Bugatti auto news

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REPORT: We may not see the Bugatti Bordeaux at Frankfurt show after all

Following the release of a couple of teaser images showing what was tipped as an upcoming new model from Bugatti, the automotive press has been all up in a frenzy speculating over the form that the highly anticipated new car will take. But while the conclusion was that the car would be unveiled to the public at the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show, new reports suggest otherwise.

According to sources inside the company, Bugatti will indeed be showing a new concept in Frankfurt - but only to a select group of customers to gauge reactions among its exclusive clientele. And while it may seem like a waste to bring a concept car to the show only to keep it hidden, it may be indicative that the car itself won't be ready for a full public unveiling, for which we'll apparently have to wait a little longer. In the meantime, Bugatti will reportedly be back up to its old tricks with - yep, you guessed it - yet another special edition Veyron at the upcoming Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where sister company Bentley will be unveiling its own new super-luxe saloon. Stay tuned for more.

VIDEO: The Quick and the Dead - Bugatti Veyron vs. Nissan GT-R

Bugatti Veyron vs Nissan GT-R - Click the image above to view the video after the jump

The Nissan GT-R is a quick car by most standards. In fact, with all-wheel drive and traction control system, it's frighteningly fast. Pull up next to just about any other car at a stoplight and you'll undoubtedly come out ahead. That is, of course, unless you happen upon a Bugatti Veyron. The Bug matches the Nissan's AWD system and doubles the number of turbochargers and horsepower. As our man Jonathon put it in his first drive of the Bugatti Grand Sport, you don't accelerate in this car, you evaporate.

While a heads-up drag race between the GT-R and Veyron is an unlikely occurrence in the real world, Evo Magazine took it upon themselves to pair the two cars on an open airfield. Just how much faster is the Bugatti than the Nissan? Watch for yourself after the jump.

Top Gear draws fire for 'glorifying' 210 MPH ticket. Only it's a fake. [w/VIDEO]

Top Gear talks Bugatti speeding ticket - click above to watch video after the jump

ESPN sports columnist Bill Simmons proposed a 72-hour reportage moratorium for the web - that way, news could be vetted before was broadcast to the entire universe. Had that been in effect, the story of Orange County resident Philip Robert Odegard might not have ended up on Top Gear and then upsetting Scottish authorities.

Odegard posted an image of a speeding ticket on his Flickr page. The ticket claimed he was busted doing 210 mph in a Bugatti Veyron in a "65 mph max" zone. Odegard's epic tale made it into the latest episode of Top Gear, where the hosts excitedly talked about the speeding ticket in their news section. Scottish Councillor Mike Raeburn then lambasted Top Gear for refusing "to see the effect this continual reinforcement of the 'speed is good' message has on viewers, particularly younger ones." The head of the Scottish Campaign Against Irresponsible Drivers also had harsh words for Top Gear.

The issue here, however, isn't speeding - it's speciousness. Odegard wasn't busted in a Veyron doing 210. According to some digging done by the O.C. Register, Odegard wasn't busted by the California Highway Patrol at that speeds in any car, let alone a Bugatti. He was clipped in a 2004 Infiniti doing 100. Which is a tale that probably wouldn't have ended up on Top Gear. Somewhere, at the bottom of this, though, it's still all Jeremy Clarkson's fault. You can watch the footage in question after the jump (talk of the ticket comes at around 4:15).

Continue reading Top Gear draws fire for 'glorifying' 210 MPH ticket. Only it's a fake. [w/VIDEO]

Octophonic Sound? Second teaser of Bugatti Bordeaux surfaces

Further evidence that Bugatti has a new product planned for its centenary celebration at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September comes by way of PistonHeads in the U.K., which offers up this image of the rear of what may or may not be a vehicle called the Bordeaux. Of course, before we pull this one completely out of the rumormill file, we'll need either official word from Bugatti or an actual picture of the party invitation that this car supposedly graces.

Assuming for a moment that this image is the real deal, we see some interesting tidbits from which to glean tantalizing details of the future car. While we're still not certain if this could be the World's Ultimate Sedan, some bizarre sort of shooting brake, or even a supercar to replace to Veyron (or none of the above), but the thin strip of brake light right down the center reminds us of the dorsal seam from the iconic Type 57SC Atlantic - certainly a fitting way to recollect the French automaker's first 100 years in business.

Note, too, the inclusion of eight rather obvious exhaust tips at the rear of the car, which reinforces speculation that this vehicle will be powered by Bugatti's current 8.0-liter W16 powerplant. If that's the case, we'd also expect the Veyron's all-wheel-drive system and active aerodynamics to keep the ridiculously powerful car from going airborne. As much fun as it is to speculate, we look forward to getting official word from Bugatti as Frankfurt draws nearer.

PICS + VIDEO: Mansory Vincero costs $1 million... on top of the price of a Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti always finds ways of making their Veyron more exclusive, with a seemingly endless procession of special edition models. But for some, that still ain't enough. Inherently, Bug customers also tend to be the same people for whom cost is no object. And for them, tuning house Mansory created the Vincero.

