Automotive

Bugatti to replace the Veyron with an even faster hypercar hybrid

View 12 Images
Autocar envisions the Bugatti Veyron successor
Bugatti will show the Ettore Bugatti Legend at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
The Ettore's body combines clear-coated aluminum and exposed blue carbon fiber
The Ettore Bugatti Legend is the last of the Bugatti Legends series
The car's dancing elephants are an homage to the Type 41 Royale
The Ettore Bugatti Legend will retail for €2.35 million
The Ettore Bugatti signatures are painted in silver
The Ettore Bugatti Legend
The Ettore Bugatti Legend has special diamond-cut eight-spoke wheels
Inside The Ettore Bugatti Legend
Inside The Ettore Bugatti Legend
Inside The Ettore Bugatti Legend
Autocar envisions the Bugatti Veyron successor
View gallery - 12 images

Stealing a bit of the supercar spotlight back from Hennessey and its Venom F5, Bugatti insiders have gotten to talking about the successor to the legendary Veyron. The car will reportedly use a hybrid powertrain to make it quicker and faster than any iteration of the Veyron, including the world record-breaking Super Sport. Let the next generation of world speed record wars begin.

Based on its talks with "Bugatti insiders," Autocar reports that the next-generation hypercar will be capable of flipping the last two digits of the Veyron's 268-mph (431-km/h) world record, reaching speeds up to 286 mph (460 km/h). Bugatti's computer simulations suggest that the new car will also be quicker, launching to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 2.3 seconds.

Unlike the the Hennessey Venom F5, which will have a power-to-weight ratio that calculates out to around one, the beefy stock bred by Bugatti won't have such a luxury. As in the past, Bugatti will have to rely on stuffing more ponies into its new car. Autocar suggests it will add nearly 300 hp, upping total system output to close to 1,500 hp.

To get to that massive output figure, Bugatti will go in the same direction as hypercar contemporaries like McLaren and Ferrari: hybrid power. Bugatti is still experimenting with multiple prototype layouts, but indications are that it will task an electric drive with assisting an engine based on the Veyron's quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16. It's not clear how much that electric unit will improve upon the Veyron's laughably terrible 10 mpg combined EPA rating, but we'll wager that fuel economy will remain grim.

Interestingly, while Autocar was so enthused about its Bugatti discoveries as to drop its own press release on the auto wire, it doesn't really believe that the car will ever reach its full potential.

"Even though aerodynamic drag increases at the square of speed, if you up the power enough, it’s entirely feasible that Bugatti could find another 18 mph for the taking in the Veyron’s successor," Autocar road test editor Matt Prior said. "But we’re well into the realms of academia now. Making a road car that can do 286 mph is one thing; making a road car do it on road tires is rather more difficult."

That analysis also suggests that Hennessey's projection of 290-mph speeds could fall victim to the same limitations. Given that neither car is even developed yet, the manufacturers and their tire partners have some time to figure it all out before putting the cars to the test. The Veyron successor will reportedly go on sale in 2016.

The Ettore's body combines clear-coated aluminum and exposed blue carbon fiber

In more imminent news, Bugatti is finishing off its "Les Légendes de Bugatti" (Bugatti Legends) Veyron Series with the sixth and final model, the Ettore Bugatti. Like the five Bugatti legends that came before it starting a year ago, the Ettore is based on the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse - world's fastest production roadster – and doesn't include (nor need) any powertrain tuning.

The bespoke aesthetics of the Ettore Bugatti Legend pay homage to both Bugatti's founder and the 1932 Type 41 Royale. The car's body is decorated in a "yin-yang" style that pairs clear-coated, hand-polished aluminum up front with dark-blue exposed carbon in back. Bugatti says it is the only manufacturer in the world to use clear-coated aluminum on a first production car. The exterior is accented with a platinum grill surround and rear logo and engraved Ettore Bugatti signatures painted in silver. It rides on custom, diamond-cut eight-spoke wheels.

The Ettore's interior pairs calf and cordovan leathers in creating a warm, rugged cockpit. Dark blue carbon and stitching provide contrast, and a platinum-coated dancing elephant inset in the rear center box cover is a touch derived from the hood ornament on the Type 41 Royale.

Bugatti will debut the Ettore edition as part of next week's Monterey Car Week. It will show the new car with its five 'Legends' predecessors at The Quail and Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Gizmag will be attending the festivities, so stay tuned for the latest coverage.

Source: Autocar, Bugatti

View gallery - 12 images
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
8 comments
hardboiled
So people are inventing cars that tyres won't cope with that do speeds you'll never do.
Nairda
I think the notion of road legal tyres and talk on mpg ratings is mostly ridiculous.
People that have an income for this would not care about consumption, insurance groups, nor would they ever care to be seen driving around town (bar Dubai, but that's a special case)
Curious if the move to hybrids and speed will also evolve the turbine. If all that airflow beyond 300 could be fed into a normally dormant micro turbine to provide the needed boost. Wouldn't that be a treat !
Daishi
I saw an article from 2012 (motor trend) that listed the Veyron tires at $42,000/set and says they last 15 minutes at top speed. The rims ($69,000) are also replaced every other run for bead seal integrity.
All in all I'm not surprised to see them make a hybrid hypercar. Porsche 918 Spyder, Mclaren P1, and LaFerrari have all been a huge home run. Formula One and Le Mans are also hybrid now though to the protest of some of the teams.
It probably won't be long before we start seeing more hybrid sports cars within range of us mortals. The top speed wonders like Bugatti are too far into diminishing returns for my taste anyway even if I could afford them.
Jeb
The car will reportedly use a hybrid powertrain to make it quicker and faster... quicker and faster? Probably lighter and weighs less too...
Keith Reeder
"quicker and faster"
Nothing wrong with that.
"Quicker" = acceleration.
"Faster" = top speed.
So it will get to a higher top speed, sooner.
steveraxx
Some people need to aggrandize their ego. Monstrosities like this, the four wheel version of a 60,000 sq, ft. house, are silly.
Funnier still is the fact that the majority of these "cars" reside in highly dense urban areas where the average pace on a good-day is 8-miles an hour. Then, as the real intention of this vehicle is to be seen in it, 8-miles an hour works out well.
Tony Smale
Why are you critiquing fuel economy?
Seems a little silly when most of these cars will be bought by oil sheikhs.
I'm fairly sure nobody buying a car with tyres that last one tank of gas gives a damn about fuel economy
Slowburn
So much complaining about a tool for transferring wealth from the very rich to workers.