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Bugatti Type 35 reborn as a sumptuous retro-styled roadster

German engineering and design firm Uedelhoven Studios has reimagined the Bugatti Type 35 as a modern roadster. It's visibly inspired by the original model, but it's lower, sleeker, and made largely with carbon fiber. Uedelhoven Studios isn't a household name, even in enthusiast circles, but it has helped create numerous concept cars including the 2020 Hyundai Prophecy, the 2019 Hyundai 45, and the 2019 Audi AI:Me. It explained that its designers began brainstorming ways to bring the Type 35 into the 21st century in 2015, though it's unclear whether Bugatti was involved in the project. We didn't see it when we went behind the scenes in its design studio to discover some of the unbuilt models it developed in the 2000s and the 2010s, including a V8-powered coupe. Called Type 35 D, a designation never used by Bugatti, the roadster is instantly recognizable as a follow-up to the successful race car thanks in part to a horseshoe-shaped grille surrounded by a thick chrome frame, a tapered body and light blue paint. The suspension system's components and the wheels are fully exposed, like on the original model, but Uedelhoven added fatter tires and a sizeable air diffuser that's wider than the body. Peeking inside reveals wood trim on the steering wheel and the gear selector, leather upholstery, and a copious amount of carbon fiber. The center console is loosely inspired by the one fitted to Bugatti's current-day models, like the Chiron, with round instruments (including a digital gear indicator). It looks like there's a screen on the dashboard, too, which strongly suggests the cabin isn't as closely linked to Bugatti's heritage as the body. What's under the hood hasn't been revealed. We think the front end looks a little too narrow to house Bugatti's thunderous 8.0-liter W16 engine and its four turbos. Released in 1924, the original Type 35 was powered by a 2.0-liter straight-eight engine tuned to develop about 90 horsepower, a magnificent amount at the time. "This was a project initiated by Walter de Silva for Volkswagen Konzern Design in 2015 and constructed at the Uedelhoven Studios. The Bugatti Type 35 D was purely a concept car to see what was possible with the brand. The team behind it consisted of various Volkswagen Group designers, including, Alessandro Dambrosio, Stefan Sielaff, Tancredi de Aguilar and Klaus Suttner," a spokesperson for da Silva's design studio told Autoblog.

Bugatti Divo hot weather torture testing for its 40 awaiting customers

The Bugatti Divo was sold out before it was even introduced to the public in Monterey last year, but it looks as though there's still work to be done. Normally we wouldn't care to share much about some random vehicle's hot weather testing, but the Divo is no regular vehicle. Julia Lemke, a Bugatti development engineer, was the lucky individual performing most of the tests. And the job sounds rather fun. Bugatti says it spent "hours and hours" at 155 mph running around in the hot desert. We'd link to a job application, but we have a feeling that openings are scarce in Molsheim. Sorry, folks. They didn't expose their secret test location, but temperatures rose above 104 degrees Fahrenheit. One could say they were, whipping it good. It all serves as a fun reminder about the lengths manufacturers go to test their car's mettle to make sure they don't let you down in extreme conditions. The standards for a car that can reach 236 mph (Divo's top speed) and pull 1.6 g on a skidpad tend to be more than a bit higher than the average bear, too. Running for countless hours at over 155 mph isn't a likely scenario that anyone would find themselves in, save the German autobahn. But, rest assured that the $5.62 million Bugatti "for the bends" is ready for it. There are a bunch of new photos to give you another look of the French hypercar, so take a spin through those to see a little behind-the-scenes Bugatti testing action. It looks stunning in the stealth black we've seen pictured before, and the interior is a gorgeous display of materials. Bugatti appears to have fitted some aftermarket Sparco seats for the field testing, too. View 16 Photos

We drive the cars of Furious 7... in Forza Horizon 2 [w/video]

On March 27, Turn 10 Studios, the folks behind the Forza Motorsport series, and Universal Pictures, the studio responsible for the Fast and Furious franchise, gave us a match made in heaven, announcing a "standalone expansion" featuring the two franchises. Called Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast and Furious, it features the cars from the latest film installment, unique missions and the voice-acting of Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, who plays tech guru Tej Parker on camera. A Fast and Furious video game? Seems like a no brainer. It gets better. Rather than limiting the Fast and Furious Edition cars to the expansion game, Turn 10 made them available through one of their (some may say notorious) downloadable content packages. Eight of the expansion's 11 cars were made available for just $4.99 (the only cars that weren't included were the Fast and Furious Edition Nissan GT-R, while the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport and McLaren P1 are already available in-game). What's cool ais that the cars featured in both games are visually identical to the vehicles driven by the stars of Furious 7. Each in-game car has an on-screen parallel that plays a role in advancing the film's story. Considering that we're unlikely to score seat time in Dominic Toretto's real Dodge Charger, then, we figured we'd take to the game and test the car in the digital realm. We've got nine little cluster reviews, covering the cars both in the game and how they appear in the movies. And don't worry, there are no major spoilers here. Click on for the cars of Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast and Furious. 1970 Dodge Charger R/T Fast and Furious Edition Supercharged 7.2L V8 / 900 HP / 663 LB-FT The one vehicle that is mandatory in a Fast and Furious video game, Dom's hot-rodded 1970 Dodge Charger, is as much a character in the films as its driver. Furious 7 marks the fourth appearance of this Mopar beast in the series. Not surprisingly it's a handful to drive, wildly quick and with a four-speed transmission packed full of very tall gears. But beyond that, it's arguably the coolest of the FF Edition cars. This black beauty is exactly as it appears in the latest installment of the film, with the video game version featuring intricate little details, like the moving parts on the BDS supercharger. It's an iconic car, and it's treated as such in the game.