Chiron doing 259 mph on the Autobahn

Bugatti EB110 in Paris

Quelle rad!

Real life Lego Bugatti

No glue!

Bugatti oil change

SIXTEEN drain plugs. I would be so nervous doing this. In fact, I would not even dare touch it.

Spotted: Bugatti Veyron Mansory Vivere

My mother spotted this and sent me some pictures. It's for rent in Las Vegas ($15,000 for four hours).

In which the owner takes the Veyron to Carmax for an appraisal:

Bugatti Chiron 0-400-0 record

Imagine if they had put a thinner guy in there. Zing!

Bugatti Chiron

A friend shared this Nat Geo documentary about the Chiron and I'm now totally fascinated.

And here's SaabKyle04's video. Lots of trivia. Funny that the TPMS light is on.

The story behind the Bugatti EB110

Retromobile

I'm going to take a picture with my wife in those 60s outfits for that faux magazine cover.

Cars that lost money for automakers

Economist chart, via S, the dude who bought my Phaeton.

Assembling Bugatti's W16 engine

Photos from Alan's blog

Auto Neurotic Fixation.

Pur Sang Bugatti replica

What an engine!

Via Motoring con Brio.

Pebble Beach / Monterey parking lots

I'll be doing a quick write-up of these cars for Hooniverse.

Turkmenistan's presidential ride

On Saturday, Turkmenistan's president-for-life drove to the country's first car race in his Veyron.  He wanted to wish the racers good luck.  But then, the crowd convinced the Dear Leader to enter the contest.  And guess what?  He won!

Follow this blog and win a prize! (The details)

Why: The purpose of this contest is to not only increase the number of followers, but to show appreciation to you, the loyal reader.

What: Five prizes will be given out.

• Citroen ID 19 Repair Manual

• Minichamps 1/43 Maserati Quattroporte

• Bugatti collectors card set

• Cars of the Soviet Union book

• $50 gift card to microlending site Kiva

How:

• The drawing will take place once this blog has 100 unique followers.  To become a follower, simply click on the "Join This Site" button in the column to your right.
• A couple of you have duplicate and triplicate avatars.  So in order to reach the 100 unique follower milestone, the drawing will take place when there are 103 followers (or thereabouts).  The drawing will take place once this blog has 100 followers.  I will take into account duplicate/triplicate followers. 
• Each follower's name will be written on a scrap of paper and placed in a bowl.  Five random names will be drawn.
• The five winners' screen names will be posted on this blog.  They will have 30 days to claim their prize.
• The prizes will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.  The first person to claim their prize by emailing me (I'll post my email address when I announce the winners) will get first choice of the prizes.  The second person to email me will have the second choice, etc.
• If the winner does not claim their prize within 30 days, they will have forfeited.
• I reserve the right to modify the rules, change the prizes, and cancel the contest.  I'll do my best to keep it fair and fun for everyone.

So, if you haven't joined yet, do so!  If you feel lucky and want the drawing to take place sooner, invite your friends over here!  Again, thanks all, and good luck.

Cool car art by Andrey Gusev

Aston Martin V8

Bugatti EB110

Lamborghini Countach

Alfa Romeo police car

Camaro

Merc CLS

Merc Gullwing

Ferrari F40 engine

More here.

Mullin Automotive Museum Bugatti collectible cards

Part 1 of museum visit here.
Part 2 of museum visit here.

So what's in that box I bought at the museum?

A set of 24 collectible cards depicting one Bugatti wooden carriage, a Bugatti boat, and 22 Bugatti cars in the Mullin collection.

They are all glossy, beautiful, and double sided.

Front:

Back:

Mullin Automotive Museum review, part 2: the new cars

Part 1 of museum visit here.

Museum souvenir reveal here.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate OLD, beautiful, pre-war cars.  But when it comes down to it, I prefer "classics" from the last 30 years.  That is why these modern Bugattis truly blew me away.  The prototypes are on loan from Bugatti, so get to the Mullin ASAP if you want to see them in the flesh.

Let's start with the first modern Bugatti, the EB110.  Almost all of them come in blue, but this SS version (it's lighter than the regular version) is quite stunning in silver.

I love all the codes on the headlight lens cover:

I'm not a fan of all these vents:

Is this a Subie SVX?

It's incredible that the Veyron is the "least interesting" of the lot.  But here is an interesting perspective.  The engine in the background is a reflection of the actual engine in the foreground.  The silver horseshoe thingy is the center console:

The three prototypes, my favorites, are next:

Bugatti EB 18/3 Chiron.  The front end is the basis for the Veyron.  But the Chiron was introduced in 1999.  The Giugiaro-penned car is named after Louis Chiron, a Bugatti race car driver (rather than Pluto's moon).  It has a W18 engine.  That's 6.3 liters and 72 valves.  To quote Jackie Gleason: Oof.  This car actually runs and has the four wheel drive system from a Lambo Diablo.

Kissy-kissy:

Next to the Chiron is the EB218, my personal favorite in the entire museum.  The massive, sheen-less rims remind me of those from the Royale.  It shares the same W18 engine with the other two concepts.

Finally, we've got the EB118 coupe.  Notice the similarities between its rear end and the rear end of the Bentley Continental?

So how does the Mullin stack up against the other museums on the West Coast?  Here are my rankings:
1. (Tied) Blackhawk and Mullin.
2. Canepa.
3. (Tied) National Auto Museum in Reno and the Imperial Palace collection in Vegas.
4. California Auto Museum in Sacramento.
5. Petersen Automotive Museum.

So why is Mullin tied with Blackhawk?  Blackhawk excels because of variety.  You've got old Bugattis as well as a Bentley Blower, an ISO Grifo, a Hongqi limo, and an Aston Martin Zagato.  The Mullin excels in its sheer audacity: a comprehensive and astronomically expensive collection of a tiny genre of cars.  They are both extraordinary and worth making special trips for.

The end.*

*I'll do a separate post about the souvenir I got at the museum.