Bugatti Veyron Centenaire

New special edition Veyrons influenced by classic Bugatti Type 35 grand prix car

A special edition car is normally the sign of a model at the end of its life, manufacturers clamouring to sell the last few before ushering in a replacement. Not so for Bugatti. It has announced another four unique Veyrons, following on from numerous other special editions and limited colour combinations.

The Veyron Centenaire comes in four different flavours, the full set being revealed at the Concorso d’Eleganza supercar and classic show at Italy’s Lake Como. Each is a one-off, too, making this the rarest of special Veyrons, although it wouldn’t be a surprise if all four fall into the hands of existing Veyron owners.

The less than subtle colour scheme is a mix of garish polished aluminium and one of four hues from Bugatti’s classic Type 35 grand prix car. The latter is perhaps the brand’s defining moment, and its grille and wheels have had subtle influences on the Veyron’s design.

As well as being matched to a particular Type 35, each Veyron Centenaire also represents a driver from Bugatti’s illustrious racing past (2000 wins in ten years). As such, the cars bear the racing colours of each driver’s country as well as having their signature stitched into the headrests.

If you want to be patriotic, pick the green car, which represents England and Sir Malcolm Campbell. You also have the choice of red (Achille Varzi and Italy), blue (Jean-Pierre Wimille and France) and white (Hermann zu Leiningen and Germany).

As you may have guessed from the name, the Veyron Centenaire is celebrating 100 years of Bugatti. There’s more partying to come, too, with the next event at California’s Concours at Pebble Beach on August 16. More special editions? You wouldn’t bet against it…

Honda quits F1

Japanese sensationally drop out of Formula One

Honda has quit F1 due to deepening financial worries and a crashing car market. Honda has recently pulled back production at its Swindon plant, and the decision to leave F1 is apparently to protect the brand's core business activities.

Where this leaves Jenson Button remains to be seen, with Honda placing its team for sale rather than winding it down altogether. It sends a stark message out to followers of F1 though, who may now fear other manufacturers such as Renault doing the same.

This is the statement from Takeo Fukui, President and CEO of Honda Motor Co:

"We, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., have come to the conclusion that we will withdraw from all Formula One activities, making 2008 the last season of participation.

This difficult decision has been made in light of the quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry, brought on by the sub-prime problem in the United States, the deepening credit crisis and the sudden contraction of the world economies.

Honda must protect its core business activities and secure the long term as widespread uncertainties in the economies around the globe continue to mount. A recovery is expected to take some time.

Under these circumstances, Honda has taken swift and flexible measures to counter this sudden and expansive weakening of the marketplace in all business areas. However, in recognition of the need to optimize the allocation of management resources, including investment regarding the future, we have decided to withdraw from Formula One participation. We will enter into consultation with the associates of Honda Racing F1 Team and its engine supplier Honda Racing Development regarding the future of the two companies. This will include offering the team for sale.

In its third era of Formula One activities, Honda has been participating in Formula One races from the 2000 season, initially with BAR, by adopting a new format of jointly developing racing machines. Subsequently, in a move to meet the changing environment surrounding Formula One, we switched to running a 100% Honda-owned team commencing with the 2006 season.

Surmounting many challenges, the Honda Team achieved a Grand Prix victory in 2006, enabling Honda to receive overwhelming support from Honda fans around the world that were looking forward to greater success. It, therefore, has been an extremely difficult decision for us to come to this conclusion without having been able to fully meet the expectations of our fans.

By making the best of what we have learned during these times of economic turmoil, coupled with the spirit of challenge gained through active participation in racing, we intend to continue with our commitment in meeting new challenges.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our fans and all those who have supported Honda’s Formula One efforts, including everyone in the world of Formula One.

Thank you very much."