What the Bugatti Veyron could have become (10 photos)

In Germany, you can see the fifth prototype of the future Veyron, which is least known to the public, with round optics and a W18 engine.





Having acquired the rights to the Bugatti brand in 1998, the Volkswagen concern almost immediately gave birth to a series of its own visions of what a revived French luxury could look like. Over the next two years, the world saw the EB118 coupe, the EB218 sports sedan and two hypercars: the EB 18/3 Chiron from Fabrizio Giugiaro of Italdesign and the EB 18/4 Veyron. In fact, the last concept, in the creation of which the young stylist Josef Kaban (interior) took part together with Volkswagen chief designer Hartmut Warkus (exterior), was taken as a basis for the construction of the production model.

Bugatti EB 18.4 Veyron Concept



Then, in 1999, another Bugatti appeared, which was not destined to reach exhibitions and auto shows, since the prototype was immediately pushed into the shadows without much publicity. Which is really surprising, since its design was distinguished by the greatest boldness, and the concept was designed by Walter de Silva, who was then working at Seat.





The first information leaked out only in 2009, when the Italian magazine Quattroruote published photos of the secret car. The sloping silhouette of the two-door body with strongly rounded elements related it to the serial "Veyron", while the dashing C-shaped cutouts of the air intakes on the sides would later find their embodiment on the successor of the "Chiron". At the same time, the bowls of the headlights and taillights, the bizarre contours of the glazing and the ridge on the trunk that cut the rear window in two gave de Silva's hypercar a slightly cartoonish look.



Like the EB 18/3, the unnamed model was planned to be equipped with an experimental 6.3-liter 18-cylinder engine (three rows of six cylinders). Recall that the production Veyron model eventually received a W16 engine with four turbochargers, helping to achieve power in the range from 1001 to 1200 hp.





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At the moment, the big-eyed progenitor of the Veyron is on display at the Autostadt. It is unknown how long it will stay there, so those who have the opportunity and desire to see the rarity in person should stop by Wolfsburg.