Supercar bows out in style

Bugatti has revealed the final production version of its record-breaking Veyron Super Sport, conceived as a final hurrah for the 16-cylinder, quad-turbocharged supercar.

The blue vehicle pictured here follows in the wake of the carbon-black-and-orange Veyron Super Sport 'World Record Edition' that two months ago set a new production-car v-max benchmark of 431.07km/h at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessein test track.

In the process, the Super Sport World Record Edition smashed the existing world record of 412.28km/h posted by the Ultimate Aero -- built by niche American carmaker Shelby SuperCars -- on a closed 19km stretch of road in Nevada in 2007.

Bugatti offered just five examples of the World Record Edition for sale, and all of these have already been snapped up.

The subsequent production version shares the same mechanical spec as the lairy black-and-orange record breaker, but its speed has been capped at a paltry 415km/h to "protect the tyres". It's probably not a bad idea, given that a set of doughnuts for the Veyron costs upwards of $40,000. Ouch!

The Veyron Super Sport is said to be the result of "continuous development of the classic 987bhp (737kW) Veyron", which redefined the uber-supercar segment when it launched in 2005.

Although hardly lacking in sheer oomph in the first place (this scribe is still trying to reshape his lungs after a five-hour blast in a Veyron Grand Sport last December), the Super Sport ramps up performance to even more stupefying levels.

The addition of larger turbos and intercoolers means peak power rises to an absurd 884kW, while maximum torque is bumped up to an aircraft-carrier-pulling 1500Nm. Chassis tweaks to compensate for the added urge include revised springs, stronger stabilisers, and new shock absorbers.

Aerodynamics are obviously of paramount importance in anything that can comfortably top 400 kays, and with this in mind, the front air intakes have been reshaped and enlarged, while airflow at the rear is optimised by a new double diffuser and central exhaust system.

Meanwhile, the roof sports two new NACA-style ducts that replace the Veyron 16.4's traditional engine ducts set further back above the engine.

The Super Sport's carbonfibre bodywork is also said to bring a 50kg weight saving over the standard Veyron 16.4, but it's still no minnow at 1840kg.

Bugatti plans to produce no more than 30 examples of the Super Sport, taking overall production of the outrageous supercar up to 300 units since its launch five years ago.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.