und Sport.
The final Bugatti Veyron is a bespoke version of the Grand Sport Vitesse model, and although Durheimer decline to unveil any actual details, the 450th supercar will feature a unique exterior finish — likely in carbon fiber — and a host of bespoke interior appointments. If custom iterations such as the Black Bess and the Ettore Bugatti are any indication, the 450th Veyron will feature custom door panels and sills, a special insert in the center console extension, and various other ornaments. Look for exclusive leathers and upholstery colors as well.
What won’t change on the final iteration of the Veyron is its massive 8.0-liter W-16. The quad-turbo engine will produce the same 1,183 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque that made the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse the fastest open-top production car in the world at 254.04 mph. With that much oomph traveling to the pavement through a seven-speed, DSG sequential gearbox and all-wheel drive, the Veyron needs only 2.6 seconds to sprint to 60 mph.
Click past the jump to read more about the final Bugatti Veyron.
As if it isn’t rare enough to see a Bugatti Veyron and 2014 LaFerrari on separate occasions, just imagine seeing both together and lined up for a massive drag race no less. That’s just what happened late last year at the Vmax200 EVOmax in London, where we saw both ultra-rare hypercars square off in the most epic of drag races. This unique event gives drivers the chance to join the 200-mph club on a two-mile stretch of open runway with some of the fastest cars on the road.
The best part is that this multimillionaire race was caught on video with the Ferrari and Bugatti going head to head at least twice. This video shows the cars taking off from a dead start before rounding a turn and hitting the wide-open runway where the cars can hit their 200-plus-mph speeds, but it’s unclear what speed they are going in this video.
While the race was far from scientific, the hybridized LaFerrari gets the best of the Veyron both times. With only 950 horsepower, the Ferrari is underpowered compared to the Bugatti’s 1,200-horsepower output, but it also weighs about 1,100 pounds less and is far more advanced.
Some of the other cars on hand at the event include a Lamborghini Countach, a handful of Nissan GT-Rs and a Ford GT.
The Bugatti Veyron, one of the world’s mightiest supercars, is nearing its end after Bugatti boss Wolfgang Durheimer told CAR that only eight examples of the iconic supercar remain unsold. It’s been a great run for the car still considered as the pinnacle of automotive engineering and once the remaining eight units are sold, Bugatti will immediately transition into the development phase of the Veyron’s successor, which is reportedly named Chiron.
Apparently, the word “downtime” is a foreign concept to Bugatti. According to Durheimer, as soon as production for the Veyron stops, the company will immediately shift its attention to preparing “the pre-series cars to support the launch of the next car.”
Durheimer’s comment is the latest indication that the Chiron is going to be launched sometime next year, though Bugatti has stopped short of actually confirming that course of action. What’s clear is that the French automaker is not going to be sitting on idle time and bask in the adulation of the Veyron as its rivals beef up their own Bugatti slayers. Durheimer has made it known that the company is preparing earnestly for the successor with the goal of repelling any sort of competition for the title of "world’s fastest production car," including in his own words, “one crazy American that wants to beat us.”
You know Bugatti’s taking that record seriously when it’s openly acknowledging the competition coming from American tuner Hennessey. On a related noted, Durheimer calling Hennessey "crazy" is probably the most flattering backhanded compliment John Hennessey and the equally bonkers Venom GT will ever get from the esteemed French automaker.
You should start preparing for a huge 2015 from Bugatti. It’s likely the last year we’ll see the Veyron for sale and the first year we will see the Chiron in the flesh. That, in a nutshell, is how you do a seamless transition.
Click past the jump to read more about the Bugatti Chiron.
2014 has been quite the eventful year in the auto industry, and the best part is we still have December left before the calendar flips to 2015. But since we’re celebrating Thanksgiving today, we wanted to take this opportunity to give thanks to some of the highlights of 2014. It was a long and exhaustive list that we somehow managed to whittle down to five things we’re thankful for.
All items on the list were newsworthy at one point or another during the year, but the things on this list didn’t make it simply because they made news in 2014. Rather, the items on this list have long-term impacts on the evolution of the auto industry moving forward. Whether it was the development of a new engine or the arrival and imminent departure of two supercars, 2014 really had them all.
Read through the things we’re thankful for in 2014 and let us know what you’re thankful for in the comments section.
Click past the jump to read about the five things I am thankful for in 2014.
We know Volkswagen AG is currently preparing a successor for the Bugatti Veyron. What we don’t know is how VW is going to manage creating a successor for the official "world’s fastest car." Well, according to a Bloomberg report, three different concepts are currently being tested in anticipation for a car that can fill the enormous shoes the Veyron will leave behind.
