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Bugatti said to bring an $18M one-off to Geneva

Bugatti already has the limited-edition Chiron Sport "110 Ans Bugatti" on the Geneva Motor Show playlist. The matte-blue coupe celebrates 110 years since Ettore Bugatti's first car, the Type 10. According to several rumors, Bugatti could have something else just as noteworthy alongside. The Supercar Blog reported that the French carmaker will show a one-off model reported to cost 16 million euros, about $18 million at current exchange rates. The buyer has already been chosen, that being one Dr. Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and ex-chairman of the Volkswagen Group. The rumor couldn't be ignored once Kris Singh — managing director of a U.S. investment firm, Lamborghini Veneno owner, and supercar collector — made a post on Instagram the same day as the Supercar Blog post. Next to an image of the 110 Ans Bugatti, Singh wrote, "it will be fun to see this alongside the Divo and the top secret 16 million euro Bugatti one-off that was made exclusively for Dr. Piech." As chairman of the VW Group, Piech fathered the Veyron when he demanded his engineers turn the 2001 Geneva Motor Show concept into a proper production car. After a roaring 14 years, Piech's tenure ended with a whimper when he was ousted in 2015 in an internal battle with Group CEO Martin Winterkorn. A few months after Piech hit the bricks, dieselgate broke. Last year, U.S. prosecutors charged Winterkorn — who remains in Germany — with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with the emissions scandal. Piech, on the other hand, had different pursuers: Volkswagen said in 2017 it might go after the family scion for reportedly leaking about potential cheating on the emissions tests six months before the situation went public. The same year, Piech sold his 14.7 percent stake in the the VW Group's holding company, netting him a billion. So what could the now-81-year-old ex-Caesar be doing with Bugatti now? The easy money is on some kind of Chiron-based coupe, but for a reputed $18 million, this would need to be a massive departure from the Chiron. Assuming the price is accurate, this would outdo the most expensive new car yet, the Rolls-Royce Sweptail of 2017, said to cost $13 million. The English custom kept " 30 to 40 designers, engineers, craftspeople, and testers" busy for four years.

What is the fastest car in the world in 2024?

It wasn't that long ago that the notion of reaching 200 miles per hour in a car, on a road, seemed basically impossible. As you likely know by now, that time has passed. And once that threshold was crossed, the automotive world immediately began eying the next triple-digit benchmark: 300 miles per hour. It may have taken a little while, but the 300-mph line has been crossed, and some cars have moved well past that seemingly insane speed number. While some of these speeds have been achieved in simulations (including the fastest car listed below), there's little doubt that a driver with nerves of steel and a heavy right foot could indeed push several automobiles up to 300 miles per hour and beyond. Interestingly, it’s not just one car or automaker in the 300-mph club, as a handful of models have earned a place (sometimes claimed but not yet demonstrated) on the leaderboard. The fastest car in the world is: Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut (330 MPH) That title goes to the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut, which recorded a staggering 330 mph top speed earlier in 2023. The carÂ’s twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 lays down 1,600 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque, which plays a significant role in delivering that speed, but KoenigseggÂ’s engineers have given the car a lot more than mind-blowing power. The Jesko Absolut has a super-slippery 0.278 drag coefficient and a nine-speed transmission that shifts so quickly itÂ’s almost imperceptible. Koenigsegg calls it a Light Speed Transmission (LST), saying its shifts happen at almost light speed. While that might be a slight exaggeration, the gearbox is impressive, bringing several wet multi-disc clutches and a super lightweight construction. As Koenigsegg says, "the Jesko Absolut is destined to achieve higher, more extraordinary speeds than any Koenigsegg or any other fully homologated car before it." How expensive is the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut? If you were reading that and wondering how much the fastest car in the world costs, the price tag is just another dizzying number on the Jesko Absolut's spec sheet. All 125 Absolut cars offered sold out at a price of almost $3 million. Of course, being able to afford the Koenigsegg is just the first step in realizing its full potential. There are very few places on the map that can support a 300-plus-mph speed run, and the locations that do are not conveniently located.

Bugatti 100P airplane reconstructed, will fly again after public debut

Bugatti has been building some of the fastest vehicles in the world since 1909, but its brief history with airplane racing is less well known to many fans. It started in the '30s when founder Ettore Bugatti believed he could build a plane to win the Deutsch de la Merthe Cup Race. He worked on a design called the 100P that never flew. At least, it never flew until a group of Bugatti fanatics called Le Reve Blue decided to build an exact replica of the plane at the Mullin Automotive Museum's Art of Bugatti exhibition. The plane will make its public debut on March 25 in Oxnard, California.
The 100P was on the cutting edge for 1930s aircraft. It used two Bugatti-built 4.9-liter, straight-eight engines with 450 horsepower each to power two counter-rotating props mounted in tandem at the front of the plane. It boasts an estimated top speed of around 500 miles per hour. Other amazing features for the time included the V-shaped tail, forward-pitched wings and a zero-drag cooling system.
Le Reve Blue took on the project in 2009 to create a replica using the same materials and production processes as the original. The group decided to unveil the finished project at the Mullin because of the museum's commitment to Art Deco and machine-age design. It plans to actually fly the plane at some point in the future as well.