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Bugatti teases mystery reveal on Facebook

On the heels of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport being stripped of its World's Fastest Car title by Guinness World Records comes this tease from the French automaker, hinting that it will soon "share the latest example of exceptional Bugatti performance" over the next few days its Facebook page.
The timing of the announcement is interesting. Even though the current Super Sport boasts a quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 developing 1,200 horsepower that pushes the two-seater to an unrestricted top speed of 267 mph, today's competitors are knocking at kicking down Bugatti's door. The much lighter and more agile Hennessey Venom GT (twin-turbo 7.0-liter V8 rated at 1,244 horsepower) recently ran to nearly 266 mph - and it still hasn't fully stretched its legs. And then there is the Shelby SuperCars Ultimate Aero (twin-turbo 6.9-liter V8 rated at 1,300 horsepower) that will hit 256 mph.
So, we have to ask, what exactly will Bugatti reveal this week? Is this another variant of the Super Sport, sans its electronic limiter for a boosted top end? Is this the rumored 1,600 horsepower Super Veyron, which we first heard about many months ago? Or, will Bugatti finally be revealing a production version of its 16C Galibier sedan? Let us know what you think in our comments section, below.

Bugatti mules could signal Veyron successor in the works

The chances of a new product from Bugatti are getting closer. The tally of available Veyrons left keeps dropping, with only around 40 units to go to complete the stated 450-car production run. The supercar maker has reportedly begun development on a successor, and that is looking increasingly likely because a pair of test cars with some intriguing modifications have been spotted lapping the Nürburgring.
We recently saw the white car testing in a short video; now a new set of spy shots have given us an even better look. The car appears stock, until you notice the weird aluminum armature at the back. The wires and boxes indicate it's likely for data acquisition, and given the location, engine testing would be a good bet.
The black Veyron is wearing slightly widened bodywork and may also have a wider track. According to our spy shooters, those absolutely massive black wheels may be made from carbon fiber. Another interesting note is the panel cut out at the rear of the car behind the driver's side tire. There is clearly a radiator visible behind it. Perhaps, both cars are testing new powertrain options?

Out with the clay, in with the VR: Bugatti's design studio is all digital

Bugatti recently unveiled three limited-edition, multi-million-dollar Chiron derivatives in less than a year, a Herculean task for such a small company. Achim Anscheidt, the head of the firm's design department, told Autoblog maintaining this pace wouldn't have been possible without the use of virtual reality technology. "We have the feeling we don't need clay anymore. With VR, we can do everything on the spot. We can sit next to each other and talk about the car, we can change the wheels, change the color, and sometimes make modifications on the spot," he explained. In comparison, using clay has several disadvantages. It's more difficult to tell how sunlight reflects off the body, for example. It's also more expensive and far more time consuming. "It's only through [VR] that we had the chance to develop the Divo, the La Voiture Noire and the Centodieci in such a rapid amount of time," he affirmed. The team in charge of designing the EB110-inspired Centodieci notably began the project about six months before the car made its public debut at the 2019 edition of the ritzy, champagne-soaked Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance held on California's picturesque Pacific coast. While VR isn't new, the technology wasn't advanced enough to replace clay in a styling studio until about 2016. Anscheidt hasn't looked back; going all-digital reduced the amount of time it takes to design a car by about 40%. This isn't a case of robots replacing humans, either. Bugatti still needs talented designers, and the number of people it assigns to each project hasn't drastically changed, but they now work differently than in the past. View 40 Photos And, the widespread use of VR in Bugatti's design department doesn't mean its cars are no longer drawn by hand. Anscheidt explained every project still starts with a series of sketches that allow designers to explore different directions and identify the one they want to take the car-to-be in. Here again, digitalization plays a substantial role. Early sketches are sometimes done on a tablet rather than on a piece of paper. "Of course, when [deputy design director] Frank Heyl and I go to lunch, we still sketch on napkins," he said with a smile. Knowing how to use 3D-modeling and VR is only one of the skills Anscheidt looks for when hiring new designers.