Super Cars

About

2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse "Jean-Pierre Wimille" Edition

In every company in the world, there are people that have helped elevate it to supremacy and some companies see it fit to celebrate its heroes. Bugatti is doing just that by preparing a series of six individual Veyron models, specially developed to pay tribute to the people that "have played a crucial role in its history and which have helped creating its mystique." The first from this special series is called Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse "Jean-Pierre Wimille" Edition and, as its name suggests, it pays tribute to Jean-Pierre Wimille — a racecar driver that brought two Le Mans victories to Bugatti. This special edition was inspired by the Bugatti 57G Tank that won the Le Mans in 1937. It comes with a two-tone paint job that features blue clear-coated carbon fiber and a light Wimille Bleu. Under the hood, this Bugatti Veyron stays bone stock, leaving it at the amazing 8-liter W-16 engine that delivers 1,200 horsepower and 1,100 pound-feet of torque. The model will be making its world debut at the US The Quail/Pebble Beach set to take place from 16 to 18 August.

2013 McLaren 12C B&W Edition

McLaren recently trooped to Hong Kong to introduce its P1 supercar to arguably one of the most exotic-friendly markets in the world. But in the course of telling the gathered crowd that the P1 would cost HKD$8.9 million (excluding First Registration Tax) - that’s about $1.14 million based on current exchange rates, by the way - the British automaker also brought a special one-off MP4-12C that came straight out of its McLaren Special Operations program. Similar to past one-off creations out of the customization program, this 12C B&W Edition, was treated to a bevy of modifications, highlighted by a two-tone exterior with a unique white color and gloss black accents. The latter, in fact, was used on the roof, the front splitter, the mirror casings and the wheels. Additionally, the 12C B&W Edition also had its gloss white paint on both the air vents and the instrument cluster bezel, providing a consistency of color and shade that belies its appearance as a true one-off supercar. And in case there are any questions regarding how much the 12C B&W Edition is going to cost, McLaren has officially priced it at a tidy HKD$4.68 million, which is just a shade above $600,000 based on current exchange rates. There’s something to be said for a supercar, even a one-off make like this, to carry such a price tag. But given the exotic climate in a place like Hong Kong, we doubt this piece of handiwork from the McLaren Special Operations program would sit long in the McLaren dealership.

2013 SIN R1

Not a lot of people understand the hard work it takes to build a car, let alone one that develops 500 horsepower and hits 200 mph at the drop of a hat. But the people over at Sin Cars understand what it takes to hit these levels of performance. That’s why the company has succeeded in building a special supercar called the R1. For what it’s worth, the R1 supercar looks like one and performs like one too. It doesn’t boast of the most ostentatious design you’ll see, but it’s got the styling credentials to be looked at as a race-ready machine capable of throwing down with the best of them. But that’s what makes the R1 impressive: it was made by young designers with plenty of experience in motorsport racing. The combined knowledge and understanding of the industry made this supercar what it is now and that’s a credit to the folks who worked hours on end to see this project through. Again, the R1 isn’t your typical Ferrari or Lamborghini, but it sure does have that supercar soul and at the end of the day, that’s the ultimate stamp of approval.

2013 Ferrari 458 Italia Spyder by Autodynamica

A little more than two months after gifting us with a sick program for the McLaren MP4-12C, the folks over at Autodynamica are back at it again. This time it’s delivering a new treat for a fellow exotic: the Ferrari 458 Italia Spyder. Featuring a comprehensive program that includes a new aero kit from Vorsteiner to go with performance and suspension updates, Autodynamica really went to the well with its aftermarket work on the 458 Italia Spyder. Obviously, the most distinctive part of the project is the Vorsteiner kit, which we’ll get into later. What really got our juices flowing, though, are the performance and suspension upgrades the aftermarket company did to the 458 Italia Spyder. First, it installed new Akrapovic high flow cats, a titanium valved exhaust, carbon-fiber exhaust tips and KW suspension springs. Also added in were 20- and 21-inch HRE S101 wheels on the on the front and rear, respectively, wrapped in Pirelli P Zero tires. That’s not all, though. Autodynamica also gave the Ferrari supercar a new Evomsit Performance software upgrade, resulting in improved power figures to the tune of 609 horsepower, an improvement of almost 40 ponies from the standard model. Torque numbers weren’t announced, but we expect it to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 460 pound-feet to go with an estimate 0-to-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 204 mph.

2014 VUHL 05

You might not be familiar with VUHL (Vehicles of Ultra- lightweight and High-performance), but in just a few days, at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, you’re going to get acquainted with it real quickly. The "highly specialist" automaker is the brainchild of brothers Iker and Guillermo Echeverria, whose Mexican/American design agency, Etxe, was responsible for designing the 05, a road-legal lightweight supercar that no one has ever seen, at least until now. The model was designed for the road and track, and comes as a response to cars like BAC Mono, Ariel Atom and KTM X-Bow. According to Iker, VUHL wanted to develop a "highly intuitive machine that was both stirringly fast and immense fun to drive – a car we ourselves would want to own." And the result is the new 05.