Bugatti Veyron Successor to Arrive by 2012
The current Bugatti Veyron will only have a production run of 300 units and with 230 of these already spoken for, we can expect a successor to be well into its planning stages by now. Following an interview with Dutch site autotelegraaf Dr.. Franz-Josef Paefgen, CEO of Bugatti has confirmed the new model will be coming in either 2011 or 2012.
Details of the successor are still very scarce, but it will definitely follow in the Veyron's footsteps and there will be no radical change of direction from the historical brand. This clearly leaves a great deal of speculation open, the original Veyron is an engineering masterpiece with its 987hp 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W16 engine and politics demands a meaner machine for the next generation.
Recent rumours have pointed towards a targa version featuring a detachable roof and even a four-door sedan variant, but maintaining the Veyron's awesome performance is unlikely to be achievable with the weight and aerodynamic disadvantages of either of these
Bugatti's balance sheet is expected to finally return to a profit in 2010 and Paegen admitted this could then lead to a venture into the world of motorsport – although he is quick to point out it would not be with a Veyron based sports car.
this move of making a successor so soon will end its 'legendary' essence, unlike the mclaren for instance... plus i thought they cant make a profit since they sell it for third the price it costs to make it... this car has gotten too much publicity which it doesnt deserve!
"this car has gotten too much publicity which it doesn't deserve!"
You summed it up quite nicely! To call it an "engineering masterpiece" is definitely an overstatement. I give that title to any car that can match or surpass it's performance with much less, both in cost and parts. I have to admit, the design has grown on me just slightly, but overall, I still think it's ugly. Imho, it serves as a representation of everything not to do in a supercar. 1) It doesn't look fast; in fact, it looks stationary from every angle. 2) An 8.0 liter quad-turbocharged W16 engine, for why? I don't see anything technologically advanced about it's exorbitant nature. 3) It's a title I don't believe Bugatti deserves, or has earned, irregardless of it's heritage. 4) It's the very idea itself: Luxury, air conditioning, all it's unnecessary excessive amenities. And that stupid grill is supposed to give it some sort of authenticity?
Rob, are you out of your mind? If you open the dictionary and look under "great automotive engineering" there's a picture of the Veyron. Just the fact that they made a 2500HP quad-turbo W-16 puts them so far past everyone else in the game. From an industry standpoint, the Veyron was worth the fuss just for giving us ion-current knock sensing. Wow, don't get me started. SO many engineering developments that you take for granted now were created JUST for this car.
No, Benz-Man, RobERob is absolutely right. Top speed of 250 mph with an 8L W16? How many cars have passed/come close to that speed with V8s and V10s that were much smaller? And yes. It IS the most disgusting car I've ever seen.
If they do make a successor, maybe they should add these features: 1. Veyron 2.0 should be able to corner. 2. Veyron 2.0 should be able to achieve maximum speed without having to stop the car and engage and endless number of buttons to activate "high-speed" mode. 3. Veyron 2.0 should look more "fast", not like a tuned Passat B5.5!
hahah if u knew anything about this car, you wouldn't say "endless amount of buttons to activate high speed mode"... i'm pretty sure that there's 3 keys for each mode, top speed, handling, and just cruising. aka you only put the right key into the key whole and the car automatically sets everything for u. haha comon now, your paying over 1.5 mil or even more for the car.
Bugatti should make ultra luxury saloons. Bentley is place a little bit below RR and Maybach. Bugatti should be put on par or even above Maybach. Ultra luxury saloon with enormous power, that would make Bugatti profitable.
they might be able to turn a profit by cutting back on the development costs. i think the cost of production includes development so they had a huge loss creating such a fast car with such low production numbers, but if they were to use many parts over again they might get a profit. thats the only thing i can think of
if jeremy clarkson is right, and bugatti spend GBP 5m building each one of these and sell them for around GBP 850k then i don't understand how on earth they're gonna post a profit in 2010. surely that means they make a massive loss on each one...
That's exactly what I was thinking.
I believe there was somekind of accounting shift-around where the gap between production costs and retail price (+X amount more) was filed under VW.
Either way, if I had that money, I doubt I would have bought this car. Nevertheless, I'm happy to hear there will be a successor.
Its not just the car the recieve money from, its other things too. Ferrari doesnt just make money off of its cars. Most of it profits come from people who wish they had a Ferrari. They sell t-shirts, shoes, cologne, and even expensive clocks i have seen in electronic stores. Bugatti does the same. Did u see the cologne on top gear?
It's basic economy. The more they produce, the less it costs. Also since technology is advancing, production costs might also be much lower than they were. Carbon fibre is a good example for that.
What makes you think the Veyron can't corner? Review I've read/seen has the reviewer being surprised exactly how well it does handle.
these is the lap time of a Veyron on the Nurburgring 7:40 --- 161.22 km/h ? Bugatti 16/4 Veyron, 1001 PS/1980 kg (Wheels magazine Australia, 12/05) it's the same time as a SLR, and the Nissan Gt-R & Porsche GT-2 are faster clocking around 7:30.
So it's not that fast in the corners
Benz Man, you're aware production Veyrons have only 1000HP...of which Koenniggsegg among others have made just as much with less engine. The car is not a break through. It uses alotta engine and numerous Turbos to make 1000hp. Sure the power delivery is different from other cars...however quad turbo has been done before, if only in concept cars. The car is a bit of a technical marvel, really not much though.
And I quote: "The Bugatti development team of Dr. Franz-Joseph Paefgen and Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber state for 1000 HP propulsion power, the system demands approximately 2000 HP to be additionally generated as heat energy during combustion. Half in each case is dissipated in the exhaust gas and cooling water." In actuality, its somewhere between 2500-3000 HP. Most is lost as heat. This doesn't even account for the 10-20% lost in AWD. These HP numbers only matter when the power unit is spoken of as a separate entity.
benz_man when they talk about heat energy during combustion this is energy contained in the fuel not converted to mechanical energy. this energy is energy in the fuel and converted to heat energy and not mechanical energy outputted by the engine during the combustion reaction. internal combustion engines i think are only 20-something percent efficient at best. so the quoted figure of 1000hp is power (noting that power is the rate of doing work/energy) at the crank is correct. that means the total energy originally in the fuel and hence in the system (pretty much) is actually 5 times the mechanical energy at the crank.
Went for a ride in a Veyron and the bad part about this car is the gas millage susck at city speeds but gets a little bit better at faster speeds as does the handling and grip on the road .The biggest problem is having to keep stoping for gas.Because of the gas usage it takes longer to get were you're going.You could buy many other supercars and get were your going without having to keep stoping for gas every several blocks.
Benz_Man, even if it did make 2500-3000 Mechanical HP...253mph would then be VERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY slow for a car with such immense power. But as Mr. Scuderia(nice name btw) said; that HP isnt mechanic horsepower ;). However i do appreciate you giving me that bit of knowledge, it is interesting.(im being honest here Benz).
"these is the lap time of a Veyron on the Nurburgring 7:40 --- 161.22 km/h ? Bugatti 16/4 Veyron, 1001 PS/1980 kg (Wheels magazine Australia, 12/05) it's the same time as a SLR, and the Nissan Gt-R & Porsche GT-2 are faster clocking around 7:30."
If you have seen how the Veyron handles the corner at Prescott Hills Climb, you will be in awe. That 7:40" Nurburgring lap time failed to give these following details: - The track was crowded, Bugatti Veyron had to overtake four cars - It was done by an amateur from Wheels Mechanic (Australian Cars Magazine) - That lap time was never official It is quite amusing that some people thought Veyron does not handle ignoring the fact all professional drivers praise it.
It's about time....