Bugatti unleashes four-door Veyron

Royale shares coupé’s vast W16 engine, whilst mixing huge pace with more space and luxury

It's the Veyron for all the family! This is our best look yet at the stunning Bugatti Royale – a four-door four-seater that’s set to take the famous firm into a new market.

With the £900,000, 253mph Veyron 16.4 already crowned the world’s most expensive and fastest supercar, Bugatti is seeking to go a step further: it will celebrate its 100th anniversary by unveiling this hyper-saloon at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Inspired by the legendary 1927 Type 41 Royale, the new model would be as expensive as its brother and be available in a very limited production run for the company’s most loyal customers. As you can see, the exterior echoes the Veyron’s, while inside the cabin will offer unparalleled luxury, with the finest leather, suede and metal trim in addition to seating for four people and a luggage compartment at the rear.

Bugatti won’t be embarking on the project alone, though. It’s rumoured that the firm will team up with fellow VW Group luxury manufacturer Bentley in developing a new front-engined limousine platform. As well as underpinning the Royale, the chassis would be used on the next Arnage. However, the new Bugatti will keep much of the technology seen on the Veyron, such as its four-wheel-drive set-up and 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine, although this will be mounted at the front.

With the same 987bhp and 1,250Nm of torque, the Royale should cover 0-60mph in three seconds and hit a 250mph top speed, making it the fastest four-seater in the world. It will also feature the same seven-speed twin-clutch transmission – developed by UK firm Ricardo – along with that Haldex clutch-equipped all-wheel drive. There will be active aerodynamics, a Veyron-style hydraulic rear wing that rises at speed, huge carbon composite brake discs and adaptive dampers, too.

The current economic downturn means the Royale is still some way off. But with McLaren Automotive boss Ron Dennis predicting a return to growth in 2011, just in time for the launch of his company’s P11 supercar (see Issue 1,060), expect the four-door to go on sale in three years’ time.

In further celebration of its 100th birthday, Bugattiis also planning to launch a 1,350bhp ‘super’ Veyron later this year, along with additional special editions.

MINI Spirit returns

British legend's big plans for new small car are exclusively revealed

It’s MINI’s biggest ever secret – and autoexpress.co.uk has all the details.

We’ve uncovered a bold plan by the British car maker to develop a new family of city cars, including a zero emission flagship powered by an advanced electric engine.

Though exact details remain scarce, it’s believed that the ultra efficient model line up will also offer drivers fuel sipping petrol engines as MINI owner BMW seeks to build an army of green machines aimed at beating tough legislation on CO2 and other gas emissions due in 2012.

Set to hit the road as early as 2011, it’s been confirmed to Auto Express that the top-secret machine is being developed alongside two new models from a joint venture between Fiat and BMW that’s tipped to mark the return of the famous BMW Isetta and Topolino nameplates

Aimed at a fast growing family of soon to be launched rivals – including Volkswagen’s Up! and a new family of small electric cars from French maker Reanult, MINI is promising to return to its roots with a lightweight model the promises to be every bit as innovative as the 1959 original.

It’s said to be no accident that MINI has chosen its 50th year to begin to develop such a ground breaking new model.

With its engine in back, petrol models will offer four seats and easy to access four door cabin. Individual chairs for driver and passenger will ensure safety is first rate, while the car’s wheel at each corner stance promises to ensure the car feels secure and stable on the road.

Plenty of effort is being poured in to ensuring that visibility is as good as it can possibly be with a large glass area set to ensure that the car is as easy as possible to drive on congested city roads.

Also under consideration is lightweight, tough plastic bodywork, like that fitted to the Mercedes Smart, while the car’s chassis will mix aluminium and composite materials like carbon fibre to deliver enormous strength and light weight.

Electric models could further improve the car’s interior space by locating the batteries in a thin sandwich under the car, and placing electric motors in all four wheels.

Technology to propel this version of the machine is reportedly already well advanced, and has already been publicly trialled in a prototype MINI called the E. This machine, which uses a battery and engine set up similar to that developed by American sportscar firm Tesla is set to be made available in small numbers in both the USA and Germany.

There’s no word on pricing for the newcomer, but given the advanced technology it’s expected to offer, it’s likely that flagship models will cost at least £20,000. A concept paving the way to full production is tipped to make an appearance at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

Mercedes Gullwing

Merecedes confirms plans for thrilling new gullwing model at Geneva Motor Show

It’s official! Mercedes has finally confirmed its plans to launch a new AMG supercar at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

The all-new machine, called the Mercedes SLS AMG is said to represents ultimate in AMG driving dynamics and performance, according to company chairman Volker Mornhinweg.

Smaller and lighter than the McLaren-Mercedes SLR, the SLS is based on a new aluminium spaceframe chassis.

Developing around 570bhp at 6800rpm, Mercedes claims the 6.3-litre V8 machine will sprint from 0-60mph in 3.8seconds while top speed is electronically limited to 196mph.

Drivers will get a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (first seen in the SL63 AMG and located in the rear transaxle) while the engine is dry-sumped in order to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible.

Supension matches conventional coil springs with twin aluminium wishbones at each corner, lightweight ceramic brake discs are an option.

There;s still no clear word on price, however the car is due to go on sale in summer 2010.

A source close to the project suggested drivers could expect to pay around 150,000 euros - less than half the price of the outgoing SLR.

Renault's electric future

You wait years for an electric Renault and then several turn up at once!

In a shock revelation to Auto Express in Geneva, top brass at the French firm has revealed more than one battery-powered model will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

And that’s not all, they also confirmed we’d have the chance to drive them before the year’s out.
In an interview with Renault design chief Patrick Le Quément, he revealed that the first electric car will be based on a soon to be launched petrol-powered car – likely to be the facelifted Clio – whereas the other models will be designed from scratch, specifically to run on batteries.

“Designing electric cars is a completely new challenge,” said Le Quément. “Factors such as the positioning of the power packs and the need for a reduced glass area mean conventional-looking designs simply don’t work.”

It also appears that the firm is set to take an equally innovative approach to selling its vehicles too, hinting the production cars could be cheaper to buy than their petrol equivalents.

The firm is looking to adopt a system which would see the cars sold to customers without expensive batteries included. These would then be leased. While it's not clear how much this would cost, Renault has promised that the eventual outlay required would be less than the cost of fuelling the vehicle with Petrol.

This system would also allow drivers to drop in on specially adapted charging stations, where depleted batteries could either be charged, or simply swapped for a full one.