The Bugatti 100P is a streamlined organic flying manta ray with counter-rotating propellers and two screaming supercharged straight eights. It’s half flying machine, half H.P. dream. Bugatti only made one and sadly, it never flew the skies in anger. Now, however, a group of intrepid engineers are bringing it back to life in the form of a meticulous, full-size reproduction.

Ettore Bugatti built the 100P to compete in the 1939 Deutsch de la Meurthe Cup Race. This was the hay day of aviation, when winged monsters like the Gee Bee tore the skies asunder in pursuit of ultimate speed. Usually in the presence of an audience. It was by all accounts, incredible.

The 100P, like all of Bugatti’s creations, was wildly innovative. Its design was stunning, with forward-swept wings, a Y-shaped empennage (tail section) and an almost totally transparent cockpit. Its mechanicals were equally marvelous, featuring two Bugatti 50P supercharged straight eight engines mounted behind the pilot. Twin drive shafts ran from each engine (spinning in opposite directions) to turn the dual propellers up front. Special radiators were mounted in the fuselage with air intakes at the leading edge of the stabilizers. Each engine was good for 450 horsepower.

The 100P was a stupendous aeronautical achievement and would likely have set speed records in the skies over Europe. Then the Nazis marched on Paris. The plane was put in storage during the war. After the war, it was rescued and restored, but not flown. It eventually ended up in the hands of the Experimental Aircraft Association, which displays the plane at the Air Venture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Bugatti and experimental aircraft enthusiasts have long dreamed of seeing the 100P soar. That’s why businessman Scotty Wilson started a project to recreate the plane almost 30 years ago. Remarkably, he and his team are nearly finished with the reproduction. They need just $50,000 to finish. And they’ve turned to Kickstarter for help. Head on over to the project page to give them some love. The 100P is probably the most beautiful flying machine ever devised and it deserves to, well, fly.

The BMW 2002 has always been thought of as the original sports sedan. It combined great looks and performance with daily usability and fun, thus making it an instant hit with consumers and cementing BMW as a true player in the performance market. Click through for the video.

Source: Youtube.com

There is just something wonderful about taking an already iconic automobile and making it better. Achim Anscheidt, the Head of Design for Bugatti has done just this with an early 1980′s Porsche 911. He’s built the car to his specifications and in the process has created something that most enthusiasts would love to have in their garage. From the exterior body panels made from Kevlar, to the stripped out interior, this particular 911 has been taken back to basics in a way that evokes passion, emotion and simplicity at its finest.

Source: Youtube.com/DRIVE

It’s been almost 7 years since the launch of the Bugatti Veyron and in that time not one bit of its mystique has worn off. When launched it was touted as the most powerful and fastest production car ever, a title that it still holds. It was also graced with a price tag of $1.5 million dollars. Jay Leno has access to just about any car in existence, so Bugatti offered to hand over the keys to their new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse Edition, Leno didn’t say “No”. Click through and check out his test drive.

Source: JayLenosGarage.com

The Nissan GT-R is one of those rare cars that has the ability to put the hurt on just about any super car out there. They make big power, are ungodly fast and have the ability to make even the most mundane driver look like a rock star behind the wheel. Now just imagine that you’re a GT-R owner at your favorite drag strip for a test and tune night. On any other day you’d pull up to the lights, watch the tree and at the end of the 1,320 you’d become the evenings champion. This however is not that night. You see tonight there’s a guy next to you with an even bigger gun. Sure it cost over 10 times as much, but at days end, there’s a reason. Enter the 1,000 + hp Bugatti Veyron, a car that’s just as comfortable cruising at 75 mph as it is maxing out at over 250 mph. The GT-R however is no slouch, in fact when you see the results of this run you may in fact be asking yourself what would happen if Nissan built a $1-million super car. Click through for the video and enjoy.

Source: Youtube.com

“Made in China”. That’s a sentence that is unfortunately seen on most of the goods we have over here in the United States. As Americans, we see that, sigh, and then drop our heads wishing that we produced all of our own goods and services. Apparently though that phrase is paying off big time for the Chinese as they’ve got a car club over there that rivals just about anything I’ve ever seen stateside. Pagani, Ferrari, Bugatti, Koenissegg, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz are all present and accounted for and hot damn if these guys don’t drive the piss out of them as well. Stored in a warehouse somewhere in China, the value of these automobiles together rivals the yearly economy of some small countries. So, next time you see a label that reads “Made in China”, don’t worry because it’s helping keep our favorite super car companies in business.

