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Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse is the same Bug with new paint

We typically wince any time a manufacturer rolls out a special edition that's little more than a coat of paint, but we'll make an exception in this case. Bugatti parked the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse on the lawn of the Quail Motorsports Gathering, resplendent in its Bianco and Light Blue livery. The paint scheme is a tribute to the 1928 Type 37A. That open-wheel racer took the checkered flag at a number of grand prix events and now finds itself in the loving care of none other than Jay Leno himself.
As with the rest of the Veyron Grand Sport models, the Vitesse can bolt to 62 mph from a dead stop in a physics-obliterating 2.6 seconds. The feat is possible thanks to a range of impressive mechanical systems, though the 1,200 horsepower forced-induction W16 at the heart of it certainly doesn't hurt. Check out the Vitesse in the gallery below and have a peek at the full press release as well.

Completed Bugatti Type 64 Coupe to make debut at Quail Motorsports Gathering

If you're one of the Autoblog faithful you might remember our story on the Bugatti Type 64 Coupe chassis on display at the Mullin Automotive Museum, one of just three built by the French carmaker before the death of Jean Bugatti. At the time, we told you the museum had plans to finalize the construction of the car with custom coachwork - only one example received bodywork from the factory - and now that time has finally come to unveil the finished product. Today it was announced that a "virtually completed" car will make its debut later this month at the Quail Motorsports Gathering in Monterey.
"We've dedicated much of our efforts at the Museum to honor the Bugatti family and the marque, but never have we done something of this scale," said Peter Mullin, Chairman of the Mullin Automotive Museum. "I cannot imagine a greater token of respect to the Bugatti family than to help finish Jean Bugatti's beloved final masterpiece."
We'll have live photos of the completed Bugatti Type 64 Coupe as part of our extensive Monterey coverage next week. Want to see the car in person for yourself? The museum says it will have also have the car on display at their facility in Oxnard, CA later this year.

Is this the world's first Bugatti Veyron art car?

The fourth annual Wilton Classic and Supercar Festival goes down on August 5th, and organizers of the event have come up with a supremely fast attention getter: a Bugatti Veyron art car. Well, almost. The Bug was wrapped in vinyl that was designed by an artist we've written about before, Ian Cook, known as Pop Bang Colour, who immortalized an image of the Chevrolet Camaro on canvas using radio-controlled cars.
Among the Gulf-inspired livery you might notice that this particular Veyron is called the "BUGARTI," typo intended. The livery isn't for nothing, with a Gulf-liveried McLaren F1 GTR Longtail scheduled to appear at Sunday's event. If you can get there, we've heard it's worth it. If you can't, there's a high-res gallery of the multi-chromatic Bugarti above.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport World Record Edition visits the Mullin Museum

The last time we visited the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, CA, it was to see the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, which was the world's most expensive car at the time with an estimated purchase price of $30-$40 million. Nearly two years later we found ourselves back in the museum, this time to view the world's fastest car - the 2011 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport World Record Edition.
Bugatti will build 300 of the Veyron 16.4 supercars by the time they are finished with production. Of those, 46 will be of the Super Sport variant boasting an incredible 1,200 horsepower, and of those just five will be World Record Editions that celebrate the car's record-breaking 268-mph top-speed run. The car you see here is one of those select few and is on loan to the museum for a short period of time. It features the same two-tone paint scheme featured on the car used to set the top speed at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessian high-speed oval.
The Veyron 16.4 Super Sport WRE is one of many modern Bugattis currently on display in the museum, joining a Veyron 16.4 Super Sport prototype and show cars from the late 1990s including the 18.3 Chiron Concept, EB118 Concept and EB218 Concept. A rare Bugatti EB110 SS is also on display.

Bugatti looking into hybrid tech for next-gen Veyron?

Fast. Powerful. Opulent. There are any number of descriptors one could use to describe the Bugatti Veyron. But along with them is "heavy" - including heavy on fuel consumption. That's just the way it goes when you're dealing with a sixteen-cylinder, quad-turbo beast of a supercar. But that could change, if the latest output from the rumormill proves accurate.
According to a report from Auto Express, Bugatti is keen to improve its image in the eyes of a tree-hugging world, so it is looking at ways to make the successor to the Veyron more fuel efficient. One way would be to make the car lighter, something that shouldn't be all that difficult considering that the current model weighs in at over 4,000 pounds. One such method of trimming the fat reportedly revolves around carbon-fiber wheels, something that's been done before but far from widely adopted.
At the other end of the spectrum, Bugatti is also reportedly evaluating the prospect of hybrid propulsion - something that would not reduce weight but could help fuel consumption figures while keeping the power up. If the Molsheim automaker were to go that route, we'd expect something closer to what Ferrari is working on for the Enzo successor than an upmarket Toyota Prius.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport on 'Ring for record attempt?

