BUGATTI News

When it comes to used dream cars, the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III takes the cake.

The fastest car ever produced...watch it in action at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

One cashed-up European has just paid $408,000 for a rusty 1925 Bugatti that sat on the bottom of a lake in Switzerland for 73 years.  The price for the Type 22 Brescia Roadster was even more astonishing given that auction house Bonhams had put a reserve of $140,000 on the car.It was one of several six-figure prices paid for classics at the Bonhams Retromobile sale in Paris.  Over in the USA, organisers of the annual Barrett-Jackson classic auction in Scottsdale, Arizona also saw record prices paid for some classic American muscle cars.Top-sellers included a 1929 Hamilton Metalplane, which fetched $755,000, a 1964 Shelby Cobra went for $607,700 and another rare 1963 Shelby Cobra CSX2091 made $443,600.  In a sign the economic blues may be over, Barrett raised more than $30 million this year, up 2 per cent over last year.In Paris other Bonhams sale highlights were a 1935 Hispano-Suiza T56 Torpedo that sold for $742,700.  A record-breaking $622,100 was paid for a 1970 Monteverdi 450SS Hia Berlinetta and an iconic Citroen DS Decapotable - convertible - from the early 1970s sold for $295,500.A spokesman for Bonhams says the sale raised $10.4 million, with 75 per cent of the lots sold.  Analysts in Europe and North America say the results of both auctions say that serious collectors are emerging from the global economic crisis.The winning Bugatti bidder, who was a European collector representing the Peter Mullin Collection in California, plans to show the car as it is at his museum.  A spokesman for Bonhams says that if it is restored only 20 per cent of the original car is reusable.The Bugatti was stuck in deep mud in Lake Maggiore, Switzerland until last July.  It was rescued by a local diving club to be sold to raise money for a local charity.  The Bugatti's original owner has been traced to a Marco Schmuklerski, who is believed to have been unable to pay duty on the car to Swiss authorities back in 1936.He subsequently left Switzerland, leaving the car behind.  Local customs police destroyed the car by throwing it in the lake in about 50m of water.Because it sat there for so long much of the car's body has deteriorated.  Most components have corroded, particularly on the car's exposed right-hand side.  Other materials like wood, aluminium, brass and rubber survived in a much better condition.

1. Benz PatentwagenKarl Benz did a brilliant job for the 1880s but his three-wheeler re-created by Mercedes-Benz apprentices _ was missing even the basics of modern motoring. We had to push it up a slight rise and it was scarifying on a downhill run, with almost zero braking and steering vaguely controlled by a tiller feeding directions through a solid rubber tyre that would have been more use on a pram. Memorable, but . 2. 1911 Rolls-Royce.So many classic cars look fantastic but drive like old, slow . . . trucks. The Roller was one of those, with piddling acceleration, no cornering grip and a body which invited air in through all sorts of gaping holes. But the worst thing was the brake _ a single rear drum operated by a wild west wagon-style lever beside the driver's seat. It was incapable of stopping the car but did a great job of throwing it sideways at 80km/h.3. 1955 Ford Fairlane convertibleThis was supposed to have been a Route 66-style run to a 1950s-vintage petrol station in the suburbs of Los Angeles. I can remember the giant folding metal roof and the gorgeous body, but my real memory is a car with brakes the size of bootpolish cans. When the traffic pulled up for one unexpected red light I had to take to the sidewalk to avoid them.4. Lada SamaraPeter Brock did some strange things in his life, but putting his name to the evil little Russian hatchback is right up there. Quality was lousy, performance was missing and one journalist crashed at the first corner _ with Brock egging him on. If it's not the worst car I have driven, it's only because the other experience was so bad it's been erased from my memory.5. Bugatti VeyronNow I can tell the truth about the Veyron. Beyond its shattering performance, I can see zero reason to pay more than $1.5 million for a car which is ugly, devours petrol and does not even have electric seat adjustments. But does it go. It felt quicker around Sandown than a V8 Supercar.

