Bugatti proudly displaying final Veyron and gearing up for its successor

Bugatti is showing off the final version of its famed Veyron and also planning the car's successor.

Based on the 16.4-litre W16-engined Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, the Veyron Ettore Bugatti is dedicated to the memory of the founder of the firm. Ettore himself made his iconic sports and racing cars in a factory in Molsheim, France, not far from the current Bugatti HQ. His originals were famed for their delicate beauty, robust engineering and light weight. He probably never thought that a car would ever exist that could top 400km/h and accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 2.6 seconds, let alone that that car would bear his name.

Unlike some of the recent Veyron Hero editions (essentially a very expensive version of the run-out special editions that so many carmakers use to get rid of unsold stock...) the Ettore Bugatti edition looks relatively tame, with clear-lacquered carbon-fibre and polished aluminium on the outside, in homage to the 1932 Bugatti Type 41 Royale, one of the most famous Bugattis of all.

The price is about €2.25 million, and that’s before you add on local taxes. Bugatti boss Wolfgang Dürheimer said: “Ettore Bugatti himself is a legend. It was clear from the start that we should dedicate the final Legends model to him personally. He always strived for the creation of a total work of art.”

While this is the last of the current model, Durheimer won't have time to relax. Bugatti has confirmed it will produce a successor to the Veyron, in spite of losing several million euro on every one it has sold. The new car will again be mid-engined and feature an updated version of the Veyron's 16-cylinder turbocharged engine, but this time with hybrid assistance. Bugatti is apparently aiming for 1,500hp and a top speed of 460kmh. It won't have the track all to itself, though: Texas-based sports carmaker Hennesey is planning a version of its Lotus-based Venom supercar, called the F5. That one, using a turbocharged 7.0-litre Lexus engine, is planning to beat the 470km/h barrier...