Car Moon

There’s nothing faster, short of a Formula 1 car, than a Bugatti Veyron, right? In particular, a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport boasting a 1,200HP quad-turbocharged 16-cylinder engine, four-wheel drive tech and a 258 mph (415 km/h) top speed. Whoever is behind its wheel must feel invincible, right?

Well, actually, no. A few days ago, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, a Veyron Super Sport that was ready to begin its climb up the hill pulled over and let another car start first. What car was that?

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. Of all the cars I’ve featured in “It Came From eBay Hell”, this one takes the cake. It’s a 2002 Mercury Cougar with 120,000 miles (193,120 kilometres) on the clock, though that’s not what makes it special. No, what makes it special is the composite and fibreglass Bugatti Veyron body draped over it.

That’s right: it’s a Cougatti Vercuryon! Not only does this modern masterpiece come with (Walmart™ Brand) 20-inch rims, two-tone paint and leather everything, it also comes with all the stuff that made the Mercury Cougar the modern classic it is today:

Say hello to the world’s first car to wear fine porcelain on its body as well as in its cabin, the one-off Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport 'L'Or Blanc'. Admittedly, applying porcelain fittings on one of the fastest and most powerful production sports cars ever made doesn’t seem like a sound move, but when it comes to Bugatti, anything goes.

Created in partnership with Konigliche Porzellan-Manufaktur (KPM), the 'L'Or Blanc' was unveiled on Thursday at the porcelain manufacturer’s workshop in Berlin, German.

“At first, it seems to be an unusual idea to use porcelain in a car, especially in the world’s fastest convertible,” comments Dr. Stefan Brungs, Director of Sales and Marketing at Bugatti Automobiles. “But this is what Bugatti stands for: the realization of exceptional ideas whilst striving for the utmost in quality and aesthetics. This allows us to continue Ettore Bugatti’s heritage, who himself loved to experiment with new materials,” Brungs added.

Two cars that helped establish Bugatti’s reputation as a world-class automaker during the difficult interwar period were the Type 35 and Type 57 Atlantic. Stunningly beautiful, intricately built and incredibly powerful, these two cars summed up all that Bugatti was and wanted to be.

Now, Canadian industrial designer Amadou Ndiaye has taken these two classic automobiles and melded them into one with his Bugatti Atless design study.

Millionaires (or, rather, billionaires) around the world have just seen their list of “cars to buy” shrink by one model, as Bugatti announced the sale of the final Veyron 16.4, thus ending the astonishing hypercar’s production.

The lucky buyer who scooped up the last Veyron is an unnamed “European customer” who, nevertheless, will have to wait until next fall for his $1.7 million supercar to be delivered.

No matter how talented you are, it takes a lot of guts and an extra dose of craziness to attempt what you are about to see in the video clip after the break, because it’s one thing going around a Ford Pinto in circles and another when the car in question is a Bugatti Veyron priced close to $2 million.

The man behind this feat (if you can call it that) is 25-year-old pro drifter Derek "Buttsy" Butler from Ireland. Buttsy performed the…gutsy drift stunt around the exotic 1,001-horsepower supercar in a heavily modified Toyota Supra during this year’s Gumball 3000.

On April 16, Iranian born fashion designer Bijan Pakzad passed away at a hospital in Los Angeles after a stroke. The man who became famous for dressing some of the most influential and well-known people in the world including President Barack Obama, Frank Sinatra and Carry Grant, also had a passion for cars. The Los Angeles-based designer not only amassed a huge collection of luxurious limos and supercars which he drove on a regular basis, but he also collaborated with some of the most renowned automakers.

Following a collaboration with Rolls Royce for the development of a limited edition version, Bijan also joined forces with Bugatti helping to create a bespoke series based on the 1,001HP Veyron, the latest being a Grand Sport. Bijan’s version of the open-top Bugatti hypercar was finished only six weeks ago and features a special two-tone theme and numerous other appointments. Follow the break to check out the video of the special edition Veyron Grand Sport along with commentary from Bugatti Design Director Achim Anscheidt.

Being one of the world’s most exclusive and expensive supercars, it’s not surprising that Bugatti offers Veyron buyers the chance to customize the 1,001HP-strong model to their exact specifications. To demonstrate the endless customization possibilities to its Asian clientele, Bugatti displayed a pair of special Veyrons at this week’s Auto Shanghai 2011.

Sure, most people would love to have a Bugatti Veyron; sadly, at over a million bucks a pop we're talking a vehicle that's slightly out of reach for most consumers. Thankfully, one man and eBay have rectified this issue with something we'll call a Cougatti (or Bougar).

Based on a 112,000-mile 2002 Mercury Cougar with a V6 and automatic transmission, this one-of-one Cougatti has a starting bid of $89,000 and no takers as of this writing. Potential buyers get all the body work, 20-inch wheels, angel eye HID headlights, LED tails, two gas caps (one functional), and power windows/mirrors.

For most people a $50,000 car is well out of reach, while others happily spend double or triple of that amount on a ride. However, even those enthusiasts might not be so keen to whip out their checkbooks when confronted with the price tag of these vehicles featured in a special list compiled by Forbes.

These are the most expensive cars in the world, usually bought by the kind of people who don’t even break a sweat amidst the worst economic crisis. Forbes' list in not without its flaws as the publication added two vehicles (the Enzo's successor and the upcoming Pagani Zonda C9) that have yet to be revealed, let alone be priced. Nevertheless, you can check out the complete list of exclusive toys for the real tycoons after the jump.

While we certainly won't go as far as calling the Boxster the Fiero of the 2010s, thanks to its mid-engine layout and a significant drop in pricing of the first generation models, Porsche's roadster model is becoming increasingly popular as a donor car among replica makers. Recently we showed you a Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster clone based on a Boxster S, but now there's a new project car making the internet rounds.

This time the Porsche model will lend its hardware to a Bugatti Veyron replica that is being built as we speak by a man who goes by the name Orlando M. The replica maker explains that the car will not be put up for sale upon completion but will be used as a personal vehicle. The project is still under development but you can take a sneak peek of the process in the videos after the jump.

Is your child a fan of driving 1950's Jags while wearing a Herringbone blazer and smoking a bubble pipe? Perhaps with a nice set of driving gloves and goggles? If so, or if you simply deem Power Wheels too plebeian for your progeny, then the Harrington Group and Pocket Classics have something for you (and the kid, should he be home from boarding school in Switzerland).

Both shops have a similar selection of classics such as a Porsche 356, Jaguar E-Type, 300 SL, Willys Jeep, and Bugatti T35 in which your child can stylishly cruise around the country club.

No word on price from the Harrington Group, but keep reading and you'll see how it could probably end up pretty steep. Each car features a composite chassis and body, "can be driven by anyone 6 and up" (hell yes!), is offered with automatic or manual transmissions, and is powered by various engines (from 50-cc up to racing kart engines). Also, the power unit can be upgraded over time.

Actress Bo Derek once quipped, "Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping." Someone who would most likely agree with her is 21-year-old Dhiaa Al-Essa, a Saudi Arabian Engineering student and millionaire playboy with a collection of over 30 exotic supercars worth more than £4.5 million (US$7.3 million).

Al-Essa has recently taken delivery of his thirty-third exotic, the first Ferrari 599 GTO worth £345,000 (US$557,000). In his own words:

Discovered by one of our regulars on Youtube is this walk-around video of a Bugatti Veyron replica. Even though we've seen a ton of Ferrari and Lamborghini replicas, for some reason, the VW Group's flagship supercar hasn't been a hit among enthusiasts of the sort, so it's not very often that we stumble upon generic Veyrons.

The poster of the video claims that this faux Bugatti is based on the BMW 6-Series Coupe. While we can't be 100 per cent sure about the claim due to the low quality of the video, the interior of the replica does indeed look like its sourced from the Bavarian model. Watch the video right after the jump.

Yes, we know: this video is almost three months old, which for the Point-and-Click Generation is practically ancient history. We're like your Grandpa, buying you a NWA CD and being all like, "Your Mom says these guys are 'hip'!"

Now to the video. Back around August, a man in the U.S. took a Bugatti Veyron for a test drive and as he was backing out, he bumped into what appears to be a Toyota Corolla (correct us if we are wrong).

I wasn't aware of this, but apparently billionaires absolutely despise leaving their cars to board other modes of transportation. You can just imagine Donald Trump sighing heavily in the back of his Maybach, "Do I really have to open the door and climb up those five little steps to board my Gulfstream V?"

No doubt feeling deeply for these disheartened millionaires, U.K. concept designer Philip Pauley has come up with the Halo Intersceptor [sic], a futuristic study for a car that can be transformed into a plane, a helicopter and even a boat.

Bugatti's Veyron is the Mustang of the hypercar pack. With a special/limited edition seemingly coming out every few months, it certainly isn't lacking in color choices. The only problem has been that under all the fancy paint options, the only real "option" has been to Gran Sport or not to Gran Sport.

If there was ever a supercar suitable for the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen's fictional alter-ego, Borat the 'Kazakh', this is it: the Mansory Bugatti Veyron 16.4 LINEA Vincero d'Oro (Italian for "gold"). It's a follow up on last year's LINEA Vincero drenched inside and out in gold and dark-colored carbon fiber.

Exterior modifications over the standard Veyron include a new front fascia with a unique grille in a gold finish and a different apron, a shorter bonnet, LED daytime running lights, side skirts, modified fenders and a new rear diffuser. Mansory also added larger air outlets at the rear and at the sides of the car along with new wheels made from a special gold-colored alloy.

What you're looking at here is the Hidalgo, a re-skinned Mercedes-Benz SLK AMG with obvious styling influences from the 1930-era Bugatti Type 57 models including the iconic Atlantic. It's the work of a Swiss firm called Helvetic Motor Company (H.M.C.), which to be honest, we have never heard of before.

Think of the Hidalgo as something like the European equivalent of Japan's Mitsuoka Himiko Classic which is based off the MX-5. The Swiss replica is powered by the SLK AMG's 5.5-liter V8 engine producing 355HP and 376 lb-ft of peak torque, good enough to get the Hidalgo from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in a claimed 3.4 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h (155mph).

The ludicrously powerful Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport special may have set a new world speed record a couple of weeks ago at the VW Group's Ehra-Lessein proving grounds in Germany, but (apparently) the supercar is still being tested on normal roads. Our amigos from Diariomotor stumbled upon an undisguised example of the Super Sport hanging out with two more "standard" Veyrons somewhere in Spain and made good use of their camera and camcorder.