Veyron Bugatti Veyron Centenaire

modena_360stradale · Feb 24, 2009

REPORT: 1350 HP Bugatti Veyron Centenaire Headed for Geneva
by Noah Joseph on Feb 24th 2009 at 12:58PM

It may have only been ten years or so since the Volkswagen Group relaunched Bugatti, but anyone familiar with historic automobiles – or automotive history – will tell you that the stoic automaker has been around a lot longer than that. 100 years, to be exact. Although there were periods in between when the carmaker was dormant, it's been a century since the venerated Ettore Bugatti launched his company. Bugatti's patrons in the Volkswagen Group aren't about to miss that opportunity, and to that end, they are reportedly working on something special to present at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

Bugattis are special enough as they are, but special Veyrons are hardly uncommon in the scheme of things. Bugatti has launched a seemingly endless succession of special edition supercars with unique paint schemes and trim packages. If the latest rumors are to be believed, however, the new special Bugatti could be very special indeed. Supposedly called the Centenaire edition, reports suggest the special Veyron an increased power rating – word on the street has always been that the Veyron's quad-turbo W16 was always capable of more than the already astronomic 1000 horsepower rating it got – up to some 1350 horses, good enough to boost the top end up to 420 km/h (261 miles-per-hour) from the current benchmark of 400 km/h (253 mph). Special paint schemes and trim pieces will surely be part of the mix as well, but hitting the Willard Scott mark may prove enough to warrant a more substantial birthday gift if the rumors are to be believed. We'll know for sure soon as the Geneva show is just around the corner.

Gallery: Bugatti Veyron Pur Sanghttp://www.autoblog.com/photos/bugatti-veyron-sang-noir/787688/http://www.autoblog.com/photos/bugatti-veyron-sang-noir/787688/

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/24/report-1350-hp-bugatti-veyron-centenaire-headed-for-geneva/

Tarek · Feb 24, 2009

Pointless but i just love the sheer madness of VW

Merc1 · Feb 24, 2009

Still a towering figure in the automotive world. The engineering of this car commands respect, and the critics said that Bugatti wouldn't be able to sell them all. Foey.

When and if the economy ever turns around I hope we will see a sedan (Royale?) with this powertrain. It will end the comparision between Bentley, Rolls, Maybach and whoever.

M

LaArtist · Feb 24, 2009

crazy..
the first edition (combo) of the veyron i really like

SCOTT27 · Feb 24, 2009

Pointless but i just love the sheer madness of VW

Unfortunately someone will have to reign the madness in.
Reading the latest interviews with Porsche execs in german business and financial publications and their criticism of such cars and projects
Which is why the Veyron replacement will be probably be a Porsche.

sako97 · Mar 2, 2009

Le Bleu Centenaire:
View attachment e529bf29fc783c1e8342f58ac89479e1.jpg

The Matte/Gloss French blue paint looks epic.

H50 · Mar 3, 2009

More Pics...

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martinbo · Mar 3, 2009

It looks more like satin-finish than matt paint. Any official press release info?

H50 · Mar 3, 2009

martinbo said:
It looks more like satin-finish than matt paint. Any official press release info?

It have Metallic paint in the centre and matt finish on the sides ala Pur Sang theme....

martinbo · Mar 3, 2009

alsahher said:
It have Metallic paint in the centre and matt finish on the sides ala Pur Sang theme....

Erm yes, I know. If you look at the above picture you can see a sheen on the front wings suggesting a "satin" finish as opposed to a plain matt non-reflective coat.

martinbo · Mar 3, 2009

Apparently reports of the 1350 HP outputs are fictional. The standard engine figures remain.

Tarek · Mar 3, 2009

Who cares abut the paint? this car is the very much definition of outrageousness :bowdown:

Monster · Mar 3, 2009

I have to say, I am massively disappointed about this special edition, it has to be the lamest of all special editions of this car.

Centurion · Mar 3, 2009

Booooooooo! Didn't we just see a non-matte version of this car like 2 months ago? I like the engine bay colouring but for everything else Meh!

Tarek · Mar 3, 2009

Damn what a hideous engine bay,i like the sheer madness but that is just so tacky and after market

VroomVroom · Mar 3, 2009

Fail.

Bartek S. · Mar 3, 2009

Hundred years of Bugatti at the Geneva Autoshow
The Veyron „Bleu Centenaire“ – a one off anniversary model
The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport first time on an Autoshow stand

