Bugatti Veyron successor too fast to test?

According to new information from Autocar the successor to the almighty Bugatti Veyron could be so fast it could be almost impossible to test its full potential.

The Mk2 Veyron—it’s actual name is not known at this stage—is expected to be powered by a hybrid powertrain. The heavy lifting will be done by a derivative of the current Veyron’s 8.0 litre W16 engine, with extra spice added by an electric motor mounted in the housing of the 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

Peak power could be as high as 1479hp (1100kW), that’s a staggering 300hp more than the Veyron Super Sport. Torque could be capped at 1100ft-lb (1491Nm) in order to preserve the transmission. Put all that together and the Super Sport’s 2.5 second 0-100km/h record could be broken, with 2.3 seconds the suggested target.

Which brings us to guesses about the Mk2 Veyron’s top speed. The current best for a Veyron is 268mph (431km/h), which was controversially set by the Super Sport. An increased use of lightweight materials is hoped to bring the car well under the 184okg weight of the Super Sport which means, in theory, that its 431km/h v-max can be comfortably bettered.

However, the trick will be finding a stretch of road long enough and a set of tyres robust enough to withstand such speed. We expect that will all be achievable and won’t be at all surprised to see a street-legal production car go beyond 450km/h. Which is just mind blowing, really.

There’s still around 15 build slots left (out of 450) for the current Veyron, as such concrete plans for its replacement are yet to be announced, but it seems as though the development program is well underway.

“Five developmental prototypes with differing powertrain combinations have been constructed up to now,” one source confirmed. “They are based on the existing car 
but use various solutions 
that are being considered for the new model.”

Also of note is talk that Bugatti could fit the new car with electric turbochargers. This would be done in order to improve low-end torque and could bring the added benefit of lower thermal temperatures.

Styling isn’t expected to stray too far from the Mk1 Veyron and we thank Autocar for making this rendering available in 2000px super sizing.

[Source: Autocar]