2012 Bugatti Veyron on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

First-built 1931 Bugatti Type 55 could fetch $5 million at auction

The very first example built of the 1931 Bugatti Type 55, one of the rarest and most coveted sports cars of the 1930s, has hit the auction block, and it won't come cheap. California auction house Gooding & Co. expects the two-seater to fetch between $4 million and $5 million next month in Scottsdale, Ariz. Stamped chassis 55201, this particular model is reportedly the first of just 38 Type 55 units Bugatti made from 1931 through 1935. It was on display at the 1931 Paris Auto Show and is said to be "one of the most coveted prewar sports cars." She's certainly beautiful. The Type 55 was built atop the chassis that underpinned Bugatti's Type 45 and Type 47 Grand Prix racers. It has unique features not included on later versions, like the GP-style hood with shortened louvers on the side and diagonal louvers in the top of the hood. And dig the yellow-tinted glass on the headlamps. Underneath the hood is a supercharged, twin-overhead cam inline-eight cylinder engine that makes about 132 horsepower driving a four-speed manual transmission. So a Bugatti Chiron, it's not. But it was apparently owned by Duc de le Tremoille, a prominent French aristocrat, then by a Bugatti enthusiast named Dr. Peter Williamson before being restored by a Bugatti specialist in 2012. It also won the French Cup at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. So, a chance to add a bit of style panache and history to your garage, if you've got a few spare million lying around. The Scottsdale auction takes place Jan. 19-20.Related Video:

Bugatti not planning an EV or SUV in the next 10 years

Bugatti is at a turning point in its history: It will end production of the Chiron and the W16 engine that powers it in the coming years. What's next remains a little murky, but the company confirmed that it's not planning on releasing an electric car or an SUV for at least 10 years. "A purely electric version is not included in our 10-year plan for Bugatti. There will also be no SUV," said Bugatti-Rimac CEO Mate Rimac in an interview with industry trade journal Automobilwoche. "If it's comparable, then it's not a Bugatti," he added, citing the firm's founder. His comments put an end to the rumors that have hovered around Bugatti since Croatia-based Rimac purchased a controlling stake in July 2021. Rimac made a name for itself by developing high-performance EVs, and some feared it would leverage its expertise to launch a range of badge-engineered battery-powered Bugatti models. Rimac ruled out badge engineering early on and stressed the two brands won't overlap, though its CEO predicted that "within this decade there will be a fully electric Bugatti" shortly after the purchase was announced. Bugatti has started developing the Chiron's successor and Autoblog confirmed in August 2022 that the model will be powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Rimac stopped short of revealing precise technical details about the yet-unnamed model but told Automobilwoche his team hopes to increase the system's electric-only range from approximately 12 miles in some gasoline-electric hypercars to 30 miles. More details about Bugatti's future should emerge in the coming months. In the meantime, the company has its work cut out for the coming years: it needs to finish production of the Chiron, build the track-only Bolide, and make the 99 planned units of the sold-out Mistral (pictured). Related video: