Bugatti is showing off the final version of its famed Veyron and also planning the car's successor.
Based on the 16.4-litre W16-engined Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, the Veyron Ettore Bugatti is dedicated to the memory of the founder of the firm. Ettore himself made his iconic sports and racing cars in a factory in Molsheim, France, not far from the current Bugatti HQ. His originals were famed for their delicate beauty, robust engineering and light weight. He probably never thought that a car would ever exist that could top 400km/h and accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 2.6 seconds, let alone that that car would bear his name.
Unlike some of the recent Veyron Hero editions (essentially a very expensive version of the run-out special editions that so many carmakers use to get rid of unsold stock...) the Ettore Bugatti edition looks relatively tame, with clear-lacquered carbon-fibre and polished aluminium on the outside, in homage to the 1932 Bugatti Type 41 Royale, one of the most famous Bugattis of all.
The price is about €2.25 million, and that’s before you add on local taxes. Bugatti boss Wolfgang Dürheimer said: “Ettore Bugatti himself is a legend. It was clear from the start that we should dedicate the final Legends model to him personally. He always strived for the creation of a total work of art.”
While this is the last of the current model, Durheimer won't have time to relax. Bugatti has confirmed it will produce a successor to the Veyron, in spite of losing several million euro on every one it has sold. The new car will again be mid-engined and feature an updated version of the Veyron's 16-cylinder turbocharged engine, but this time with hybrid assistance. Bugatti is apparently aiming for 1,500hp and a top speed of 460kmh. It won't have the track all to itself, though: Texas-based sports carmaker Hennesey is planning a version of its Lotus-based Venom supercar, called the F5. That one, using a turbocharged 7.0-litre Lexus engine, is planning to beat the 470km/h barrier...
