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Bugatti working on Super Veyron with 1.8-second 0-60 mph time?

At some point, someone is going to have to hand the minds at Bugatti a physics book and tell them to settle down. Automobile reports the monarch of the Volkswagen stable is out to eclipse its own ludicrous performance threshold by building a new Super Veyron capable of snapping to 60 mph in 1.8 seconds. How? The company plans to shove even more carbon fiber at the ultracar while also turning up the horsepower. Rumor has it the machine will boast either an 8.0- or 9.6-liter W16 engine good for 1,600 horsepower, which should be enough to nudge the vehicle's top end from 259 mph all the way to 288 mph.
All told, the Über Veyron will hold a 550-pound advantage over its predecessor for a power to weight ratio of 2.2 lb/hp. How much will one of these things cost you? Expect to pony up $2.5 million for the privilege of ownership. That is, if it makes it to production.

Bugatti Veyron hybrid successor rumors surface anew

If you had told us when the Bugatti Veyron debuted nine years ago that its successor would be a hybrid, we would have responded that you were out to lunch. In fact, we didn't quite believe it two years ago when the rumor first surfaced. But that was all before Porsche, McLaren and Ferrari proved that hybrids could not only be quick, but entertaining drives, as well. And when we say "quick," we mean Nürburgring-conqueringly, 0-60 in under three seconds quick. Today, the idea of a hybrid hypercar doesn't seem far-fetched at all. And so we bring you new reports that the next Veyron - whether it carries the same name or not - will pack an electric assist.
This according to Reuters, which notes that Bugatti's old-is-new-again CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer is keen on hybrid propulsion as evidence that the Alsatian marque is likely to pursue such a powertrain for the Veyron's replacement. The system wouldn't help curb the Veyron's portly weight, of course, but it would likely help cut down its prodigious fuel consumption. The current car, by the way, would run dry after 12 minutes at its 250+ mph top speed (by which point the special Michelin tires would have melted anyway). More importantly - and more likely - the hybrid assist will make the new car even punchier at low revs.
Of course, even assuming Reuters is correct, there's no telling to what internal-combustion engine the electric motor in the next Veyron will be paired with. However, considering the massive sums of cash Volkswagen spent on developing the unique 6.0-liter quad-turbo W-16, we'd bet it'll use some form of the same - just with an extra jolt of electric power thrown in for good measure.

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.