At Geneva the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport is shown for the first time to a wider public in Europe. Next to the Grand Sport Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. presents the Veyron Bleu Centenaire, a special commission honouring the 100th anniversary of the company, thus initiating a range of worldwide activities celebrating the creation of this mythic brand a hundred years ago.
Hundred years of Bugatti
In 1909 Ettore Bugatti started his business in the Alsacian town of Molsheim, France. The name of the company: ”Ettore Bugatti Automobiles i.Els.” And although the name has changed into “Bugatti
Automobiles S.A.S.”, the site and the philosophy of the brand have been preserved. In 2006 the first model under the „new management“ was launched, precisely 50 years after the last car of the original company left the gates of the Molsheim factory. The Bugatti Veyron has only been on the market for three years, but has already reached the status of being an undisputed part of automotive history, with 250 cars ordered to date, and nearly 200 cars delivered. This means that there are only 50 Veyrons to be sold until the limit of 300 units will be reached.
The Veyron “Bleu Centenaire”
Building on the marque’s core values of « Art – Forme – Technique » , Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. Has created the Bugatti Veyron Bleu Centenaire, a unique model to celebrate the hundred year old history of the company. This special model takes up the traditional Bugatti two-tone-specification, but portrays it in one rather than two colours: in the most known light shaded Bugatti blue. The Centenaire’s unique combination of a ”sprintblue matt” and ”sprintblue gloss” hence offers a new impression of the two-tone-scheme known so far with parts of the engine also covered in this traditional Bugatti Blue.
The roof-trim-stripes and the exterior rearview mirrors are of polished, anodised aluminium. A special wheel design has been added – enhanced by a bright red brake-capillar. The grills at the front and at the side air intakes are in mirror shine.
The interior of the Centenaire is fitted in a special «snowbeige» leather with quilting on the seats. The central console is covered in the same leather. New LED lights, Park Distance Control and a rearview camera have become part of the standard equipment for all Bugatti Veyrons from this year onwards. The Bleu Centenaire shares all performance characteristics of other Veyron models performance-, acceleration- and deceleration characteristics which have been highly praised ever since the Bugatti Veyron first appeared on the scene. The car will cost 1,35 Million Euro exclusive taxes and transportation.
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport
The Bugatti Grand Sport is a unique roadster based on the Veyron Coupé and was launched at last year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elégance in California. This new model will go into production at the end of April 2009 and will be limited to a total of 150 units over lifetime. The first chassis numbers are reserved for existing Veyron Coupé customers, honoring their loyalty and offering them the chance to be at top of the waiting list. This measure has been highly appreciated.
Celebrations throughout the year
“2009 will be an exciting year for the brand,” announces the President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, at Geneva Autoshow, “we will be celebrating our hundredth anniversary with references to our successful past and a – hopefully – successful future”.
„Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. “, will celebrate its hundredth anniversary on various occasions throughout the year, culminating in an event in Molsheim on September 12, 2009. The next highlight Bugattisti should look out for will be the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Cernobbio in the North of Italy between April 24 and 26.

modena_360stradale · Mar 4, 2009

It is rather hideous. But then again, so are all matte/satin finished paint.

If there really isn't 1,350 HP, then there was no point to making this 'special edition'. In fact, it really doesn't succeed in being a special edition at that point. This is just a Veyron in French Blue.

If the Veyron wasn't ugly before, it certainly is with this edition.

Bartek S. · Apr 22, 2009

Bugatti Centenaire Images Surface Ahead of Debut

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090422.011/largemini2/bugatti-centenaire-images-surface-ahead-of-debut
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090422.011/largemini3/bugatti-centenaire-images-surface-ahead-of-debut
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090422.011/largemini4/bugatti-centenaire-images-surface-ahead-of-debut
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090422.011/largemini5/bugatti-centenaire-images-surface-ahead-of-debut
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090422.011/largemini6/bugatti-centenaire-images-surface-ahead-of-debut

The cars are being built to celebrate the namesake's 100 year anniversary. Bugatti showed off the one-time-only Veyron 16.4 Bleu Centenaire at the Geneva Motor Show last month. The four new models will honor drivers Sir Malcolm Campbell, who won back-to-back Grand Prix de Boulogne races in the Bugatti T39A, Hermann zu Leiningen, who helped win the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix in 1930 with a Bugatti T35B, Jean-Pierre Wimille, who won more than a dozen races for Bugatti including the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1939, and Achille Varzi. Varzi started with Bugatti, before switching to Alfa Romeo. It is with the latter that he won the majority of his 33 top finishes.

More: worldcarfans

modena_360stradale · Apr 27, 2009

Bugatti Celebrates 100 Years with Four Centenaires at Villa d'Este

PRESS RELEASE

100 years of Bugatti at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este

Bugatti Automobiles Pays Homage with four special Veyron models to Ettore Bugatti's Masterpiece: The Type 35 Grand Prix

Molsheim/Cernobbio on 26 April 2009 – In a further highlight on this year's agenda of centennial celebrations, Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. presented four Bugatti Veyron specials at Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza. These one off models are reminders of Bugatti's glorious motor-racing history which played a central role in popularising and ultimately establishing the myth which the brand continues to enjoy to this day.

