2006 Bugatti 16.4 on 2040-cars

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RM Sotheby's Turbollection features exotics from the '80s and '90s

If you have even a passing interest in cars, there's little doubt you know a thing or two about Porsche, whether the topic centers around a classic name like 911 or the more mainstream Cayenne and Macan crossovers. Bugatti? Sure, most people know about the historic French builder of world-class, record-setting automobiles, though admittedly the EB110 we're about to show you probably wouldn't be the first to come to mind. Fewer are likely familiar with the likes of Vector Aeromotive, a tiny American company with history that dates back to the 1980s. And we'd wager that most have never even heard of the likes of Isdera and Cizeta. Brush up on your history, (super wealthy car collecting) folks. RM Sotheby's has an exciting array of cars coming up for auction during the Monterey Car Week festivities on California. Among all the expected Ferrari, Lamborghini and Shelby classics potential buyers can wade through, the so-called Turbollection collection features much rarer oddities.

Bugatti favoring Veyron replacement over Galibier sedan

Following up on the Bugatti Veyron must be no easy feat. After all, how is anything supposed to go on stage after a groundbreaking supercar with sixteen cylinders, four turbochargers and as much as 1,200 horsepower?
Evidently, settling on a successor to the Veyron has been a daunting endeavor even for Bugatti, which has, over the past few years, been reported to be considering either a new hypercar to fill the Veyron's shoes, a super-sedan to chart a different course, or possibly both. But now the storied Alsatian marque is said to have finally taken the Galibier off the table.
This according to our old friend Jonny Lieberman over at Motor Trend, who spoke with Wolfgang Schreiber - the engineer behind the Veyron and Bugatti's current chief executive. Apparently, MT reports, there just isn't a market for a super-luxe performance sedan above the Rolls-Royce Phantom or the Mulsanne offered by Bugatti's sister brand Bentley. Which is a bit of a shame, but where does that leave Bugatti as production winds down on the Veyron in all its many iterations?

Bugatti Centodieci prototype caught running the 'Ring in new spy photos

Bugatti's Centodieci prototype is evidently ready for the Nurburgring. Spies caught the development vehicle for the upcoming EB110 tribute being put through its paces on the Nordschleife and surrounding public roads. The 1,600-horsepower Centodieci supercar has been in development for a couple of years. It was originally announced at Pebble Beach in 2019, and Bugatti announced earlier this year that it had completed work on the first full-body prototype. Here it is. Bugatti hasn't bothered to disguise the Centodieci, so we can plainly see how faithful it is to the concept.  That said, there are signs that this prototype is still a long way from being showroom-ready. The body may be complete, but up close, it's a bit rough around the edges. The side blade inserts lack the more dramatic depth of the parts that were fitted to the concept, and may well be placeholders for testing purposes. Tape and wire is visible on elements of the front and rear bumpers and exhaust finishers, suggesting the presence of sensors sending telemetry to the prototype's data recorder.  The Centodieci's 16-cylinder sends its power to all four wheels through a seven-speed DCT. The EB110 it honors made do with a quad-turbo, 3.5-liter V12 making "just" 560 horsepower and putting that to the ground with a simple six-speed manual and permanent all-wheel drive. Bugatti claims a 0-60 time of approximately 2.4 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 236 mph. That may seem low, especially since this is ostensibly a Chiron successor, but Bugatti is no longer in the top-speed-record game. All 10 examples of Bugatti's new Chiron-topping exotic are reportedly spoken for.