First Drive: 2011 Bugatti Veyron Super

"It is not possible," was the answer from Jens Schulenburg, Bugatti vehicle engineering chief. He was answering the question as to whether a standard Veyron could be modified to be as fast as the 2011 Super Sport edition. "It is like a domino effect," he explained, "To get more horsepower, you need more cooling. To get more cooling, you need more airflow through more and bigger radiators. To accomplish this, you need to redesign the front end. When you do that, you change the aerodynamic balance of the car at speed. To rebalance the car, you need to change the roof and rear fascia." Schulenburg could have kept going. For an hour.

We got the picture: The $2.58 million Super Sport is not a standard Veyron with a chip. Shame on you for even thinking that. Consider the Super Sport a Veyron 2.0 release; a significant re-engineering of the 1001-horsepower, sixteen-cylinder, quad-turbo, all-wheel-drive supercar.

But given the Veyron's sales success – they've sold approximately 260 since the vehicle's debut in 2005 – why go to all the trouble for a maximum of 40 cars? (Bugatti will cease Veyron coupe production at 300 units.) "Current Veyron owners wanted a more dynamic, exciting driving experience," said Julius Kruta, Bugatti's Head of Tradition. "Most of the orders booked for the Super Sport are from current Veyron owners. They asked us for a car that felt more extreme." Is that even possible? We flew to Spain to find out.

Walking around the three cars, the all carbon fiber bodywork showed its depth of finish in the bright sun. The monochromatic example – a $428,180 option – showed this Super Sport upgrade best because the weave is never covered by paint as on the black-over-orange, World-Record commemorative edition (the Halloween car). "You have no idea the work it took to make the weave on the panels line up," said Florian Umbach, Bugatti chassis development engineer.

The blue carbon fiber finish also seemed to amplify the Super Sports smooth hewn-from-a-block look, a characteristic best gazed on from the rear.

For anyone familiar with a Veyron, the exterior features unique to the Super Sport are easy to cipher; NACA ducts replace roof-mounted engine air scoops, the more open front fascia is necessarily more vertical due to the plethora of required coolers and ducting, and the rear is reshaped for aero. A new wheel design provides better exhausting and improving brake cooling while weighing about six pounds less per corner. The net result is a more integrated, aggressive and arresting exterior.

Inside, little has changed and the cabin remains beautifully straightforward. Compared to the Grand Sport we drove last year, the Super Sport felt less elegant, likely the result of a more businesslike color scheme.


A Bugatti quality tidbit worth noting; the exposed color-dyed aluminum instrument panel structure (it surrounds the center stack, tracks along the base of the windshield and extends to the sides of the dash) is a single piece of metal. Because different batches of metals absorb color with unique results, Bugatti purchased enough aluminum from the same batch to build all the aluminum interior pieces required for the expected run of Super Sports. While money can't buy you love, it can buy other-worldly quality.

Under the hood? Well, there is no hood, but things have changed in regards to the powertrain. To make 20 percent more power, the 8.0-liter W16's intake system features 10-percent larger turbochargers and new intercoolers capable of flowing more boost (1.5 bar vs. 1.2). The engine's 1,200 horsepower peak comes at 6,400 rpm with a regulated max torque at 1,106 pound-feet between 3,000 and 5,000 rpm (a grand higher than the smaller-turbo'd Veyron).


The hydraulically controlled seven-speed DSG features improved cooling, stronger cogs (2nd and 3rd gears), a taller 7th gear, and revised programming. Oh, and AutoblogGreen readers, take notice: efficiency is said to be up by 10-percent on the highway. Supplied by racecar transmission builder Riccardo, the gearbox retains its uncanny ability to deliver shifts you hear but don't feel, while the standard all-wheel drive system is fortified with stronger half-shafts.


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