The biggest car news and reviews, no BS

Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday.

If you can afford a Bugatti, that purchase probably isn’t going to drain your bank account. The automaker from Molsheim has thought of that, so it’s partnered with Austrian firm C Seed on a branded television so you can watch reruns of your favorite shows while waiting for your Tourbillon to be built.

Just as the V16-powered Tourbillon isn’t just another car, the Bugatti N1 by C Seed isn’t just any old TV. Available in 110-inch or 137-inch sizes, it folds down and out of the way when you don’t want a giant TV cluttering the third living room of your mansion. Bugatti’s press release calls the TV’s chrysalis form “an architectural statement” inspired by the side profile of its hypercars, replicating the distinctive “C” graphic behind the doors. But to me, it looks like a tanning bed or some kind of sci-fi rejuvenation pod.

The form may be questionable, but the function definitely isn’t. The screen can unfurl in just 45 seconds and boasts 4K resolution, with micro-LED elements to deliver deeper blacks and maximum sharpness. C Seed has developed its own “Adaptive Gap Calibration” software to project seamless images onto the segment, foldable screen, while HDR10+ coating is designed to limit glare. The TV can also rotate itself 180 degrees, and the folding design still leaves room for integrated speakers.

According to Bugatti, the TV incorporates “original materials and finishes” used in the Tourbillon, including some carbon fiber. The color palette is also inspired by paint options for Bugatti’s latest hypercar. But this branding exercise isn’t just based on design elements. As Bugatti points out, the idea of a folding TV is very much in line with the “screen detox” approach of the Tourbillon’s cockpit, which features a hideaway touchscreen that lets you fully appreciate the over-the-top gauge cluster assembled by Swiss watchmakers.

That gauge cluster is rivaled only by the naturally aspirated 8.3-liter V16, which is built by Cosworth, revs to 9,000 rpm, and sounds amazing. It’s part of a plug-in hybrid system that also incorporates three electric motors. These push total system output into four-digit territory (1,775 horsepower, to be exact), and will likely add a layer of civility and usability to the high-revving engine. That way you can watch the revs climb on the exquisite analog tach without having to worry about a lack of low-end grunt.

That sounds like an experience worth the multi-million-dollar price of admission for a Tourbillon. But a folding TV is nice too.

Porsche is selling its equity stakes in Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Group to a consortium led by HOF Capital, a New York-based investment firm. The transaction agreement was signed on April 24.

Porsche and Rimac Group established Bugatti Rimac as a joint venture in 2021. Porsche holds a minority stake of 45%, while Rimac Group owns 55%. Porsche also holds a 20.6% stake in Rimac Group.

The German automaker has decided to fully divest its equity stakes in Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Group to the HOF Capital-led consortium. This includes BlueFive Capital as its largest investor, as well as a group of institutional investors across the US and EU.

Rimac Group is set to take control of Bugatti Rimac and form a strategic partnership with HOF Capital and BlueFive Capital to support its continued growth. HOF Capital will additionally join Rimac Group as the largest shareholder alongside Mate Rimac, founder of Rimac and CEO of Bugatti Rimac.

A Bugatti is not a car you drive to work in daily or run errands in. Hypercars like the Chiron are purchased as an investment and spend most of their time tucked away in a garage. However, there are a few exceptions.

This Bugatti Chiron has more miles on it than a shopping trolley. With an odometer that reads 175,797 kilometers, or 109,235 miles, this could be the highest-mileage Bugatti on the planet.

Who in their right mind would rack up over 100k miles in their Bugatti, you might ask? Well, the answer to it is quite simple and not that surprising.

It is a development car owned by Bugatti. This is the car used by the company to test and validate everything from mechanical components to electronics and other minor bits and bobs.

It’s also a testament to how reliable the Chiron can be if it is maintained properly. Just look at it. The Chiron prototype looks as good as any customer car.

Source: @alexpenfold

20 years ago, Dr. Ferdinand Karl Piech dreamt of a new supercar that would not only set new performance benchmarks, but would also create an entirely new category of hypercars. Today, Bugatti has revealed a new one-off model in honor of this visionary engineer and head of the VW Group who conceived the legendary Veyron.

Created under the Solitaire programme, the Bugatti FKP Hommage pays tribute to the contributions of Dr. Piech, with a design that’s heavily inspired by the original Veyron 16.4.

As expected, the FKP Hommage is more like a restomod of the Veyron. The car features a similar shape with smooth surfaces all around. It has a three-dimensional horseshoe grille, machined from a solid block of aluminium, horizontal headlamp units and four circular LED taillights. The polished wheels, too, have a familiar design.

Unlike the original Veyron, which had a cream interior, the FKP Hommage uses brown interior upholstery. The dashboard, although new, is clearly inspired by the Veyron. Bugatti has also integrated a 41 mm Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon timepiece into the dashboard.

The Bugatti FKP Hommage is based on the Chiron. It is powered by the latest and greatest iteration of the 8.0-liter W16 engine, which makes 1600 hp.

Source: Bugatti

The biggest car news and reviews, no BS

Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday.

Few people are lucky enough to get behind the wheel of a Bugatti Veyron, but Loris Bicocchi is even luckier. He was the test driver Bugatti hired to explore the outer limits of Veyron prototypes during the car’s development in 2001. As he describes in a press release from the automaker, it was an expedition into the unknown.

Bicocchi served as a test driver for Bugatti’s ill-fated 1990s incarnation, shaking down the EB110 in both GT and higher-power Super Sport forms. But with a quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 that would go on to produce 1,001 horsepower and 922 pound-feet of torque in production form, the Veyron was something else entirely. Today Rivian sells an electric pickup truck with similar output, but at the time, the Veyron had about twice the power of any production vehicle.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Bicocchi said of his first test of a Veyron prototype at a Michelin track in France. “I didn’t dare to go full throttle. It was so impressive—crazy, almost inexplicable. You immediately understood what this car stood for.”

The Veyron was capable of reaching 253 mph, a record for production cars at the time. A couple of supercars—the EB110 and the McLaren F1 that the Veyron would eventually dethrone as the world’s fastest—had ventured deep into 200-mph territory, but it was still largely unfamiliar ground for production cars.

“From 300 or 320 kph [186 mph or 198 mph] onwards, everything changes,” Bicocchi said. “Especially aerodynamics. Every single detail counts. I had to reset all the references I had built during my career, because the Veyron was simply incomparable to anything I had driven before.” But after getting to grips with an “incomparable” car, Bicocchi had to guide development so the final product could be driven by mere mortals.

“That was a huge responsibility, both for me and the marque,” he said. “We had to create an incredible car, yes, but one that could be driven by anyone, not only by professional drivers. It was real teamwork—a 360-degree strike force of experts—and we all learned together as we set about making history.”

And make history they did. The Veyron entered production in 2005, relaunching the Bugatti brand in grand style. Bugatti built 450 examples over 10 years, spanning the original 16.4 coupe and other variants, including the Grand Sport convertible and the Super Sport, which upped the top speed to 267 mph. The Veyron was replaced by the Chiron, which in turn has been superseded by the Tourbillon, a car that’s expected to continue pushing the limits of speed and elitism.

Got a tip? Send it in: tips@thedrive.com