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Xcar sends off the Bugatti Veyron

By now, there are a small but growing number of exotic supercars costing seven figures, producing 1,000 horsepower and reaching 250 miles per hour, but ten years ago, those kinds of bragging rights were unheard of. It was Bugatti that broke such barriers with the Veyron, and it's that story which Xcar tells in this latest video installment. The story of the Veyron is one of unprecedented technological achievement, the dawn of a new era of performance and the height of status-symbol transportation. It's also a story worth telling, and worth telling right. And we're glad Xcar has set about it. So sit back, crank the speakers and listen to the most cacophonic yet refined swan song in the history of the automobile. Related Video:

Andy Wallace reveals the Bugatti Chiron was still accelerating at 304 mph

Bugatti retired from chasing speed records after it became the first automaker to break the 300-mph barrier with a production car. Andy Wallace, the British pilot who was behind the wheel during the record-setting run, told Autoblog the Chiron's W16 engine wasn't out of breath at 304.77 mph. "I don't think that's the v-max of the car, because it was still accelerating. At that speed, you cover a kilometer about every seven seconds. Then, of course, at the other end you need some distance — not necessarily time, but quite a lot of distance — to get the car down to the right speed for the banking," Wallace remembered. He added that, in hindsight, he might have been able to keep his foot on the throttle for about one more second before hitting the brakes. That wouldn't have been enough to cross the symbolic 500-kilometers-per-hour (310-mph) threshold, but it would have added about another mile per hour to his record. "We need less drag or a longer road to go faster," he explained.   "The track is being resurfaced, and there's a joint in the road that's not quite as flat as it should be. The team was joking with me — people said, 'I can't feel it in a normal car.' Hit it at [277 mph], and it becomes a big jump." Reaching speeds planes normally take off at, while keeping a car securely planted on its four wheels, is more difficult than sitting behind the wheel, buckling up, and flooring it. It requires a considerable amount of preparation. Wallace worked closely with Bugatti's engineering team, Michelin, and Dallara, among other partners, before attempting to set a speed record. Wind tunnel testing and computer simulations played a significant role in making the run possible and successful, but there are some factors the team didn't find out about until the car went around the Ehra-Lessien test track for the first time. Wind was one; another was what Wallace called a jump. "The track is being resurfaced, and there's a joint in the road that's not quite as flat as it should be. The team was joking with me — people said, 'I can't feel it in a normal car.' Hit it at [277 mph], and it becomes a big jump. It's a ramp. The car goes completely up on its suspension, and you land with a wobble. Once you've done that and you're not in too much trouble, it gives you great encouragement to stay flat for the rest of it," he told Autoblog. When asked how long it will take for someone to break his record, Wallace pointed out that nothing stands still these days.

Bugatti promotes 27-year-old former intern to head of special projects

Bugatti has put the future of its one- and few-off projects in the hands of a former intern. 27-year-old Nils Sajonz has been promoted to head of special projects to oversee the development of upcoming models. Sajonz joined the French carmaker as an intern in 2015, and he wrote his university thesis on a race car developed for autonomous racing. While the prototype never hit the track, executives hired him as a designer after he graduated. He contributed to projects like the La Voiture Noire, the Centodieci, the Divo, and the Bolide. Working in Bugatti's design department requires a thorough understanding of its heritage, which includes obscure electric cars and championship-winning single-seaters. Many of the unbuilt projects that Autoblog discovered earlier in 2020 were visibly inspired by the company's past. Sajonz is still in his 20s, so he views design through a different lens than some of his older colleagues, but he noted he aims to bring new ideas to the team without diluting the key styling cues that have defined most of Bugatti's cars since its inception over 100 years ago. "The heritage of the Bugatti brand is not lost on me," he said in a statement. "It is important that future special projects retain the design identity of the brand, which is simply unrivaled." Interestingly, he shed light on why the recently-introduced Bolide track car has X-shaped rear lights. It's a styling cue that echoes the Bell X-1, which was the first plane to break the sound barrier, but it's also a reference to the tape that race car drivers used to put over their headlights to ensure the glass didn't spread on the tarmac if it broke. Sajonz will work directly under Achim Anscheidt, the company's head of design. We don't much about the future special projects he referenced, but we shouldn't have to wait too long to find out what his team has in store. Related video: