2012 Bugatti Veyron on 2040-cars

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Bugatti expands way downmarket with an electric scooter

Tales of an entry-level Bugatti have spewed out of the rumor mill for years, but none predicted that the vehicle would have two wheels. The company teamed with Bytech to release an electric scooter that makes the Bugatti name accessible to a much wider audience. Built around a magnesium-alloy frame, the 35-pound scooter is powered by a 700-watt motor that gives it a top speed of 18.5 mph. Clearly, this is not a Chiron, though it wasn't designed to be one. Note that the aforementioned velocity can only be reached when the rider selects a mode called Sport. Leave it in Economy mode and you'll max out at 9 mph; City unlocks 12.5 mph. Cruise control comes standard, and Bugatti notes its scooter is capable of riding up a 15-degree slope and carrying 242 pounds. The battery stores enough electricity for about 22 miles of range. It can be removed, and charging it takes four hours when using a household outlet. For context, one of the many unlikely entrants into the electric scooter arena is MV Agusta, an Italian company more commonly associated with high-performance, race-ready motorcycles. Its scooter (which is described as "the Italian stallion of the e-scooter world") weighs 44 pounds, has a 25-mph top speed, and can carry riders weighing up to 220 pounds. The 500-watt motor delivers 18 pound-feet of torque. Design-wise, it's a, well ... a scooter. You didn't think it would borrow styling cues from the Divo, did you? There's a Bugatti emblem on the front end, and the front turn signals are positioned on the outer parts of the handlebar for better visibility. LED strips illuminate the bottom part of the riding platform, while a rear-mounted light projects Bugatti's "EB" logo onto the ground. Just like in a Bugatti car, you'll be seen.  We don't know when the Bugatti scooter will go on sale or how much it will cost. However, buyers will have three colors to choose from: Agile Blue, silver, and black. It's not quite the baby Chiron we were expecting, but it's a good conversation starter: "I got here with my Bugatti."

Bugatti Veyron Legend 'Jean Bugatti' bows ahead of Frankfurt reveal

Bugatti has just unveiled its second Bugatti Legends car ahead of the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Like the car it displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the Frankfurt car is based on the 1200-horsepower Grand Sport Vitesse, and honors one of the great figures from Bugatti's history - Jean Bugatti.
Yes, that's a famous last name. Jean was the oldest son of founder Ettore Bugatti, but his claim to fame goes far beyond his lineage. Jean designed the Type 57SC Atlantic, one of the rarest, most expensive and sought after vehicles ever made. In honor of his work, the latest Bugatti Legends car is based on Jean's personal Type 57SC, known as La Voiture Noire, or The Black Car.
Finished entirely in black carbon fiber, the grille surround and EB badges are made of platinum, a first for Bugatti. The black exterior, even with the use of a precious metal, is much more subdued than what we've grown used to with special edition Bugattis. Sporting a set of diamond cut, twin five-spoke wheels, the Legend Jean Bugatti features the designers signature in Arctic Gray on the gas and oil caps.

Watch a Bugatti Chiron Sport race a French Navy fighter jet

Bugatti is done chasing speed records, but it's finding other ways to demonstrate what the Chiron's mighty W16 engine is capable of. It brought a Sport model to a naval base in France and put it head-to-head against a jet. On paper, the comparison is hardly fair. Driven by Pierre-Henri Raphanel, a former pilot who is now Bugatti's official driver, the Chiron Sport is powered by a quad-turbocharged engine rated at 1,500 horsepower. Made by Dassault, the Rafale jet boasts about 5,700 horsepower, though its dry weight checks in at around 22,700 pounds. And yet, after the flag drops, the Chiron races ahead of the Rafale for the first few hundred yards. Its lead doesn't last long; Raphanel explained the Rafale quickly caught up and took off. Looking at the plane's specifications sheet reveals it begins to leave the ground at 161 mph after sprinting for approximately 450 yards. Once it's airborne, it's gone. It's capable of reaching the speed of sound (Mach 1.6; 1,227 mph). Even with 16 cylinders, the Chiron isn't quite that fast; test driver Andy Wallace set a land speed record in 2019 by driving a longtail model to 304.7 mph. Slowing down both machines is easier said than done. The runway the Chiron and the Rafale raced on was relatively short, so Raphanel began braking at over 217 mph after accelerating for about a mile. The air brake integrated into the rear end helps scrub off speed without undue drama. Landing the Rafale safely requires a complex system that includes 10 pistons, a special anti-skid system, heat shields to protect the wheels, and nitrogen-filled tires. It approaches the runway at about 155 mph and comes to a full stop in around 150 yards. Bugatti brought the recently-introduced Les Legendes du Ciel version of the Chiron to the race. It's a limited-edition model that highlights the little-known link between some of the firm's earliest race cars and aviation with special graphics and specific trim pieces, among other details. While it initially looks like the sketch of a plane on the door panel is all that joins the Rafale and the Chiron, the connection is a little deeper: the jet's brakes were developed by Messier-Bugatti, a company now known as Safran Landing Systems that shares common roots with the carmaker.