Seeing the photos of the Bugatti Veyron Bleu Centenaire from Geneva Motor Show was a reminder of the Chiron concept that seeded this magnificent car. So we thought it was time for a quick trawl through the Veyron’s history and family album. Yes, just because we love them.History The bloodline for the Bugatti Veyron starts in 1999 with the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept, the chassis of which was used to build the EB 18/4 concept car.In 2000, parent company Volkwagen announced the Veyron would be put into production, and would be the fastest and most powerful – and also the priciest – car in history.In 2001, Bugatti announced that the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 would go into production in 2003, and a year later a silver and black pre-production Veyron was showcased at the 2004 Paris Motor Show.Since going on sale, there have been several special editions.The 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show featured the Pur Sang, which stripped the car’s body finishes back to carbon fibre and aluminium.The 2008 Geneva Motor Show had a Veyron finished by French fashion and leathergoods house, Hermes. Called the Fbg par Hermes, it was trimmed in the house’s leather and included bespoke luggage, eight-spoke wheels and an H-pattern grille.The Sang Noir — a tribute to the original 1930s Bugatti Atlantique 57S – also showed a heavy use of carbon fibre in its mainly all-black colour scheme, which included blacked-out headlights.The 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d-Elegance previewed the Grand Sport slated for production in 2009, with two removable tops – one of them a temporary roof based on an umbrella and paying homage to photos of classic Bugatti racers with umbrellas in hand.The 2009 Geneva Motor Show saw the unveiling of the Bleu Centenaire – designed to mark Bugatti’s centenary.Drivetrain and performanceThe Veyron features a W16 engine — 16 cylinders in two banks of eight cylinders, making a `W’, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG transmission.The engine is conservatively claimed to develop 736kW and 1250Nm, with the car’s weight of 2034.8kg giving it a power-to-weight ratio of 2kg/0.7kW (4.5lb/1bhp in Imperial)The car's wheelbase is 2710mm, and has an overall length of 4462mm, width is 1998mm and height is 1204mm.It is acknowledged as the fastest production car made, getting to 100km/h in just 2.45 seconds (200km/h in 7.0 and 300km/h in 16.2) and while the official top speed is listed as 375km/h, it has been verified at over 407km/h. It was initially meant to be 420km/h but test cars proved to be too unstable so the aerodynamics were revised.It has a drag coefficient of 0.36, but uses a whopping 40L/100km of fuel in city driving, and 24L/100km in a combined cycle. At full bore it reportedly burns 115L/100km and could drain its 100L tank in about 12 minutes.None have been sold to Australia so far, but the asking price would be over $2 million with current exchange rates. 

As usual it is interesting times in F1. Interesting in the way a soap opera is …. you know everything about it could be a lot better, but a lot of us still watch it anyway. 2008 was actually a good year except for the final result. No sport should ever put itself in a position where the person who wins the most comes second.  Massa won 6, Hamilton 5. Professional sport is all about winning - seconds should not be rewarded - it's a race. This year it went down to the wire but I am still skeptical about Glock’s sudden slow down. I'm with Jean Todt..... McLaren cannot be trusted. Max Mosley may feel the same.Good riddance Honda, I hope Toyota is next. The matching pair of the world’s most boring auto manufacturers.... I never got it anyway, marketing dull cars to cardigan-wearing, centre-lane hugging drivers via F1. I'd prefer Nissan and Mazda to be part of F1, at least they are building interesting sports cars.Reportedly the Honda team is up for sale for a little as 1 Euro. Lotus - please buy it - we need your creative innovation back in the sport. If not Lotus, Fiat - you buy it for either Alfa or Maserati and pay Ferrari to manage it as their B-team. If not Fiat then VW - for Audi or Bugatti. Bugatti need to be more than a one hit wonder.As we race towards The Singularity we may be entering our period of radical change, and in that vein I offer up two alternate plans for F1;Don't reduce the budget. Let the teams drop to 5 but let them have four cars. Get more money out of Bernie, the manufacturers should get the bulk - not him. Split all the money just five ways. Four Ferraris, four McLarens etc. Here in Australia we can make a better race out of it with just Commodores and Falcons.Don't reduce the budget  .... sort of. Keep the reductions for petrol engines but throw in a wild card rule. If you want to use electric motors you don't need to abide by any of the rules other than safety and size. There's a way to get our real slot cars quicker .. and sooner. Pit stops would become battery pack swaps.... and they can have as many as they need until the technology reaches the point where they don't need any. Oh ..... and get more money out of Bernie, the manufactures should get the bulk - not him.While I don't know what is going to happen, I do know a lot will change over the next five years. A Perfect Storm is forming, Max will be gone soon. Bernie can not last for ever. We are in a period of financial crisis where even Ferrari legend and Honda team leader Ross Brawn can be made redundant. We previously just had a silly season for drivers, we may be about to see a silly season for teams.So back to the question..... who will be next?Rod Halligan

