1981 Delorean Dmc-12 Leather on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Is a wrecked Bugatti worth $250k?

When a Bugatti Veyron crashed on a highway in Austria a few months ago, insurance company AXA estimated the cost of repairs at upwards of $800,000. Of course, there were worries that even after all the repairs the car may never drive quite the same. So rather than try, the insurance company evidently wrote it off and paid the owner the insured value of the car. But now it's got the wrecked Bugatti on its hands, and is looking to offload it.
This early model, built in 2008, has the original version's 987-horsepower 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 engine, a fixed roof and a blue and black livery - unlike some more recent examples that have adopted a removable roof panel, employed a more powerful 1,184-hp engine and moved away from the original two-tone paint schemes. It's got nearly 20,000 miles on the odometer and would still require the better part of a million bucks to get it running again... at which point it could be worth more in spare parts, which surely don't come cheap from the manufacturer in Molsheim.
Alternatively, with bidding currently hovering around a quarter million, you could just get yourself a brand spankin' new Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Huracán or McLaren 650S and actually get to drive it without spending eight hundred grand on repairs. But if you were looking to pick up a Veyron on the cheap, regardless of condition, this could be your chance.

Bugatti speeds up testing on its 3D-printed titanium brake caliper

There are only a few manufacturers on that planet that are so important and so specialized that their production of a brake caliper would warrant any amount of attention. Bugatti is one of those few. After premiering a 3D-printed titanium caliper early in 2018, Volkswagen Group released a video of engineers putting the new design to extreme speed and heat testing. Spoiler alert: flames and sparks are involved. Bugatti had a lot of claims and planted a lot of flags when it first showed this caliper. "World's first brake caliper to be produced by a 3D printer. Largest brake caliper in the automotive industry as a whole. First series manufacturer to use titanium. Largest titanium functional component produced by 3D printing in the world." Long story short, it's a big deal, but it is not yet stamped as ready for production. That's what the testing seen here is for. The video, which was brought to our attention by Motor1, shows the brake caliper in action, not on a car but in a lab. VW claims it's one of the most powerful brake test benches on the market, which we're inclined to believe considering the groundbreaking technology that has come from its Veyron, Chiron and Divo supercars. The test is exactly what you'd expect. They put the caliper onto a rotor, which is attached to a machine that spins the rotor and has all sorts of sensors that show the engineers the specs of the test. The video shows it spinning up to speeds in excess of 230 mph multiple times. The disc temperature skyrockets to 1,877 degrees Fahrenheit on the third spin, which elicits a light show of thermal heat, sparks, and flames. The engineers then take off the caliper and show the camera that everything is still in place and intact. The video does not clear the caliper for production, but it certainly looks like its getting close to that point. The package will likely debut for the Chiron, the Divo, or both and will most definitely cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Related Video:

Volkswagen profit jumps as it warns of a cooling auto market

FRANKFURT, Germany — Volkswagen says its profits jumped 44% in the third quarter thanks to a more profitable mix of vehicles in its lineup but warned that global car markets are slowing more than expected and lowered its forecast for annual sales. After-tax profit rose to $4.42 billion (3.98 billion euros) as revenues rose 11% to $68.27 billion (61.42 billion euros). The sales margin of 7.8% exceeded the goal of 6.5-7.5% as vehicles bringing higher profits took a larger share of sales. The Wolfsburg-based automaker pointed to the headwinds facing the industry by saying that it expects "vehicle markets will contract faster than previously anticipated in many regions of the world." It said sales would be "on a level" with last year's record of 10.8 million vehicles. Previously it had expected a slight increase. The company said its profits would be in the lower end of its forecast range. Global automakers are facing a slowdown in sales amid disputes over trade and from pressure in the European Union and China to develop and sell low-emission vehicles that require heavy investment in new technology. Ford and Renault have issued profit warnings in recent days, while Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, lost money in the second quarter and is expected to outline a cost-cutting strategy for investors on Nov. 14. Volkswagen is leading the push into electric vehicles in Europe by launching its ID.3 battery-powered compact car at prices it says will make zero local emission vehicles a mass phenomenon. The company was able to increase earnings in the quarter despite an 18% rise in spending on research and development.