2008 Bugatti Veyron on 2040-cars

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Will Bugatti's Veyron successor be too fast to test?

As one of the fastest cars in the world, the Bugatti Veyron is an icon in its own time, but people are fickle and always want to know what's next. Bugatti needs to sell just 15 more examples before the Veyron reaches its 450-car cap. With the end finally in sight, a blindly fast successor may be streaking towards us on the horizon.
It's rumored to be packing 1,479 horsepower (1,500 PS) from a modified, hybrid version of the current 8.0-liter, quad-turbo W16
Autocar claims that it's in touch with unnamed insiders within Bugatti, and the site is making some very big promises about the future hyper car. First, what we all want to know: the car is rumored to be packing 1,479 horsepower (1,500 PS) from a modified, hybrid version of the current 8.0-liter, quad-turbo W16 with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. According to the sources, the upgrades potentially include direct injection and electrically powered turbos (maybe like the forthcoming Audi SQ7), but it seems certain that an additional electric motor is being added, as well. That matches previous rumors and dovetails nicely with the suspicious-looking Veyrons spotted lapping the Nürburgring with wider bodies and weird contraptions on their backs.

Fastest cars in the world by top speed, 0-60 and quarter mile

A claim for the title of “Fastest Car in the World” might seem easy to settle. ItÂ’s actually anything but: Are we talking production cars, race cars or customized monsters? And what does “fastest” even mean? For years, car publications have tended to define “fastest” in terms of an unbeatable top speed. ThatÂ’s distinct from the “quickest” car in a Usain Bolt-style dash from the starting blocks, as with the familiar 0-60 mph metric. Professionals often focus on track lap times or elapsed time-to-distance, as with a drag racer thatÂ’s first to trip the beam of light at the end of a quarter-mile; or the 1,000-foot trip of nitromethane-powered NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car dragsters. Something tells us, however, that you're not seeking out an answer of "Brittany Force rewriting the NHRA record books with a 3.659-second pass at a boggling 338.17 mph." For most barroom speed arguments, the focus is firmly on cars you can buy in showrooms, even if many are beyond the financial means of all but the wealthiest buyers and collectors. Here are some of the enduring sources of speed claims, counter-claims, tall tales and taunting dismissals that are the lifeblood of car enthusiasts – now with EVs adding an unexpected twist to these passionate pursuits.   Fastest from the blocks: 0-60 mph Thirty years ago, any car that could clock 60 mph in five seconds or less was considered extremely quick. Today, high-performance, gasoline-powered sedans and SUVs are routinely breaking below 4 seconds. As of today, the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 crushes all with a 0-60 mph time of just 1.66 seconds. That's simply absurd, but keep in mind the Demon was engineered with the single-minded purpose of going fast in a straight line. It's also important to realize that direct comparisons are difficult, because not all of these times were accomplished with similar conditions (prepped surfaces, adjustments for elevation and so on). The moral here is to take these times with a tiny grain of salt. After the Dodge, the Rimac Nevera comes in with an officially recorded 0-60 mph time of just 1.74 seconds. EVs crowd the quickest list, with the Pininfarina Battista coming in a few hundredths slower (1.79 seconds) than the Nevera and the Lucid Air sapphire (1.89 seconds) right after that. Eventually, you arrive to the Tesla Model S Plaid, which has a claimed 1.99-second 0-60 mph time, though instrumented testing by Car and Driver shows it accomplishes the deed in 2.1 seconds.

Bugatti shows how its Vision Gran Turismo became reality

Plenty of automakers have taken part in the Vision Gran Turismo program. But few have foretold the future quite as clearly or as enticingly as Bugatti's. And now it's showing us what went into the process of creating the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo. Unveiled last month at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Molsheim's creation isn't just a stand-alone design that exists only in cyber-space. Even if it isn't actually drivable, the Alsatian automaker is one of just a handful of participating automakers that actually built its design into a full-scale mockup, all curves, sinew, aggressive aero, and purposeful intent done up in French Racing Blue. The concept shows us what the successor to the legendary Veyron could look like. Picture it without all the racetrack-specific appendages - from the proliferate winglets to the various decals - and this could be what the hypercar tipped to be called Chiron will look like. And it looks a lot meaner than the rounded-off Veyron ever did. Related Video: