Rumormill: Bugatti developing $3m uber-Veyron track car
Speculation over a potential second model from Bugatti has been a colossal roller-coaster. There were rumors of a super-luxury sedan, an entry-level roadster and a targa variant of the existing Veyron.The Veyron was a pet project of former VW Group CEO Ferdinand Piech, who remains chairman of the VW supervisory board and is said to be keen on moving ahead with a follow-up to the Veyron. When Martin Winterkorn took over, however, he was reported to have shelved any plans for an additional model, prompting Bugatti CEO Thomas Bscher to resign. Bugatti then shifted to the control of Bentley CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen, who, after shoehorning the Veyron's engine into a Bentley Arnage luxury sedan, revealed last September that there would be an additional Bugatti coming.
Reports are now surfacing which indicate that the new model could be an even more expensive, even faster supercar than the Veyron. Whereas the Veyron, for all its enormous, time-bending power and speed, was designed as a comfortable grant tourer, the new model would be a tighter, more track-focused supercar. Power would likely come from a retuned version of the Veyron's 8-liter quad-turbo W16, which was long reported to be under-rated in its power production of 1000 hp, and is tipped to produce 1175 hp in the new version. Artistic renderings from German magazine Auto Motor und Sport depict the car with styling more akin to a Le Mans racer, with a protruding front splitter and an enormous rear wing.
The vehicle, currently rumored to be code-named "Project Lydia" after Ettore Bugatti's wife, would exceed the 400km/h top speed of the Veyron in pursuit of a Nurburgring lap time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. While these reports could very well turn out to be no more substantial than previous ones, if Bugatti did built Project Lydia in a reported run of 70 examples for a whopping ?2.5 million apiece, it would easily eclipse anything else out there.
[Source: Auto Motor und Sport via Motor Authority]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Pouya 9:32AM (2/03/2008)
Hopefully it will look better than that ugly sketch . . .
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b0nesc 10:51AM (1/10/2008)
No car is worth $3 Million. And why would they offer an additional, more expensive model when the original Veryon isn't exactly a hot seller? Anyone know how much F1 cars cost?
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Nucbuddy 11:00AM (1/10/2008)
@b0nesc,
There are currently ~1,000 billionaires in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_billionaires_(2007)
Therefore, there should be plenty of cars that are worth more as much as, or more than, $3 million.
Nucbuddy 11:02AM (1/10/2008)
Fixed link:
http://www.google.com/search?q=billionaires+list+2007+wiki
Nucbuddy 11:05AM (1/10/2008)
Fixed link:
http://www.google.com/search?q=billionaires+list+2007+wiki
EJ25RUN 11:20AM (1/10/2008)
I hope everyone realizes that there is only 1 way for a supercar to hold that crown of best.
It is to compete in a GT racing series. Look at the Mclaren F1, Ascari AZ1, Zonda, Murcialago, Gallardo, Countless Ferraris amd Porsches.... many others...
in 2010, a new FIA formula for GT/LMP racing will begin and that will be a perfect time for VW and bugatti to put a car together.
Comeone everyone.....Tipo 35 and tipo 51... Just like Ferrari, Bugatti proved himself on the race track and its time for the grand return!
EJ25RUN 11:42AM (1/10/2008)
For the how much an F1 car is wortgh question.....
really varies... main factors to throw in are race history, driver history and manufactuer... 1980's Ferrari sell well even though they were pigs. I guess anywhere from $100,000 for an ok car to 4 million for Schumacher winning Ferrari.
PaulPaul 11:01AM (1/10/2008)
just build a $100mil, 10000hp, 0-60 in 0.3sec, 20L octa-quad v64, sprinkle some diamonds on it and get it over with.
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Nucbuddy 11:09AM (1/10/2008)
@PaulPaul,
Done.
http://www.google.com/search?q=space+tourism+million
why not the LS2/LS7? 11:49AM (1/10/2008)
They can tune it all they want. With all the stuff required in there (myriad radiators, etc.) needed to house that engine, it'll never be a real track car, because it'll always be rather heavy.
I'm sure with enough effore they can reach their goal on the N-ring, since the N-ring is a power track and they're bringing a lot of power to the table.
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Nucbuddy 1:02PM (1/10/2008)
It seems to me that a heavier car, with proportionate power, would outperform a lighter car (since wind-resistance would shrink, relative to power). Why would you think that the opposite would be true?
bombardius 1:21PM (1/10/2008)
It comes down to ability to go around a corner. A heavier car has more momentum that needs to be changed to permit the change in direction. Adding power does nothing to overcome the increase in grip necessary to handle the additional weight through a corner.
why not the LS2/LS7? 2:36PM (1/10/2008)
If you want top speed, power is critical. And top speed matters a lot on the N-ring, so this car will be well suited.
But on the track, handling matters a lot. And I don't mean just skid-pad handling, but real changing direction rapidly handling. This car, as good as it is, isn't the kind of car that is good at that, because of the weight.
Nucbuddy 12:51AM (1/11/2008)
@both of you two guys,
The extra weight does indeed increase the momentum. However, it also increases the grip. In fact, it is axiomatic that the grip-increase has to be exactly proportionate to the momentum-increase. Are you claiming that, when a given vehicle is made heavier, grip does *not* increase exactly in proportion to momentum? if you are, I believe that you are essentially claiming that magic exists, and that the laws of physics do not apply to cars.
Gordon Murray has in fact made this very claim regarding the existence of magic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugatti_Veyron#Critics_and_comments
CJ 12:43PM (1/10/2008)
Yes but a stock Nissan GTR is faster :)
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Philip 1:13PM (1/10/2008)
Ingvar Kamprad the 4th richest people in the world according to wiki. For you people who don't know. He's driving an old volvo from the 80's. I can't see him dringving arround in a 3 million dollar car.
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tpp 4:52PM (1/10/2008)
Yes, the founder of Ikea is a penny pincher. I'm sure he's a stereotypical billionaire, right?
The Russian nouveau riche alone could make a $3M car a financially sound project.
Luis 2:00PM (1/10/2008)
I just don't see the sense in a 3 million dollar race car. I can't even imagine the cost in operating and research. Everyone knows it isn't an immediate race-and-win situation (ask Toyota). It will take a few years before this bears fruit, the figure could be astronomical. But I guess if you have the money...
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Levi 2:46PM (1/10/2008)
I kinda like it. Does it still come with the auto-jacks, submarine mode, and saw-blades attached to the front?
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Mi key 8:00PM (1/10/2008)
Aren't race car like these about 3mil. Especially when you factor in rigs/ drivers/ mechanics and parts and such.
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