With updated aero, LED lighting, new wheels and carbon fiber galore, Mansory also managed to coax out an extra 108 horsepower from the Veyron's thousand-horse, quad-turbo W16. And the cost of these otherwise rather modest modifications? A whopping $985k - nearly a million dollars - on top of the price of a stock Veyron to begin with. At those kinds of prices, it's no wonder Mansory decided to build just three of 'em. Although we gave you a first glimpse at the Geneva Motor Show this past March, you can check out our massive updated gallery of images below and a video after the jump.

Gallery: Mansory Bugatti Veyron Vincero

Continue reading PICS + VIDEO: Mansory Vincero costs $1 million... on top of the price of a Bugatti Veyron

1925 Bugatti Type 13 Brescia rescued from watery grave

The Bugatti Type 13 - Ettore Bugatti's first automobile to speak of - was a revolutionary design for its time and went on to claim innumerable race victories and put the fledgling company on the map until the outbreak of the First World War put everything on hold in Europe. When the war was over, Europe began the task of rebuilding itself and racing resumed.

Bugatti was back in business, and so was the Type 13. In 1921, Bugatti redesigned the engine with one of the first four-valve heads in the industry and fielded a team at the Brescia Grand Prix, where it swept the competition by claiming first, second, third and fourth places. A public looking for something to celebrate was enamored, so Bugatti gave the Type 13 the Brescia nameplate and began selling customer versions.

Four years later, a Swiss dealer placed an order for three Bugatti Brescias, and while the first two were paid up in full, the third customer somehow failed to pay the applicable duties to import the car and it was subsequently abandoned in Lake Maggiore in northern Italy along the Swiss border. There it sank deeper and deeper for decades before being discovered by divers in the 1960's.

Since then, the Brescia remained a sunken treasure until this past Sunday when a diving crew raised the long-lost Bugatti out of the lake. The car had been sitting on the lake bed for so long that once brought back onto dry land, one of the tires burst with a startling bang. The car will now undergo a full restoration and will be auctioned off to benefit the Damiano Tamagni Foundation, which works to prevent youth violence. Thanks for the tip, Andrés!

New Bugatti model teased in anniversary party invitation?

Could a new über-sedan be in the offing from Bugatti? Rumors of a more practical model from the Volkswagen-owned supercar maker have been swirling ever since the Veyron was introduced back in 2005, and the idea has merit since it would likely allow VW to recoup some of the massive development costs that surely went into creating the Veyron. Now, a lone still shot from what is supposedly an invitation to a party celebrating the automaker's first 100 years in business has the interwebs speculating that a super sedan is on its way to an unveiling at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Previous rumors indicated that a new Bugatti sedan could share a platform with the next Bentley flagship - which we know is to debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance next month - and use the same all-wheel drive system and 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 engine as the Veyron. At this point, a Bugatti sedan is nothing but speculation and it's equally as possible that we could see either a successor the the four-year-old Veyron in Frankfurt - or nothing at all. In any case, we'll keep our eyes and ears open for more details in the coming months.

First Drive: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport is a temple of Zen

Just like the last time, when we drove the Bugatti Veyron, it began with an e-mail from Bugatti's PR firm: "Give me a call when you have a moment." And then, again, just like the last time, there came the question: "We have a Grand Sport. Can you do something with it?" Let. Me. See.

And that's how we ended up spending a day with the roofless Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport on a reference-resetting trip from Los Angeles to San Diego and back. Although you'll read many words after the jump to describe it, we really only need one word, and we'd draw it out in the same kind of smiling stupor we get when the dentist pumps us full of happy gas: "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh...."

Follow the jump for the story.

Gallery: First Drive: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading First Drive: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport is a temple of Zen

VIDEO: The Superest of Supercar Shootouts: Bugatti Veyron vs. McLaren F1 on Top Gear

Episode 2 of Top Gear's 13th season aired last night in the UK, and the main event was a one-mile drag race between the McLaren F1 and the Bugatti Veyron. Notice that we didn't say a McLaren F1 and a Bugatti Veyron. These two supercars are so super (and rare) that any single example tends to represent the whole run of each, and since your chances of encountering two of either kind in the same place are practically nill, they might as well be the only ones in existence.

The Top Gear crew chose Abu Dhabi as the location for its supercar shootout. With an arid climate that sees practically no rain or freezing-and-thawing cycles, the roads in Abu Dhabi are long, straight and, most importantly, free of pot holes. Richard Hammond chooses to pilot the Bug and The Stig takes the centrally located wheel of the F1. We won't spoil the results except to say that this is the most real and nail-biting competition that we've seen on Top Gear in a long time.

Follow the jump to watch yesteryear's supercar, the McLaren F1, go head-to-head with today's top dog, the Bugatti Veyron. Thanks for the tip, Will!

Continue reading VIDEO: The Superest of Supercar Shootouts: Bugatti Veyron vs. McLaren F1 on Top Gear