The new car is expected to be lighter and more powerful than its predecessor; rumors point at the potential that it’ll be 25 percent more powerful than the Veyron Super Sport. Considering the Veyron SS has 1,200 horsepower under its hood, this is quite the feat. There’s also talk that at least one of the aforementioned three concepts is carrying an electric motor, leading to the possibility that past rumors of a hybrid Bugatti may not be hearsay after all.
Neither Volkswagen nor Bugatti have laid out detailed plans for the Veyron’s successor, but a Bugatti spokeswoman, Manuela Hoehne, did say that an outlook on a new model should be available next year. VW design chief Walter de Silva also told TopGear that the new model could make its debut at the end of next year, probably around early 2016.
From now until its official debut, we can at least be assured that Bugatti and Volkswagen are not sitting idly by as the Veyron enters its personal twilight. A successor is coming. It’s just a matter of waiting for it to arrive.
Click past the jump to read more about Bugatti Veyron’s Successor.
With only a handful of cars left to be sold, the venerable and spectacular Bugatti Veyron is getting ready to hit the history books. There’s been a lot of talk about its successor, reportedly due in 2017, but details are still under wraps as of August 2014. What we know for a fact is that the vehicle coming to replace the Veyron will be more powerful, meaning output will blast beyond the 1,250 horsepower mark. Naturally, Bugatti will want to improve on its Guinness Book record for the fastest production car.
As we’re waiting for Bugatti to confirm whether or not the Veyron successor will carry a hybrid drivetrain - as suggested by a pair of mules spotted on the Nurburgring track in April 2014 - the folks over at Car and Driver claim they have solved one mystery surrounding the new supercar. Namely, the next uber-fast Bugatti will bear the Chiron moniker. What’s more, the report suggests the so-called Chiron will make its first public appearance as soon as 2015, meaning the Veyron might get a heir to the speed-record throne sooner than expected.
A grain of salt is mandatory with such reports, but there are a couple of reasons why Bugatti might indeed launch its upcoming supercar under the Chiron nameplate. Read on to find out more.
Note: 1999 Bugatti Chiron concept pictured here.
Click past the jump to read more about Bugatti Veyron’s Successor.
Remember the Bugatti Veyron that veered into a lake from a seemingly straight road? Yeah, well the driver recently pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire mail fraud in connection with the crash.
Andy House, 39, of Lufkin, Texas reportedly bought the 2006 Bugatti Veyron for $1 million then promptly had it insured for $2.2 million. Soon afterwards on November 11, 2009, House purposefully drove his supercar into the Gulf Bay. What’s more, House then left the quad-turbocharged, 8.0-liter W-16 engine running in order to fill it with saltwater.
Veyron destruction accomplished; the Bugatti was a total loss.
Unbeknownst to House, another motorist was admiring his 1001-horsepower ride with his video camera rolling when House decided to turn his Bugatti in to a bag of cash. With the video evidence uploaded to the all-telling YouTube, the FBI’s investigation on House’s questionable insurance payout had plenty of evidence.
House now faces up to 20 years in federal prison for his scheme. A sentencing date has not been set, so House’s fate is still unknown, but it’s not looking good.
So remember, kids – insurance fraud is no joke.
Click past the jump to watch the entire cringe-worthy episode from 2009 and to hear someone confuse a Veyron with a Lambo...
Bugatti rocked the supercar world in 2005 by releasing the Veyron, its first production vehicle since the EB110, which was discontinued in 1995. Initially powered by a quad-turbocharged, 8.0-liter, W-16 engine that cranked out 987 horsepower, the Veyron was later updated and gifted with no less than 1,183 ponies and 1,106 pound-feet of torque. The French supercar is mostly know for being the fastest street-legal production car in the world, with a record sitting at 267.856 mph. Its roadster version, the Grand Sport Vitesse, holds the same benchmark for the world’s fastest open-top with a top speed of 254.04 mph. With only 15 units left to be built as of August 2014, Bugatti is sending the Veyron into the history books with yet another unique iteration, this time around created for an unnamed customer in Singapore.
Suggestively named "1 of 1," this bespoke Veyron was crafted using the same recipe that made Bugatti famous. However, there’s twist to the "1 of 1", which comes with more than a custom paintjob and a personalized interior. Not that these features are something to sneeze at, but it goes to show that Bugatti is capable of taking its customization program even further. Read on to find out why.
Click past the jump to read more about the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse "1 of 1"