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Watch the 1,500-hp Bugatti Chiron engine thrashing in a test rig

Making sure the Bugatti Chiron is "Ring-Proof" takes a lot of testing. This rig, built by Bugatti's engineering and testing partner AVL-Schrick, demonstrates the hypercar's heart beating wildly while it's subjected to the g-forces it would experience on the Nurburgring. The footage was tweeted by James Mills of The Sunday Times. Oil starvation is one of the key issues a car manufacturer has to tackle when making sure its product can withstand track time. For example, the Group B rally car derived all-aluminum XU9J4 engine in the first edition of the Peugeot 405 Mi16 suffers from oil starvation in prolonged track use in long corners. Due to insufficient oil pan baffling, the engine oil isn't evenly distributed when g-forces work their magic. By the time the 2.0-liter iron block XU10 version of the engine was rolled out in the facelifted car, the oil pan featured specially designed ports and baffles that restricted the oil's movement, making the engines less susceptible to crankshaft damage when driven spiritedly on a track. Not seen this before: @Bugatti engine rig simulates a flat-out run of the @nuerburgring, #chiron #hypercars pic.twitter.com/pwu6IpVQKq — James Mills (@squarejames) March 18, 2017 But in that case we're talking about a 150-horsepower car, and the quad-turbocharged, W16-engined Chiron has 10 times as much power. When it was new, the engine in the $20,000 Peugeot reportedly cost the manufacturer nearly $5000 to produce, per unit. One imagines the Bugatti engines are far, far more expensive, and damaging one at a race track due to a manufacturer oversight must be a nightmare, hence this specially designed rig to iron out any Chiron bugs. Related Video: Image Credit: James Mills Plants/Manufacturing Bugatti Supercars Videos viral video Bugatti Chiron

Bugatti Veyron hybrid successor rumors surface anew

If you had told us when the Bugatti Veyron debuted nine years ago that its successor would be a hybrid, we would have responded that you were out to lunch. In fact, we didn't quite believe it two years ago when the rumor first surfaced. But that was all before Porsche, McLaren and Ferrari proved that hybrids could not only be quick, but entertaining drives, as well. And when we say "quick," we mean Nürburgring-conqueringly, 0-60 in under three seconds quick. Today, the idea of a hybrid hypercar doesn't seem far-fetched at all. And so we bring you new reports that the next Veyron - whether it carries the same name or not - will pack an electric assist.
This according to Reuters, which notes that Bugatti's old-is-new-again CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer is keen on hybrid propulsion as evidence that the Alsatian marque is likely to pursue such a powertrain for the Veyron's replacement. The system wouldn't help curb the Veyron's portly weight, of course, but it would likely help cut down its prodigious fuel consumption. The current car, by the way, would run dry after 12 minutes at its 250+ mph top speed (by which point the special Michelin tires would have melted anyway). More importantly - and more likely - the hybrid assist will make the new car even punchier at low revs.
Of course, even assuming Reuters is correct, there's no telling to what internal-combustion engine the electric motor in the next Veyron will be paired with. However, considering the massive sums of cash Volkswagen spent on developing the unique 6.0-liter quad-turbo W-16, we'd bet it'll use some form of the same - just with an extra jolt of electric power thrown in for good measure.

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport in Fuji Speedway time attack

From the same guys who brought us video of a street-legal Porsche 962C driving through the streets of Japan comes this latest video showing Le Mans-winning pro driver, Seiji Ara, lapping Fuji Speedway in a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport. Most of the video centers around Ara's impressions, but there is plenty of great video showing the supercar carving up the track's numerous turns and blasting along its lengthy front straightaway.
Ara says this is the most powerful car he's ever driven, so we imagine it was as much for fun for him to drive as it is for us to watch. During the drive, the camera provides a sense of what it's like to pilot the Veyron on such a challenging track, and you can hear its turbos and wastegates getting a workout. Scroll down to watch this well-shot, well-edited video of Ara and the Veyron lapping Fuji Speedway. Oh, and be sure to stick around for the end, as there's a bonus three-way drag race you won't want to miss.