The Car on 2040-cars

Auto blog

People on Elysium drive Bugattis

Product placement in movies is a big business, but is it always necessary? This is the question we asked ourselves when watching the movie trailer for Sony Picture's new film due out this fall called Elysium - a 22nd Century story about the privileged and elite who live in their own separate dwelling while Earth rots away. Toward the end of the trailer, a flying car flashes across the screen, and what familiar logo do we see on this car's rump? Yup, Bugatti.
Now, we're not saying that it's hard to imagine that in a future world - with a private inhabitance for the rich and cancer-curing machines - people would pilot flying Bugattis. It does seem like a questionable move on Bugatti's part, however, since it seems that the people of Elysium aren't exactly painted in a flattering light. We'll hold our official judgment about the movie and Bugatti's role in it, until we've watched the thing. Until then you can check out the official trailer below in which you'll also catch a glimpse of a post-apocalyptic Nissan GT-R (if you have especially sharp eyes).

Bugatti previews what looks like a W16-powered race car

Bugatti captured our attention when it released an image of an enigmatic new model whose rear lights form an X. We still don't know exactly what we're looking at, but a photo of its powertrain sheds light on what's coming. Significantly, the digital rendering shows the car is built around the quad-turbocharged W16 that powers the Chiron. An earlier report speculated it would be electric, and that's evidently not the case. The engine is mounted directly behind the passenger compartment, and the transmission it's bolted to seemingly spins the four wheels. We also see a rectangular steering wheel, a pair of carbon fiber bucket seats, and center-locking wheels covered by carbon fiber discs. All of these parts look like they belong in a race car, but Bugatti is keeping additional details under wraps. "What if...?" again appears on the photo, so we're expecting something out of the ordinary.  An earlier teaser showing the number 0,67 also asked more questions than it answered. Europeans use a comma instead of a decimal, so there's a strong chance we're looking at 0.67. It's far too high to be the car's drag coefficient; keep in mind the original Land Rover Defender had a 0.59 drag coefficient, and the rear-engined Volkswagen Beetle posted 0.48. If this is indeed a track car, is it 0.67 seconds quicker than the Chiron around a given track? It's possible but unlikely, because that's a rounding error at best regardless of whether we're talking about the Circuit de la Sarthe, the Nurburgring, or Suzuka. 0.67 seconds quicker to 60 mph is plausible.  Is it a one-off, or a limited-edition model? If it's the latter, are there any build slots left? Your guess is as good as ours. All of our questions will be answered when the mysterious car makes its global debut online tomorrow, October 28, at noon Central European time, which is 6 a.m. on the East Coast and 3 a.m. in California.

Watch the Bugatti Chiron go from raw carbon to finished product

The Bugatti Chiron is a beautiful, hand built 16-cylinder luxury cruise missile that is without equal on the road. That's why it can command a price of nearly $2.7 million. While the Chiron may only be in reach to the 1 percent of the 1 percent, it's a price some are more than willing to pay. The first customer cars are now rolling out the doors at Bugatti's Molsheim, France, facility. The first three will soon be reaching customer hands in Europe and the Middle East. Each car is hand assembled by a team of about 50 production, quality assurance, and logistics team members in France. The video above shows the first three cars being built, from a bare carbon tub being mated to that massive 1,500 horsepower quad-turbocharged W16 engine to the finished product making its way out the door. Bugatti expects to build about 70 cars this year alone, meaning each car takes roughly 5 full days to assemble. While the first three cars have been or are being delivered now, a fourth will be on display next week at the Geneva Motor Show. About 200 customers put in orders after the car's reveal last year, so the Molsheim team will be busy for the next several years. Look for more colors and special editions to trickle out as time goes on. Related Video: News Source: Bugatti Design/Style Misc. Auto Shows Bugatti Performance Supercars Videos hypercar Bugatti Chiron