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]

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]

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 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 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 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]

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]