No.. but we are closer than we have ever been.Even more than architecture, fashion and aircraft, cars are the most visually represented statement of our possible future. From Rust Heinz’ 1938 Phantom Corsair to Syd Mead's Spinner in Blade Runner, the car has been central to our dreams and the imaginations for our potential.The 1950's saw the emergence of a style of design exemplified by Nuccio Bertone, Virgil Exner and Harley Earl, that while it may be considered visually naive now still has profound influence on our perception of future possibilities. GMs Motorama of 1956 was the major showcase for this style of design that lasted into the early seventies, the over-riding feature being the human interpretation of function as driven by form.. The last truly great examples of this period; the Coke bottle Corvette of 67-73, the Ferrari Dino, Lamborghini Muira and E-Type Jag are now revered as works of art by car cognoscenti and their prices reflect their stature in the motoring world.. All of these cars display a human’s perception of the flow of air over metal; the mind as a virtual wind tunnel. Post these cars we saw a period of design that was quite - well...., square.The second coming of car design emerged around ten years ago and has been going from strength to strength. While the Futuristic period of the 50's set the visual benchmarks and boundaries for current designers, the designers of the period did not have the shackles of the oil, financial or environmental crisis to deal with. They also did not have the technology available that allowed them to add the function to the form efficiently. At the very heart of the current design period is the evolution of human possibilities that advancing technology and social dreams and responsibilities allow and dictate.. What we are seeing is art meeting and merging with technology to create form with function. If the 50’s were the golden era of car design we have now reached platinum. The Veyron, the 599, the DBS, 997, Murcielago and yes, still the Corvette – all are incredibly beautiful and also capable of 200 mph in relative safety.As exciting as car design presently is the Futurama period is hard to let go of, hence the number of Retro-future cars we continue to see. From the Mini to the Mustang good design should be celebrated, honored and mimicked. The re-interpretation of a classic design when made relevant to the current situation is not something to scorn as it just adds another variety, another choice - and there is nothing wrong with that.For a lot of current designers the benchmark for futuristic design was set in the 70's by Syd Mead  ...Visually we are there. Technologically we are close.We are at the dawn of the alternate propulsion era. We have broken through the political and financial barriers of the oil era. In many ways we can thank the current financial crisis for that. Electric is on the way, which will be an enthusiasts dream with its full size slot car performance and environmental friendliness.Let’s just not get to the point we ban petrol cars from our roads, let them naturally evolve out.With the future - we are almost there, but our past is continuing to remain with us longer. - Thankfully.The last turn of a V12 on a public road should be put off for as long as possible.Rod Halligan

It tips in at $2.7million Australian dollars, tops out at 407km/h, and is guaranteed to draw a huge crowd of gawping motor show admirers three whole years after its international launch.

You've gotta love a supercar, even if you can hope to own only the scale model, not least because they're such an affront to the pedestrian types who run self-appointed safety councils.