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Watch (and listen to!) the Bugatti Bolide go flat-out on an airstrip

Development of the track-only Bugatti Bolide has reached a significant milestone. After finalizing the hypercar's design and building the first prototypes, the French brand has started testing the model on an airstrip to fine-tune parameters like the amount of downforce it generates. Power for the Bolide comes from an 8.0-liter W16 engine that's quad-turbocharged to 1,578 horsepower — you know we're talking serious power when the horsepower figure includes a comma. While this is the same basic engine that powers the Chiron, among other models, the major similarities between the two models stop there. Bugatti didn't design the Bolide for street use so its engineers were unfettered by the regulations that shaped your daily driver. They focused on keeping weight as low as possible while designers created a race car-like body. So far, the tests have confirmed what months of computer simulation predicted: the 3,200-pound Bolide can handle up to 2.5 Gs of lateral forces, meaning it can take a corner really, really, fast, and it generates up to three metric tons of downforce (that's about 6,600 pounds) depending on the speed it's traveling at. Bugatti explains the car's front splitter helps achieve this downforce: air hitting the car gets compressed under the splitter and expands under the diffuser to create the suction that helps pin the Bolide to the pavement. There's much more to it, and all of the aerodynamic add-ons are functional. The shape of the passenger compartment, which is narrow compared to the Chiron's, was selected in part to maximize airflow to the side-mounted intercoolers. The door mirrors channel air to the intercoolers as well. Bugatti Bolide testing on a track View 10 Photos While the mirrors add drag, Bugatti explained that they make more sense than cameras because they give the driver a better idea of where they're positioned compared to other cars. "Every technical consideration has been translated directly into an aesthetic design," said Frank Heyl, the company's deputy design director, in a statement. "Design and technology flow into one another in the Bolide," he added. Bugatti will continue testing the Bolide on race tracks around the world in the coming months, and it plans to begin delivering the car in 2024. If you're not already on the waiting list, it's too late: production is limited to 40 units and they're all spoken for in spite of a base price pegged at ˆ4 million (about $4.29 million at the current conversion rate).

Bugatti Chiron shows off new blue-tinted carbon fiber skin at the Quail

It was all the way back in February that Bugatti unveiled the Chiron at the Geneva Motor Show. In the ensuing months, we've seen what we think are two Chiron models make various appearances around the world (including one with company CEO Wolfgang Durheimer behind the wheel at the Nurburgring). Now it's finally time for an official Chiron sighting in the States, courtesy of the Quail Motorsports Gathering in Monterey, California. And it's beautiful. With its carbon fiber weave showing brilliantly behind a dark blue tint, this "near-production" Chiron looks fast just sitting still. And, with its 8.0-liter, quad-turbo W16 engine spitting out some 1,500 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque, it's fast when moving, too. Durheimer apparently got the preproduction Chiron up past 200 miles per hour at the 'Ring, but that's quite a bit short of its top speed of 261 mph. Don't miss this chance to drink in all the details of the Chiron's North American debut at the Quail in our high-res image gallery above. After all, you never know when a Saudi prince will snap it up... Stay tuned for plenty more from Monterey Car Week over the next few days. Related Video: Featured Gallery Bugatti Chiron North American Debut View 11 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Misc. Auto Shows Bugatti Coupe Luxury Performance Supercars Pebble Beach Bugatti Chiron

Bugatti to reveal final Legend editions in Beijing, Pebble Beach August

While it wouldn't be fair to say it stumbled upon it, having invested unprecedented amounts to develop the Veyron in the first place, Bugatti has certainly arrived at a winning formula with its special editions. Take on the world's most expensive and desirable supercars, give it a special paintjob and name, and presto! You've got a multi-million-dollar prospect on your hands of which collectors just can't seem to get enough.
If that was the case with previous special-edition and one-off versions of the Veyron - and there have been many - it certainly applies to the company's "Les Legendes de Bugatti" line. The series pays homage to six legendary figures from the marque's history, each honored with a run of three special versions of the Vitesse roadster done up in their name with a unique color scheme inside and out. It started with the Jean-Pierre Wimille edition at Pebble Beach in August and continued with the Jean Bugatti edition in Frankfurt, the Meo Costantini edition in Dubai and the Rembrandt edition (pictured above) at the Geneva Motor Show last week. That leaves two more to go, and now we now what to expect - or rather, when to expect it.
In correspondence with Autoblog, Bugatti confirmed that it will reveal the fifth model at the Beijing Motor Show next month, and the sixth and final version at Pebble Beach in August. But just what will they be? All signs seem to be pointing toward pioneered female racer Elisabeth Junek for one of them - likely the next - but if we had to guess, we'd suspect that the final version will honor Ettore Bugatti himself. We'll just have to wait to find out for sure, but whoever Bugatti names them after, you can bet they'll all sell out rather quickly.