The Bugatti brand is almost inextricably linked to the Type 35. The Type 35 Grand Prix was by far the most successful racing model. The unmistakable radiator grille and eight-spoke aluminium wheels of the Type 35 have become defining features of the Bugatti automobile. In its day, the Grand Prix was also well ahead of its time in terms of engineering ingenuity. The front axle design of this vehicle, which, for reasons of weight minimisation, is hollow, is a true masterpiece of workmanship and was deemed nothing less than revolutionary. Its springs were passed through the axle to produce a high level of stability. The Grand Prix's brake drums were integrally fitted into its lightweight aluminium wheels. Unfastening the central wheel nut allowed the wheel to be easily removed within a matter of seconds and the brake to be exposed. This was a crucial advantage at the pit stop.

2000 wins in ten years

The blue racers made their first appearance on the race track at the Grand Prix held by Automobil Club de France in Lyon in 1924. In the decade that followed, they remained practically unchallenged thanks to sophisticated manufacturing efforts, their lightweight design and easy handling. During that ten-year era, they won almost 2000 races – more than any other model ever has. Grand Prix races were highly fashionable events in those days, and Bugatti was not the only brand with considerable interest in substantiating the reputation of its products by winning races. In fact, in the 1920s, Europe was regularly host to a number of different races in different countries on a single weekend. The teams set up by different automobile manufacturers competed at popular race circuits such as Targa Florio, Le Mans, Monza and Spa as well as in Rome, Nice, Antibes and even a village in Alsace.

The main reason Bugatti won such an enormous number of races – on the back of which successes the brand was also able to forge its image – was the fact that Bugatti sold not only its normal sports and touring cars to private buyers, but its racing cars too. Thus it was that its automobiles took part in such a large number of Grand Prix events.

This bestowed upon Ettore Bugatti a double success. He was able on the one hand to sell his racing cars expensively to wealthy private buyers with a keen sporting ambition and, on the other, to capitalise on their successes on international racing circuits – without actually having to make a single investment in these "marketing activities". This stroke of genius by "Le Patron" not only brought him immortal fame, but a substantial fortune as well. A total of 350 legendary Type 35-series automobiles were ultimately built – in a wide variety of versions. Those that survived their racing days, accidents, World War II and all other risks over the years, have become coveted and highly priced collectors' items.

Four Type 35 Grand Prix models – Four distinct personalities – Four Veyrons

Tradition being what it is, the Bugatti Veyron Specials built to mark the 100th anniversary of the brand feature the racing colours of the respective countries: blue for France, red for Italy, green for England and white for Germany. Each of the four new Veyrons has a specific "predecessor" in the form of an original Grand Prix Bugatti on which it was modelled. These four historic race cars represent the generation of legendary Bugatti Grand Prix racers which were piloted by world-famous race-car drivers and which scored countless racing victories in the 1920s and '30s. Each of the four Veyron Specials is named after a Bugatti race-car driver of the 1920s and 30s. Jean-Pierre Wimille has given the blue Veyron its name, Achille Varzi the red one, Malcolm Campbell the green one and Hermann zu Leiningen the white Veyron.

Jean-Pierre Wimille was one of the longest-serving drivers at Bugatti. He only joined the team in Molsheim in 1933, but subsequently remained loyal to the brand, ultimately driving home Bugatti's last-ever victory in 1947 at Bois de Boulogne in a 4.7-litre Monoposto Type 59/50 B. Wimille's many previous successes included winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1937 and 1939. Achille Varzi was a member of the official Bugatti team from 1931 to 1933. He had already achieved many successes since 1928 driving a private Type 35 C, then later went on to win the Monaco Grand Prix, an event on Berlin's Avus circuit and other races. As the setter of numerous world records for speed, the name Malcolm Campbell is firmly established in racing history. He also competed in countless "normal" races from 1911 and 1936, often piloting a Bugatti Type 39 A or Type 35, and he owned one of the legendary Type 57 S street sports cars. Prinz Hermann zu Leiningen's career driving Bugattis began in 1927 when he purchased a Type 40 chassis, for which he had a racing body built. He went on to win a number or races in a privately owned Type 37 A before eventually standing in the spotlight of the international racing scene in a 35 C for several years from 1930 onward.

"We have put a lot of effort into translating colour and material, the defining characteristics of our historic role models, into the designs of the modern day Veyrons," explains Alasdair Stewart, Director Sales & Marketing at Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. "We have taken extreme care to match the original colours of the original race cars, exterior and interior"

On Sunday, the four historic racing Type 35s and the four modern-day Centenaire EditionVeyrons will be exhibited alongside each other in the park of Villa Erba for the first and only time.

Ahead of that presentation, Bugatti will on Saturday be prominently represented in the park of Villa d'Este by a special-display-class exhibition of models, which will serve to portray the 100-year history of the brand. Bugatti's participation in the classic Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este at Lake Como will be the second highlight event to mark the carmaker's centennial celebrations after it took part in the International Geneva Motor Show in early March. This latest event will be followed by the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California in mid-August and the main celebratory event on 12 September in Molsheim (Alsace), which has been the home of this unparalleled automobile brand for 100 years.

Source: Bugatti celebrates 100 years with four Centenaire specials at Villa d'Este

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