The December 2005 issue of Australian motoring mag Wheels said the Bugatti Veyron lapped the Nürbugring in 7:40 in traffic. In the intervening years, depending on which list you consult, that particular time would leave the Veyron behind as few as 11 or as many as 38 other cars. Bugatti was quiet about it, but the company is quiet about almost everything that doesn't involve a new special edition or straight-line speed.
Among the other things Bugatti has neglected to publicize is the presence of a factory-plated Veyron Super Sport caught doing recon laps at the 'Ring. This might or might not lead to any publicly declared lap time, but even if it does, none of us should expect a miracle. A five-percent improvement would be colossal, and colossally unlikely - there are just as many curves at the 'Ring now as there were in 2005, and the massive Veyron SS still isn't made to take them. But say the Alsatian supercoupe did cleave 23 seconds off the lap, that would still leave it at 7:17, two seconds behind the Donkervoort D8 RS, one second ahead of the Porsche GT2 RS.
So now that the pressure's off, let's just say we'll be happy with any time the Veyron SS turns in so long as we get some in-car video to take the virtual ride. Scroll down for some video of the supercar on the track. Sounds beastly.

Jay Kay's 1955 Maserati A6G/54 on the docket for Pebble Beach

Gooding & Company has revealed the highlights of its consignments for its Pebble Beach auction during the action-packed Monterey weekend. At the top of the list is the classic 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Frua Berlinetta currently owned by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay. This Maserati, the show car from the 1955 Paris Auto Salon, features Frau coachwork, won Best in Show at the Salon Privé, and is expected to fetch between $1.5 and 2 million.
No less prestigious is the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio convertible that belonged to Prince Louis Napoleon of France, grandson of Emperor Napoleon I and noted Bugatti collector of the time. Supercharged from the factory, the stunning two-tone droptop is projected to sell for $1.3 to 1.6 million.
Finally, an original 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra is on the docket, with pre-sale estimates at $750,000 - $950,000. See below for the full press release and watch this space as the classic car world gears up for Pebble Beach.

Bugatti Veyron, Lexus LFA, McLaren MP4-12C and Lambo Aventador in 1/4-mile shootout... who wins?

Automobile Magazine scribe Jason Cammisa was sent into the desert to referee four carbon-fiber-bodied wild animals fighting it out over the quarter mile: the V8 McLaren MP4-12C, the V10 Lexus LFA, the V12 Lamborghini Aventador and the W16 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport. It's a tough job, innit?
The Head 2 Head race was run elimination style, with the winner of each two-up challenge facing the next devil up the totem pole. Although you might not have any doubts about the eventual victor, how each of these supercars fared is good watching. See all the screaming for yourself in the video below.

Volkswagen Group previews its wares on eve of Geneva show

The Volkswagen Group is comprised of 11 brands producing 240 vehicles across 49 factories throughout the world. So the best way to show off the range of the VW family is to cram a few thousand journalists and VIPs into a massive makeshift stand to outline the Group's goals, what's in the pipeline and what you'll be able to buy later this year.
To that end, VW pulled out all the stops on the eve of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, bringing along 10 vehicles from across the range. We'll be delving into the details of each over the next two days of show coverage, but before that happens, you can read all about what we saw tonight from the cheap seats after the break.

Kit Cat: Mercury Cougar makes perfect Bugatti Veyron substitute

Bugatti Veyron kit car - Click above for high-res image gallery
If you've got a pulse in your wrist and a snapping brain cell in your head, chances are you wouldn't mind parking a Bugatti Veyron in your garage. But for most mere mortals, scrounging up the cash for a physics-bending piece of 16-cylinder glory would require all sorts of unpalatable tasks. Fortunately for those who want to look the part without having to participate in human trafficking, the kit car universe has stepped in to save the day. All you need is a 1999-2002 Mercury Cougar, a boat load of fiberglass and a little patience.
Oh, and $89,000.