Autoblog

According to InsideLine, Bugatti plans to unveil its Targa variant of the Veyron next month at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Monterey, California. The open-air hyper-car will use a removable hardtop, while a fabric cover can be used in its place if the heavens decide to open up mid-jaunt. IL is reporting that the chassis will be heavily reinforced to cope with the loss of the crucial structural component. Production will begin next year along side the Targa's fixed-roof predecessor, and with the current Veyron going for around $2 million, don't expect to get your 217-mph (limited) top speed kicks without paying another $250,000 on top of the Veyron's base-price.

[Source: InsideLine]

With its quad-turbo W16 pumping out over 1000 horsepower and reaching speeds in excess of 250 mph, surpassing the Bugatti Veyron is no mean feat. Many have tried, but few have succeeded. Yet that is exactly what Bugatti's own engineers will have to achieve when it comes time to replace the Veyron with its successor.

What form that successor would take has been a subject of great debate and continued speculation. At first it was rumored to go downmarket as a roadster. Then it was expected to be a four-door. A lightweight exotic was said to be under development, while its new corporate overlords at Porsche seemed keen to relegate the marque altogether to coachbuilder status. In an emerging interview for Holland's AutoTelegraaf, however, CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen revealed that Bugatti is preparing to launch a new model to replace the Veyron in 2011 or 2012, and that despite restricting emissions and fuel economy regulations around the world, the new model would have to stand up to the performance standards set by the Veyron. Design will follow along the same theme as the Veyron, while Bugatti also considers a racing program, although what championship it would contend remains the subject of further speculation.

[Source: AutoTelegraaf via Motor Authority]

Click for hi-res gallery of the Bugatti Veyron Sang Noir

If you're thinking about dropping $1.5 million on a set of wheels, would a special edition really tip the scales one way or another? Well, Bugatti evidently thinks so. After having produced the Pur Sang and the Fbg par Hermès editions, the ultra-premium auto marque revealed the Sang Noir last month.

Now, after disgruntled U.S. buyers lost out on the opportunity to buy the Pur Sang when it sold out to an invited group of European customers in Paris, Bugatti has announced that its American clientele will get first crack at the limited run of 15 Sang Noir Veyrons before they're offered elsewhere in the world. And who said holding American citizenship isn't worth what it used to be?

[Source: Evo]

While we all know that a 16-cylinder Bugatti Veyron would leave a 12-cylinder Ferrari 599 GTB choking in its own emissions, two blokes in the UK apparently wanted to check it out for themselves. After witnesses reported the two supercars jockeying for position at high speeds on public highways, police took pursuit in a BMW patrol car. Following velocities of nearly 140 mph in the chase, the Bugatti respectfully pulled over while the Ferrari got away scott free. Fortunately for the Bugatti driver, police officially clocked the 253-mph Veyron going a mere 97 mph. The resulting citation was three points on his license and a fine of just £60 (about $120). We think the outcome would have been much, much uglier in the States. Thanks for the tip, Paul!

[Source: The Sun]

Here's a news flash: Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame sometimes drives really fast. But it isn't a speeding ticket that has landed Mr. Clarkson in hot water, it's a recent admission during an interview at the Hay Festival in Powys, Wales that he drove the insanely fast Bugatti Veyron 186 mph on public roads. The overly honest answer to the question "what's the fastest you've ever driven" has public safety activists asking for Clarkson's curly locks on a platter. Mary Williams of Brake called the TV star "offensive and irresponsible," and said that the BBC should fire him.

While we're big fans of Clarkson, driving 186 on public roads is incredibly dangerous both to himself and for others on the road. And doesn't Clarkson have an airport runway for going as fast as he wants whenever he wants? Having said that, he obviously didn't get caught doing anything wrong, and hasn't had a speeding ticket in 20 years, so calls for his job are more or less annoying and wishful thinking.

