Forget the 16C Galibier. We'd rather have the Veyron Mouse. It turned up last night on The Tonight Show as part of Conan's farewell series of "crazy expensive" sketches. Skip to 2:10 to see just the car.
Curious whether the new 2010 Honda Accord has an optional neck massager? How about the tow rating on the Ford F-150? And what about those European cars, they're always adding some new totally nonessential technological "feature."
Now there's an easy way to find out. Our 2010 Buyer's Guide lists every model change from every manufacturer. From colors to options to full redesigns, it's all there.
Yesterday, we showed you video of a million-dollar Bugatti being towed out of a Texas lake after its owner "lost control." Well, now there's video of the incident and it's clear that Bugatti driver wasn't paying much attention as the Veyron plunged into the water with no visible provocation.
After a few private screenings in Europe, the Bugatti 16C Galibier concept arrived in L.A. last week for another round of viewings. This time Bugatti was looking to get the opinion of the "trend setting west coast crowd."
If they weren't impressed then Bugatti shouldn't bother listening as the 16C Galibier is a stunner in person. The deep blue body panels are made of carbon fiber and when the light hits them just right you can make out the weave beneath the surface. The shiny parts are polished aluminum and the clamshell hood hides an eight-liter supercharged W16 engine that can run on ethanol. The Hollywood types should approve.
According to Bugatti, the 16C Galibier is officially still a design study, but given that we have yet to see much else out of the Audi-owned carmaker lately it's a good bet that this car is headed for production. Expect to see it carry a seven-figure price tag similar to the Veyron coupe.
You may have seen some of these before. Rich guys like to show off you know. Regardless, these ultimate garages still stir the soul in a way only serious car enthusiasts can truly appreciate. There's a 25 page string on Luxury4play.com if you want to see more.
The return of the auto show season can mean only one thing: more special-edition Bugatti Veyrons. This time Bugatti presented the Sang Bleu, which if our high school French is any indication, means "blue blood."
Make the jump for more information and a photo gallery.
Seems every carmaker is showing some variety of electric car at Frankfurt. Bugatti was not about to be left out. So it rolled out this little electric buggy, which the company says Bugatti built in 1931. Note the Bugatti-style two-tone paint. Apparently, it once belonged to the king of Belgium. There was a king of Belgium? Now that is silly.
The unveiling of the Bugatti 16C Galibier must be proof that even the fantastically wealthy are worrying about practical, rational things in these tenuous economic times. How else to explain the appearance of a front-engine Bugatti with four doors -- a Bugatti sedan? It's a concept, mind you, so if the Bugatti owners in attendance at the private unveiling don't like it, Bugatti might not build it.
Bugatti mentions the Type 57 as a styling influence, but in profile, the car strikes us an even more eccentric relative of the Porsche Panamera.
Under the hood is a familiar 8.0-liter W16 engine. But instead of quad turbos on the mid-engine Veyron, this one has a two-stage supercharger and flex-fuel capability in case you want to fill up with ethanol.
"Four-wheel drive, specially developed ceramic brakes and a new suspension design enable the agile, always-sure handling of a saloon of this size," says the Bugatti press release. So we shouldn't ask about curb weight, then, should we?
More details, we're sure, are forthcoming, but the car is not on the guest list for Frankfurt.
A report out of Europe today suggests the Porsche Panamera platform architecture will be shared among other brands within VW Group. This would apparently happen, even if the Panamera expires in 2017 as predicted earlier this week.
An unnamed source close to the company suggests that Audi, Bentley and Bugatti are the most likely candidates. Lamborghini has already been ruled out, even though the Panamera platform looks tempting as a basis for an Estoque production car.
Bentley could use this platform to build the next Continental GT, though the dimensional differences between the Panamera and the current Continental might make it unsuitable. For Bugatti, it could be a front-engined, two- or four-door complement to the Veyron. Or, if Audi decided to use it, it could be a five-door, GT-type hatchback companion to the R8. However, the Panamera's steel structure would probably rule it out for Audi, which likes to build in aluminum, the source concludes.
If you were rubbing shoulders with VW Group's Ferdinand Piech, how would you advise him on using the Porsche Panamera platform architecture?
Why own a regular old Bugatti Veyron when you can have one with a little provenance? Like say, this one currently owned by Formula One driver Jenson Button. We're sure he's taken good care of it, that is when he wasn't out beating it to within an inch of its already short life.
Last month we showed you the 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that managed to fetch $12.1 million amidst a recession. Now check out the next potential record breaker. It's a 1936 Bugatti Type 57C Coupe owned by Ettore Bugatti himself and it's scheduled for auction at Pebble Beach in August.
The vehicle's history is a lengthy one. It was originally built for Bugatti as a birthday present, and then survived WWII tucked away in Molsheim on the French-German border. Following the war (and Ettore's death) the lime-green-machine was revamped with new interior accessories, a one-off engine and tranny combo and a few other improvements under the hood. It changed hands a couple times over the next fifty years, but - most surprisingly - has maintained its flawless state and never been restored.
Mark the weekend of August 15-16 on your calendars if you're into high-end collector cars as this Bugatti will be just one of many up for sale by Gooding & Company at its annual Pebble Beach auction. -- Mike Lysaght, Contributor
Not surprisingly, it's one of four Ferrari's that made the list. Other entries include a Talbot-Lago, a Duesenberg and a couple of Bugatti's. Nice stuff if you've got the scratch.
Say what you will about Chevrolet (and you will), but it has for decades led the industry in production of sometimes-tasteful, often-not special editions of its cars. In this way, Chevy is very much like the Bugatti Veyron, Maybach and Mercedes-McLaren SLR. Otherwise not so much.
This marks the first time Chevrolet won't produce an Indy pace car replica on the years when the Camaro has paced the race ('67, '69, '82, '93).
This may or may not have something to do with the fact that the company will produce an unspecified number of Bumblebee replica Camaros, timed to go on sale when the second Transformers movie opens this summer.
Here's your chance to vote for your favorite special-edition. Will it be the 2010 Bumblee Camaro? The 2010 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car Camaro that won't exist? Or the 1974 Oleg Cassini American Motors Matador?
