2008 Bugatti Veyron Black/gray on 2040-cars

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The Art of Bugatti exhibit opens at Mullin Automotive Museum

Southern California's wonderful jewel, the Mullin Automotive Museum, opened its latest exhibit this week and it is worthy of a road trip. Titled "The Art of Bugatti," the new show is an intimate look at more than a century's worth of Bugatti family creativity - automotive enthusiasts associate the name with cars, but the Italian-born, French-based Bugattis were accomplished sculptors, painters, furniture makers as well as car collectors. The work on exhibit in coastal Oxnard, about an hour northwest of Los Angeles, includes more than 40 automobiles (and an aircraft) from Ettore Bugatti, nearly two dozen pieces of sculpture from Rembrandt Bugatti and more than 40 pieces of furniture from Carlo Bugatti.
Peter Mullin, the museum's founder and chairman, owns the largest private collection of Bugattis in the world. This exhibit celebrates the achievements of the Bugatti family. "It was one of the rare artistic and artisanal families of the era. Everyone in the family just exuded huge artistic talent," said Mullin.
At an early private peek at the collection, our eyes were glazed over by the spectacular 1932 Bugatti Type 41 "Royale" Coupe de Ville, with a massive 12.7-liter straight-eight, and the 1927 Bugatti 35C race car, one of its most successful competitive models. The famed 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic is also on display, which recently sold in the range of $30-40 million. One of the most unique items is the Bugatti 100P, a full scale reproduction of a V-tail wood twin-engine aircraft designed by Ettore Bugatti and Louis de Monge, built for the 1939 Deutsch de la Meurthe Cup Race (there are plans to fly it in the near future).

Kit Cat: Mercury Cougar makes perfect Bugatti Veyron substitute

Bugatti Veyron kit car - Click above for high-res image gallery
If you've got a pulse in your wrist and a snapping brain cell in your head, chances are you wouldn't mind parking a Bugatti Veyron in your garage. But for most mere mortals, scrounging up the cash for a physics-bending piece of 16-cylinder glory would require all sorts of unpalatable tasks. Fortunately for those who want to look the part without having to participate in human trafficking, the kit car universe has stepped in to save the day. All you need is a 1999-2002 Mercury Cougar, a boat load of fiberglass and a little patience.
Oh, and $89,000.

Bugatti Veyron Legend 'Jean Bugatti' bows ahead of Frankfurt reveal

Bugatti has just unveiled its second Bugatti Legends car ahead of the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Like the car it displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the Frankfurt car is based on the 1200-horsepower Grand Sport Vitesse, and honors one of the great figures from Bugatti's history - Jean Bugatti.
Yes, that's a famous last name. Jean was the oldest son of founder Ettore Bugatti, but his claim to fame goes far beyond his lineage. Jean designed the Type 57SC Atlantic, one of the rarest, most expensive and sought after vehicles ever made. In honor of his work, the latest Bugatti Legends car is based on Jean's personal Type 57SC, known as La Voiture Noire, or The Black Car.
Finished entirely in black carbon fiber, the grille surround and EB badges are made of platinum, a first for Bugatti. The black exterior, even with the use of a precious metal, is much more subdued than what we've grown used to with special edition Bugattis. Sporting a set of diamond cut, twin five-spoke wheels, the Legend Jean Bugatti features the designers signature in Arctic Gray on the gas and oil caps.