Bugatti Veyron successor to pack 1500+ horsepower, a hybrid drivetrain, and be capable of 286+ miles per hour?

[Sticky]

Those are some ridiculous figures. 1500+ horsepower does not quite open eyes the way it used to as the aftermarket has spoiled us namely the readers on this network. That said, 1500+ horsepower from a factory car with a warranty is something special indeed even if it will cost you over a million dollars. Volkswagen is getting ready to produce their successor to the Veyron and they intend to take the already absurdly powerful car much further.

In the opinion of this network the Veyron was simply Volkswagen showing off producing a car for ridiculous excess as it has ridiculously excessive funds to spend on it. It is not the greatest supercar ever produced, not even close. It's fat and built around its looks instead of its looks being a product of its design. Gordon Murray (father of the McLaren F1) has a pretty good breakdown on the why the Veyron is overrated you definitely should read if you have not.

There are many areas Volkswagen can improve the Veyron beyond just raw acceleration. The proposed hybrid drivetrain is a great start. The McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder already show us hybrid high performance is not just the future but reality.

Volkswagen somewhat painted themselves into a corner with all their talk about the top speed of the Veyron which became its measuring stick. Now, they have to exceed that metric or the new car will be viewed as somewhat inferior. They really should focus on the weight of the hybrid drivetrain and the handling but wowing people with a 286 mile per hour top speed seems to be the goal.

This new Veyron will not arrive until 2016 if then. A Bugatti spokesperson stated, “Five developmental prototypes with differing powertrain combinations have been constructed up to now. They are based on the existing car 
but use various solutions 
that are being considered for the new model.”

As there are five different prototypes testing a lot can change. It is rumored that the W16 motor will be retained but clearly Bugatti is exploring their options. We can probably expect 1500+ horsepower and an absurd top speed though. We will have to see what happens.

Source

[Legionofboom]

I have nothing nice to say, so I'm not going to say anything at all.

[Group.america]

Boom take that KoenigseggggggggheadSwedishmofooker and the dodgy from Tx

[Sticky]

That Texas kit car isn't even worth talking about.

[andrew20195]

And I recall reading an editorial last year in some automotive publication explaining why the Veyron SS would likely never be beaten in top speed. Just goes to show that automotive journalists don't really know a whole lot about the industry they're supposed to be following.

[justohigh]

Do they really need an electric motor for 1500hp? There are gtr's with a v6 and 4.2L twin turbo making that to the wheels, gallardo v10 twin turbo making well over 1500hp, yet a w16 8L quad turbo has no head room to make that much power? They need to invest money into development to making that car look better and work with that motor they already have. To me the current Bugatti looks like a stretched out VW bug with a big ass motor.

[leveraged sellout]

Really don't think it will need hybrid power for 1500, this engine should be capable of doing that by itself, that's only 187.5hp/liter...which isn't really that aggressive for a cutting edge FI engine in a car that's sole purpose is speed and power. I would imagine that either 1) 1500 is just a rough guess and it will end up being far more, and they know this. 2) same as 1, but it will still be advertised as 1500 or thereabouts in typical German sandbagging fashion. 3) it is actually 1500 and there's headroom built in for even more insane numbers after.

I'm pretty damn excited for this. The SS could do basically 270 with no limiter and was actually starting to run into the limits of what was possible given the length of the straight. So, add another 300+ hp and maybe drop the weight down, re-think the aero (active, more advanced, etc) and I think 300 might not be totally out of the question, at least for a world record run.

[Sticky]

And I recall reading an editorial last year in some automotive publication explaining why the Veyron SS would likely never be beaten in top speed. Just goes to show that automotive journalists don't really know a whole lot about the industry they're supposed to be following.

You wouldn't believe how much 'automotive journalism' is just guessing.