2006 Bugatti Veyron. 980 Miles. Black/red Black Interior. San Diego on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen breaks 40-year-old sales record in 2012

The last time Volkswagen moved this many vehicles in America in one year, Richard Nixon was still a President in good standing, Let It Be was a radio hit and each car wearing the VW badge boasted an air-cooled engine. That's right, with a grand total of 580,286 vehicles sold in the US last year, the VW Group has broken its own four-decades-old sales record by 2,899 vehicles.
Of that 580k total sold, 438k were Volkswagens and 139k were Audi products - increases of 35.1 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively, in year-over-year sales. The ultra-premium members of the VW group also fared well; Bentley delivered 2,315 vehicles for a 23.3-precent increase, and Lamborghini delivered 520 units for a 52.9-percent jump. Bugatti, we're told is "right on track."
Jetta (pictured) sales paced the marque with 170k models sold, and Passat also finished very strong with sales of 117k total. Tiguan also racked up its best year on file, with 31,731 models shifted.

Bugatti Type 35 reborn as a sumptuous retro-styled roadster

German engineering and design firm Uedelhoven Studios has reimagined the Bugatti Type 35 as a modern roadster. It's visibly inspired by the original model, but it's lower, sleeker, and made largely with carbon fiber. Uedelhoven Studios isn't a household name, even in enthusiast circles, but it has helped create numerous concept cars including the 2020 Hyundai Prophecy, the 2019 Hyundai 45, and the 2019 Audi AI:Me. It explained that its designers began brainstorming ways to bring the Type 35 into the 21st century in 2015, though it's unclear whether Bugatti was involved in the project. We didn't see it when we went behind the scenes in its design studio to discover some of the unbuilt models it developed in the 2000s and the 2010s, including a V8-powered coupe. Called Type 35 D, a designation never used by Bugatti, the roadster is instantly recognizable as a follow-up to the successful race car thanks in part to a horseshoe-shaped grille surrounded by a thick chrome frame, a tapered body and light blue paint. The suspension system's components and the wheels are fully exposed, like on the original model, but Uedelhoven added fatter tires and a sizeable air diffuser that's wider than the body. Peeking inside reveals wood trim on the steering wheel and the gear selector, leather upholstery, and a copious amount of carbon fiber. The center console is loosely inspired by the one fitted to Bugatti's current-day models, like the Chiron, with round instruments (including a digital gear indicator). It looks like there's a screen on the dashboard, too, which strongly suggests the cabin isn't as closely linked to Bugatti's heritage as the body. What's under the hood hasn't been revealed. We think the front end looks a little too narrow to house Bugatti's thunderous 8.0-liter W16 engine and its four turbos. Released in 1924, the original Type 35 was powered by a 2.0-liter straight-eight engine tuned to develop about 90 horsepower, a magnificent amount at the time. "This was a project initiated by Walter de Silva for Volkswagen Konzern Design in 2015 and constructed at the Uedelhoven Studios. The Bugatti Type 35 D was purely a concept car to see what was possible with the brand. The team behind it consisted of various Volkswagen Group designers, including, Alessandro Dambrosio, Stefan Sielaff, Tancredi de Aguilar and Klaus Suttner," a spokesperson for da Silva's design studio told Autoblog.

Bugatti has sold all nine of its Legend edition Veyrons

You may have balked at the release of each of Bugatti's Legend edition Veyrons and dismissed them as simple a way for the Alsatian marque to sell the last 50 cars it needs to move before it can put the series to rest. But what you can't argue with is the fact that it's working, because Bugatti has sold every last one of them.
The "Legendes de Bugatti" series launched, as you may recall, with the Jean-Pierre Wimille edition (pictured above and in the updated image gallery) at Pebble Beach this past August. The Jean Bugatti edition followed at the Frankfurt show, and the Meo Costantini edition debuted in Dubai. Each one is based on the Vitesse roadster and comes with a special paint scheme and interior palette created in tribute to a legendary driver from the marque's hey day in pre-war grand prix racing. Each of the three limited runs is limited to three examples, each of which, Bugatti has confirmed, has sold for around 2.2 million euros - equivalent to approximately $3 million at present exchange rates. And here we thought the million-dollar asking price for the original Veyron was a lot.
Before all is said and done, there will be three more of these special series - nine more examples - for a total of eighteen vehicles. Bugatti is set to unveil the fourth version next week in Geneva, anticipated to pay tribute to pioneering female driver Elisabeth Junek. We're still expecting Ettore's son Rembrandt Bugatti to be the subject of another one, leaving the sixth up in the air. Whoever those remaining examples honor, however, you can bet Bugatti will sell them all, which will only bring it closer to selling those last few Veyrons and moving on to its successor, whatever form it may take.