Autoblog

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 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]

We've known as much for a while, but according to a Georges Keller, a Bugatti spokesperson quoted by Automotive News, a drop-top Veyron is in the works and is due to launch sometime next year. Details are scarce, but according to an unnamed ex-Bugatti executive, the targa-topped hypercar will feature a removable hardtop, but its overtly wealthy owners will have to plan ahead, since there won't be any room in the Bug to store the roof on the go. According to the anonymous exec, the decision to go with a hard top instead of some kind of cloth piece was due to the design of the Veyron's safety cage. Certainly a good call considering the Veyron's potential.


[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Exotic automakers have been lining up like their customers to get their supercars onto the latest driving simulators. If you own an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, the excitement has been palatable. If you prefer to get your horsepower kicks in front of your computer, however, you've probably been feeling a little left out as the lists of new cars for games like Forza 2 and the upcoming GT5 Prologue have been flowing like octane. But we've got good news for racing enthusiasts on any platform, as Electronic Arts has announced a new update for its Need for Speed: ProStreet game.

ProStreet is the eleventh installment of the popular Need for Speed series, with versions available for Xbox, Playstation and PC. The latest bit of DLC (downloadable content) is anticipated to include two new tracks and no fewer than 16 new cars. Among them: the Bugatti Veyron. The street-racing theme of the game seems an odd choice for Bugatti to grant its first license, but opens the question as to whether we'll see the Veyron appear in other games soon. Meanwhile the Veyron won't be the only new exciting piece of virtual machinery streaming to a system near you, as the expansion pack is also anticipated to include such mouthwatering wheels as the Aston Martin DBR9, Audi R8, Koenigsegg CCX and McLaren F1, just to name a few.

Check out the video after the jump to see the Veyron on the ProStreet customizing screen, cycling through even more options than Bugatti's own online configurator.

[Source: techAU via The German Car Blog]

Click above to view high-res gallery of renderings

A few months ago, we wrote about an amateur designer who penned today's vision of a Bugatti Royale. It was all good at the front, and then things got a bit, well, funky at the rear. Now another car designing buff with a pen suite of software has created his idea of a 4-seat Bugatti GT: the decidedly gorgeous Streamliner 12-2.

Maltese designer Reuben Zammit designed the Streamliner as a 2+2 with "ample luggage space." Though we're sure if Bugatti ever created such a car it would be decidedly more expensive than the Ferrari 612, cues from Maranello's uber-GT can be seen in the Streamliner. But the nothing-but-curves approach gives it a Bugatti retro flair all its own. The car would use a twin-turbocharged version of the W12 engine and be powered by the rear wheels only. That would give the Streamliner rather un-Bugatti-like handling, which we think is even more reason to buy one. Check out additional renderings of the Streamliner 12-2 in the hi-res gallery below and let the designer know if you like his work in the comments.


[Source: Reuben Zammit via Carscoop]

Click image for a high-res gallery of the Bugatti Veyron

Congratulations, and a toast with a pair of champagne glasses, to Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. for selling 220 of their ultra-exotic Veyron 16.4 models. With 132 examples sitting safely in customer garages worldwide (except for this one...doh!), and 88 more on firm order, Bugatti is moving closer to the end of its reported 300-car production run.

We told you last year that demand has been strong for the 16-cylinder quad-turbo model. With deposits on the $1.4 million cars quickly pushing the waiting list to over a year, Bugatti increased production last July to bring the wait to under twelve months. Simply being otherworldly drivers isn't necessarily enough, either. With customers showing more interest in "special" cars, the factory is authorizing an "individualisation programme" to meet those requests. These days, if the "standard" Bugatti just doesn't do it for you, there is always the Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang with its polished aluminum body and unpainted carbon fiber. Not plush enough? Then try the opulent Bugatti Veyron Fbg Hermes for some exclusivity. Or, maybe you'd prefer the Bugatti Pegaso Edition instead?

Regardless of which Veyron floats your boat, if you're considering adding yourself to the lucky list of 220, do yourself a favor and check out the Bugatti online configurator before you march into one of the 32 sales locations around the world. Their available 'exterior color' palette is quite overwhelming, so you may want to take a few minutes to mull over it before you commit.

[Source: German Car Scene]

Click above for hi-res gallery of the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes

The press release says "This car's greatest strength is its ability to make you feel like a child again (a somewhat boisterous child, admittedly)." We can't agree enough. Who among us doesn't have childhood tales of doing 200-plus in our €1.55 million toys? This blogger used to do it all the time -- no, really, all the time, 'cause I was really boisterous -- and I am sure I'm not alone. Hyperbole aside, it's a Bugatti, and that makes it exquisite. And frankly, even if you aren't a fan of Hermes, they do amazing work, which, incredibly, makes the Bug even more exquisite. The "H"-logoed wheels and the fitted bag are spot on. The Hermes engraved fuel filler door could be over the top, but one loses any sense of O.T.T. after flying by the $2 million mark. But hey, if we're all feeling like kids again, maybe I can get them to take 1.55 million mud pies instead of euros. Until then, thirty one hi-res photos await you in the gallery below. Enjoy.

Ah, the Bugatti Veyron. It's astonishingly powerful, sexy as hell, and only 300 will ever be made. Among the 300 Veyrons, the five rarest and most coveted models carry the Pur Sang moniker. It's stunning paint-free aluminum and carbon fiber body are bold enough to make even the wealthiest Dubai oil baron blush. There were likely many filthy rich people who missed out on the chance to bag a Pur Sang, as all five models were snapped up inside 24 hours. If you lost out the first time and had to settle for a Reventon or four Ferraris, we have good news. One Pur Sang is back on the market, but it's going to cost one of the world's wealthy almost twice as much as it did less than six months ago.

Italian dealer Rag Gianfranco Favero is selling its precious Pur Sang on the finecars website for the low price of only 3.2M Euro. The 1001-hp, 253-mph supercar has only 48 miles on the odometer, which, quite frankly, makes us scratch our heads. It's unimaginable that anyone could hold onto a Veyron for six months and drive it only 48 miles. Like it would be worth any less money if it had 800 miles on it.

[Source: Finecars]

We told you about the Bugatti Hermès Veyron two weeks ago. At the time, it appeared the uber-special Veyron would just have an ultra high-end interior package. Now, with the first pre-Geneva peek of a Bugatti Hermès Veyron, we are learning the exterior may get some special touches, as well. Although the car in the picture is almost entirely hidden by a blue fabric car cover, two new vertical slats appear flanking each side of the grill, which obviously imply other elements of the Veyron's visage will also change. Are these the only exterior "upgrades" to the million-dollar-plus Bugatti Hermès Veyron? We'll let you know when we see it in Geneva next week. Until then, hit up the source below to see the car covered in full.

[Source: CarAdvice]

Mike Connor from Motor Trend apparently rubs elbows with all the right people, as his sources within the VW Group say that a second car for Bugatti developed under the title of Project Lydia is not going to happen, despite the rumor that we "cut-and-paste blogs" reported a few weeks ago (Thanks Mike, we think you're a big jerk, too). Project Lydia was supposed to be an extreme, track-focused version of the Veyron propelled by an even more powerful version of the brand's 8-liter quad-turbo W16 engine. Connor reports that while an "inch-thick dossier" on Lydia exists, execs decided it was redundant to build an even faster version of the Veyron. Instead, he claims Bugatti's second model will be a four-door sedan with a coupe profile that's powered by the Veyron's engine mounted up front. As far as we're concerned, Connor's tale of a Bugatti super sedan, which isn't new, is still a rumor like the one we reported about Project Lydia, so believe whoever you want.

[Source: Motor Trend]