The on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Bugatti Bolide's Le Mans-ready underpinnings highlighted

The limited-edition, track-only Bugatti Bolide uses the familiar 8.0-liter W16 engine, but writing it off as merely a rebodied Chiron would be a cruel understatement. The French company is highlighting the new monocoque it developed for the model to show some of the differences. While nothing suggests that Bugatti will enter the Bolide in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the model's carbon fiber monocoque is capable of withstanding such an arduous race because it was designed to the meet the same requirements that apply to LMDh cars. Starting with a blank slate allowed engineers to move the quad-turbocharged engine forward by about 2.4 inches to better integrate it into the monocoque.  Bugatti then turned its attention to what it calls one of the most difficult requirements to meet: rollover protection. LMDh regulations require a car to withstand a 7.5-metric-ton load on each A-pillar without bending more than approximately two inches. Additionally, the car fails this test if the A-pillar breaks within about four inches of the impact point. The upcoming Bolide passed this test as well as two other roll-over tests. There's more to safety than the ability to withstand one hell of an impact. Bugatti installed an automatic, military-grade fire extinguisher system and integrated the outer section of the headrests into the doors to facilitate the task of getting in and out of the cockpit. It also added six-point harnesses for the two passengers but it didn't forget about comfort: a high-performance climate control system comes standard. Running the air conditioning at full blast shouldn't have a noticeable effect on performance, as power comes from an 8.0-liter W16 engine that's quad-turbocharged to develop 1,578 horsepower. The Bolide weighs under 3,200 pounds and develops 6,600 pounds of downforce.  Bugatti will continue testing the Bolide in the coming months, and deliveries are scheduled to start in 2024. Production is limited to 40 units, and pricing starts at approximately ˆ4 million (about $4.29 million at the current conversion rate). Every example is already spoken for. Related video: Featured Gallery Bugatti Bolide monocoque Bugatti Coupe Racing Vehicles Performance

Bugatti put three generations of legendary supercars into one photo

The modern era of Bugatti has seen dozens of special-editions, limited-editions, and bespoke one-offs, but the core of the company is defined by three models that have spanned the past three decades. The EB110 marked the '90s, the Veyron ruled the '00s and early '10s, and the Chiron dominated the end of the '10s into the present. Bugatti calls the trio the "Holy Trinity" and recently brought all three supercars together for a photoshoot in Dubai.  Against a backdrop of sweeping sands and a spiky skyline tipped by the Burj Khalifa tower, Bugatti placed a black EB110 next to black examples of a Veyron and a Chiron. It's an awe-inspiring sight, even in photos, though it is a bit strange to see the models dressed like they're going to a funeral rather than sporting any of the numerous iconic color schemes they've worn throughout the years.  Despite the 30 years between the EB110, and the Chiron, all three vehicles are built with the same three key components: a carbon-fiber monocoque, four turbochargers, and all-wheel drive. The technologies within these three pillars have drastically changed, but the idea of what makes a true super sports car has remained the same.  The EB110, which denotes Ettore Bugatti and his 110th birthday, debuted on his birthday, September 15, 1991, in Paris. It packs a mid-engined quad-turbo 3.5-liter V12 that has a 8,250-rpm redline. The lowest-powered EB110 had 560 horsepower, while the most powerful model made 611 horsepower. The EB110 claimed a zero-to-62-mph time of 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 218 mph.  The Veyron entered the scene for the 2005 model year. This time around, Bugatti slapped the four turbochargers on an 8.0-liter W16, and that engine makes a whopping 987 horsepower (1,001 PS). With the added power, the zero-to-62-mph time dropped to 2.5 seconds, and the top speed increased to 253 mph, and that was before more powerful variants were released. The Chiron, Bugatti's current model, debuted in 2016 and continued to build on the power and speed records its relatives had set before it. The Chiron carries on with a quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16, but it now makes 1,479 horsepower. It can sprint from a stop to 62 mph in 2.4 seconds, and in 2019, Bugatti used a Chiron to reach 304.773 mph, the fastest speed for a production car ever achieved.  To truly appreciate the greatness of these vehicles requires an in-person visit, but for now, photos will have to do. Check out the family photoshoot in the gallery above.

Ferdinand Piech (1937-2019): The man who made VW global

Towering among his peers, a giant of the auto industry died Sunday night in Rosenheim/Upper Bavaria, Germany. Ferdinand Piech, a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who conceived the original Volkswagen in the 1930s, was the most polarizing automotive executive of our times. And one who brought automotive technology further than anyone else. Ferdinand Porsche had a son, Ferdinand (called "Ferry"), and a daughter, Louise, who married the Viennese lawyer Anton Piech. They gave birth to Ferdinand Piech, and his proximity to two Alfa Romeo sports cars — Porsche had done some work for the Italians — and the "Berlin-Rome-Berlin" race car, developed by Porsche himself, gave birth to Piech's interest in cars. After his teachers in Salzburg told his mother he was "too stupid" to attend school there, Piech, who was open about his dyslexia, was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. He subsequently moved on to Porsche, where he fixed issues with the 904 race car and did major work on the 911. But his greatest project was the Le Mans-winning 917 race car, developed at breathtaking financial cost. It annihilated the competition, but the family had had enough: Amid growing tension among the four cousins working at Porsche and Piech's uncle Ferry, the family decided to pull every family member, except for Ferry, out of their management positions. Piech started his own consultancy business, where he designed the famous five-cylinder diesel for Mercedes-Benz, but quickly moved on to Audi, first as an engineer and then as CEO, where he set out to transform the dull brand into a technology leader. Piech killed the Wankel engine and hammered out a number of ambitious and sophisticated technologies. Among them: The five-cylinder gasoline engine; Quattro all-wheel drive and Audi's fantastic rally successes; and turbocharging, developed with Fritz Indra, whom Piech recruited from Alpina. The Audi 100/200/5000 became the world's fastest production sedan, thanks to their superior aerodynamics. Piech also launched zinc-coated bodies for longevity — and gave diesel technology a decisive boost with the advent of the fast and ultra-efficient TDI engines. Less known: Piech also decided to put larger gas tanks into cars. Customers loved it. Piech's first-generation Audi V8 was met with derision by competitors; it was too obviously based on the 200/5000.