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Bugatti previews what looks like a W16-powered race car

Bugatti captured our attention when it released an image of an enigmatic new model whose rear lights form an X. We still don't know exactly what we're looking at, but a photo of its powertrain sheds light on what's coming. Significantly, the digital rendering shows the car is built around the quad-turbocharged W16 that powers the Chiron. An earlier report speculated it would be electric, and that's evidently not the case. The engine is mounted directly behind the passenger compartment, and the transmission it's bolted to seemingly spins the four wheels. We also see a rectangular steering wheel, a pair of carbon fiber bucket seats, and center-locking wheels covered by carbon fiber discs. All of these parts look like they belong in a race car, but Bugatti is keeping additional details under wraps. "What if...?" again appears on the photo, so we're expecting something out of the ordinary.  An earlier teaser showing the number 0,67 also asked more questions than it answered. Europeans use a comma instead of a decimal, so there's a strong chance we're looking at 0.67. It's far too high to be the car's drag coefficient; keep in mind the original Land Rover Defender had a 0.59 drag coefficient, and the rear-engined Volkswagen Beetle posted 0.48. If this is indeed a track car, is it 0.67 seconds quicker than the Chiron around a given track? It's possible but unlikely, because that's a rounding error at best regardless of whether we're talking about the Circuit de la Sarthe, the Nurburgring, or Suzuka. 0.67 seconds quicker to 60 mph is plausible.  Is it a one-off, or a limited-edition model? If it's the latter, are there any build slots left? Your guess is as good as ours. All of our questions will be answered when the mysterious car makes its global debut online tomorrow, October 28, at noon Central European time, which is 6 a.m. on the East Coast and 3 a.m. in California.

Watch a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport hit 246 mph during road rally

The Bugatti Veyron might be getting on in years, but it's still an engineering marvel capable of truly insane velocity. There are tons of videos of the Veyron doing its super-high-speed trick of reaching 200 miles per hour with seemingly no effort. But do you know how much ground the coupe is actually covering at full chat? Let's just say it's mighty impressive.
According to the YouTube description, this video was shot at the 2014 Sun Valley Road Rally in Idaho. The event shut down a portion of highway and allowed cars to hurtle down that stretch at ludicrous speeds, and a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport with 1,200 horsepower on hand showed the crowd what fast really looked like. Thankfully, the organizers monitored the vehicles' speed, confirming that this supercar managed a massive 246.4 miles per hour.
The way that the Veyron reaches that momentum is just as impressive, though. At first, all you see is a fast-moving white spec, but it doesn't sound like a car. It has more of the constant note of a jet but with a little audible grumble as it streaks by. Scroll down to see what nearly 250 mph looks like on a deserted stretch of highway.

Bugatti reveals the final version of the one-off La Voiture Noire

Bugatti is ready to deliver the La Voiture Noire, a one-of-a-kind model introduced at the 2019 edition of the Geneva auto show. Based on the Chiron, the coachbuilt coupe meets the same quality standards as a series-produced car. Making the La Voiture Noire a reality took two years because it underwent a long list of tests before Bugatti signed it off. As we've previously reported, it was blasted with thousands of gallons of water to ensure it's watertight and was driven flat-out on a track, among other evaluations. Over 65,000 engineering hours were invested into the project, a number that underlines the significant differences between the La Voiture Noire and the Chiron it's related to. And yet, Bugatti managed to keep the show car's lines and finer design details intact during development. While the quad-turbocharged, 1,479-horsepower 8.0-liter W16 engine comes from the Chiron, all of the carbon fiber exterior panels are new and the wheelbase is slightly longer. Bugatti also notes each headlight features 25 individually-milled elements, and that the grille was 3D-printed. Overall, the La Voiture Noire wears a purer, more touring-oriented design than the aforementioned Chiron and the Divo. It's not fitted with a rear wing, for example. Interior photos haven't been released, but we're told the seats are upholstered in Havana Brown leather. It creates a classic ambience that matches the turned aluminum inlays scattered across the cabin, like on the center console. There is but a single example of the La Voiture Noire, and Bugatti's not taking bids. The coupe is already sold to an anonymous collector, who paid 11 million euros (about $13.4 million at the current conversion rate) for it before taxes enter the equation. Time will tell if the new owner reveals his or her identity, drives the car, or keeps it tucked away in a private collection. In the meantime, the French firm will work on bringing the Centodieci to production. Perhaps inspired by Bugatti's success, some of the other luxury carmakers have started breathing new life into the long-lost tradition of coachbuilding during the past few years. Rolls-Royce notably created a yacht-inspired, one-of-a-kind convertible called Boat Tail for an anonymous couple that reportedly paid approximately $28 million for it. What's in a name? La Voiture Noire literally translates to "The Black Car" in French. It's entirely black, but there's more to it than paint and trim.