[Source: Mailonsunday]

After the numerous reports we've brought you about the wealth of Bugatti Veyrons to be found in the United Arab Emirates, it should hardly come as any big surprise that when Top Gear magazine turned up in the capital Abu Dhabi, it had no trouble finding one for a photo shoot. In fact it didn't find just one, but three examples of the million-dollar supercar, with reclusive owners willing to hand over the keys to the British magazine.

Nor were these any run-of-the-mill Veyrons, either. Any true gearhead would know that the Veyron typically comes in two-tone paintjobs, but a few have left the factory in Molsheim with monotone tints, like the all-red example we reported on previously. That one, or one just like it, was one of the vehicles which the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority tracked down for TG, along with an all-white example and the extremely exclusive Pur Sang bare-aluminum-and-carbon edition spotted in the emirate previously. It's not every day that you see three Veyrons in the same place – let alone together with The Stig and, reportedly, a Koenigsegg CCX as well – but if it were to happen anywhere, the UAE seems to be the place. Thanks to all who tipped in!

[Source: PassatWorld]

Click the image above for a photo gallery of the Bugatti Sang Noir

A darker, evil-er Bugatti Veyron has been born to run alongside the Pur Sang: the Sang Noir. Word is the newest variant has been created to be a tip of the hat -- that would be "chapeau!" in French -- to the Bugatti Atlantique 57S. It gets a slightly different front grille with matching side mirrors, black headlight surrounds, exclusive wheels, and an interior dressed in what looks like electric orange. All in all, the car appears to share nothing with the Atlantique other than the name Bugatti and choice of exterior color. But it's not like that would keep you from buying it, would it?


[Source: 4WheelsBlog via AutoSpies]

Click above for high-res gallery of our time with the Bugatti Veyron

We already know that Bugatti's second vehicle in the modern era will be a targa-top version of the Veyron 16.4, but AutoExpress has revealed that production of the open-air exotica will be limited to just 80 units compared to the coupe's comparatively ample run of 300 cars. The cost of letting the sun shine through your Veyron's dome will also be more prohibitive, with a price tag creeping up on £900,000 compared to the £840,000 cost of the coupe. As with most open-air cars, the Veyron's chassis will be made beefier to cope with the loss of rigidity caused by a big hole in its roof. As such, the new car will weigh more than than the record-setting original. Top speed will therefore be relatively limited, if one can call a 217-mph top speed limited. Then again, as we learned while driving the car ourselves, every car is limited compared to the original Veyron.


[Source: AutoExpress]

Click on the image to view three classic Arlen Ness customs

Arlen Ness, a legend to the custom bike community, started out by painting customer bikes on the weekends as he worked to deliver furniture during the week to pay the bills. Gradually, his skills and reputation transformed his small company into the parts-selling juggernaut that it is today. Along the way, Ness has created quite a few one-off creations, many of which are now considered to be classics. Some of them, like the '57 Chevy knock-off "Ness-talgia", twin-engined and twin-supercharged "Ferrari-bike" (above) and Bugatti-inspired "Smooth-Ness" recall iconic automotive designs of years past. According to Ness, those three bikes represent some of his personal favorites, and each of them, along with many others, will be on display at an upcoming exhibit at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio called Awesome-Ness. Interested in attending? The event will run from July 24 through the end of June 2009.


[Source: Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum]

Click to view the Bugatti Veyron's unveiling in Beijing

If you were looking for the new epitome of capitalism's slow-but-steady takeover of communism in China, we've got it for you right here. Bugatti brought its million-euro hyper-car this year to the Auto China show in Beijing, drawing hoards of spectators in its appropriate bright red paint job. What's more is that within two hours of the car's debut, Bugatti had already sold one.

The customer will fly to Bugatti's Molsheim headquarters to pick out the color scheme and options (apparently no one told him he could do it online), and pay a whopping 25 million yuan (approximately $3.6 million, more than twice the sticker price) for the privilege of owning the first Veyron in China. Mao who?

Click on the images below and the press release after the jump for more on the Veyron's unveiling in Beijing.

[Source: Bugatti and Gasgoo]