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New limited-edition Bugatti rumored for Pebble Beach

The Supercar Blog has heard from its VIP sources that Bugatti has a new special-edition offering planned for debut at Pebble Beach. The Molsheim brand enjoys playing to its deep-pocketed crowd at the annual Northern California fest, having introduced the special edition $5.8M Divo there last year, and regularly hosting Grand Tour driving events around the concours. TSB didn't get details on the coming model, but it was told that part of its production run has already been sold. In 2017, ex-Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Durheimer said the identity of a Chiron successor would need to be answered by this year, after spending 2018 exploring different ideas. Current brand CEO Stephan Winkelmann has spoken broadly about his intention for the automaker and vaguely about what kinds of models could come. He's repeatedly nixed the idea of a Bugatti SUV and said sedans constitute "a segment that is losing momentum," so a four-door wouldn't be worthwhile. And although he has said the brand "still [has] a lot of plans" for the W16 engine, he most recently mentioned a more affordable, electric daily-driver, perhaps something that would sit on a brand new platform. Whatever gets the green light as a second model, its primary task is to increase Bugatti's volume. If a report in Automobile from last September is accurate, we should expect three Chiron-based trims to show before the production run ends: a go-faster SS, a Superleggera, and a targa Aperta. Winkelmann has also said he doesn't want to do an Aperta version of the Chiron; still, we're left with nearly every option open for the rumored debut at Pebble. TSB says Bugatti is working to unveil two new cars per year. The La Voiture Noire was one, the Pebble Beach car could be the second, and there's another rumor of a third car to come at the Grand Tour drive. Just two months away from the event, it's likely we'll start getting glimpses before a reveal on the lawn.

Bugatti 100P airplane reconstructed, will fly again after public debut

Bugatti has been building some of the fastest vehicles in the world since 1909, but its brief history with airplane racing is less well known to many fans. It started in the '30s when founder Ettore Bugatti believed he could build a plane to win the Deutsch de la Merthe Cup Race. He worked on a design called the 100P that never flew. At least, it never flew until a group of Bugatti fanatics called Le Reve Blue decided to build an exact replica of the plane at the Mullin Automotive Museum's Art of Bugatti exhibition. The plane will make its public debut on March 25 in Oxnard, California.
The 100P was on the cutting edge for 1930s aircraft. It used two Bugatti-built 4.9-liter, straight-eight engines with 450 horsepower each to power two counter-rotating props mounted in tandem at the front of the plane. It boasts an estimated top speed of around 500 miles per hour. Other amazing features for the time included the V-shaped tail, forward-pitched wings and a zero-drag cooling system.
Le Reve Blue took on the project in 2009 to create a replica using the same materials and production processes as the original. The group decided to unveil the finished project at the Mullin because of the museum's commitment to Art Deco and machine-age design. It plans to actually fly the plane at some point in the future as well.

The very last Bugatti Veyron will be shown in Geneva

Inside of a lengthy interview with Auto, Motor und Sport that dealt mostly with future Bentley products, Bentley and Bugatti chief Wolfgang Durheimer said the 450th Bugatti Veyron will be at next month's Geneva Motor Show. That's a special number, seeing as it means the end of Veyron production after ten years, 300 coupes, and 150 open-air variants. Six weeks ago the Molsheim company had space for eight more Veyron commissions, but it's a good bet that all the stock down to this last car has been sold. Durheimer wouldn't say, but the hypothesis is that Veyron number 450 will be a Grand Sport Vitesse, the extra-go-fast targa with 1,183-horsepower erupting from its 16-cylinder engine. The boss also tempered expectations as to when the Veyron's successor will be shown, saying "it takes time to create a work of art" when asked if we'd see it in 2016. Durheimer did say that it would be "even better," which means it will probably travel even faster than the rumors around it, the last batch of hearsay bespeaking of something lighter than the Veyron, with 1,500 horsepower from a hybrid powertrain, and a top speed of 286 miles per hour. And that would be quite the start on the way to "even better," as well as too much of a burden for any tires currently available on Earth. Featured Gallery Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse "Jean Bugatti": Frankfurt 2013 View 18 Photos News Source: Auto Motor und Sport via Motor AuthorityImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Geneva Motor Show Bugatti Convertible Luxury Performance Supercars wolfgang durheimer bugatti veyron grand sport vitesse