Ugh…

I like this thing! This is one of those rare occasions where a customized import actually looks pretty damn good. It looks as though the owner started out with a Honda Civic hatch and then decided to give it the full-on Bugatti Veyron treatment, which, in some strange way really works. Granted the wheels still have to be color matched, but the overall execution is downright cool. Who knows, maybe Bugatti should take some queues from this guy if they ever decide to go the Aston Martin Cygnet route and build a budget Bugatti.

Source: VWVortex.com

Jay Leno's Bugatti Type 51. Image: Jay Leno's Garage

Even if you’re not a fan of classic cars and pre-war racers, I dare you to watch the video below and not come away wanting to drive Jay Leno’s Bugatti Type 51. I’m in agreement that the car’s supercharged, 2.3-liter straight eight engine is one of the best sounding mills ever created, and the direct mechanical connection between car and driver is strangely appealing. Value of the car aside, you’re not going to be texting behind the wheel of a Bugatti Type 51, since keeping the car running will demand your full-time attention.

We’ve grown accustomed to the conveniences of modern cars, and most drivers today don’t even know what a choke is used for. The Bugatti Type 51 requires a ritual to start it, beginning with building fuel pressure via a hand pump. There’s the supercharger’s oil tank to open, and then you’ve got to advance the timing. Next, you’ll need to prime the carburetor, and there’s a very fine line between “too little” and “too much.”

If you’ve done it correctly, the Bugatti will fire up with a sound unlike any other in the automotive world. Keeping it running is no simple task, either: timing needs to be set back, gears are pre-synchromesh and require double-clutching, and then there’s the need to occasionally re-pump oil from a storage tank into the crank case.

I wouldn’t trade a modern car for the Bugatti, since it’s far too impractical to drive on a regular basis. Still, I can name several internal organs I’d be willing to part with for just a single afternoon behind the wheel of a Bugatti Type 35 or Type 51.

Source: Jay Leno’s Garage

The Super Sport in blue carbon fiber. Yes, please.

If you’ve been diligently saving your lunch money and tax refunds to buy an uber-exclusive Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, I’ve got some bad news for you. Production of the $2.3 million supercar has sold out, and Bugatti won’t be making any more examples. The final production count was five of the black and orange “World Record Edition” Veyron, which was a little tacky for my own (highly refined) taste, plus another 25 of the ordinary Super Sport edition. This means that at least 30 people in the world have a serious car jones and more disposable income that you and I can ever hope to achieve. On the plus side, it’s likely that at least one owner is stepping up from a “base model” Veyron, which should give you the ability to bargain on the selling price if you can settle for a basic Veyron (just like everyone else owns).

The SuperSport maintains a Bugatti tradition of naming for their final production version automobiles. In the case of the Veyron, 16.4 Super Sport buyers got a bump to 1,200 horsepower and an electronically limited top speed of 257 miles per hour. That’s slower than the Bugatti Super Sport’s world record top speed of 268 miles per hour, but necessary to ensure the tires don’t fly apart at speeds above 257 miles per hour. Blame it on the lawyers, who seem to suck the fun out of everything these days.

Source: 4 Wheels News

The Bugatti Super Sport tops the list.

If you ever see me giving stock tips on RideLust, be afraid. I’m not a “play the stock market” kind of guy, and every spare dollar I’ve ever made has gone into cars, bikes, racing or travel (usually centered around cars, bikes or racing). With that in mind, you have a certain right to be skeptical when Forbes publishes a list of the most expensive cars. First, it’s only a snapshot in time, as new supercars are introduced every year. Next, there’s no clarification on where the prices are from, so I assume they’re a manufacturer’s list price, translated in to U.S. dollars. That’s hardly an accurate representation, as cars typically sell for higher prices in the EU than they do in the United States. Finally, any car’s price is based on supply and demand: since the entire run of Bugatti Veyron Super Sports has been spoken for, good luck finding one at the list price of $2.6 million.

Here’s Forbes’ list of the ten most expensive cars for 2010. I know that some of them don’t yet exist (like the Ferrari F70), so pricing is sheer speculation. Likewise, the list has a few glaring omissions (like the $550,000 Gumpert Apollo), so take it for what it’s worth. Just remember that there’s a reason we don’t give you investment advice on RideLust.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, $2.6 million

Koenigsegg Agera, $1.5 million

Maybach Laudaulet, $1.405 million

Pagani Zonda C9, $1.3 million

Ferrari F70, $870,000

SSC Ultimate Aero, $750,000

LeBlanc Mirabeau, $728,000

Ferrari SA Aperta, $520,000

Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce, $455,400

Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, $447,000