It will be difficult to find a way to beat Bugatti's claim that its new Centenaire is the "ultimate limited edition," in the words of CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen. That's because the automaker plans to produce a grand total of just one of them.
Bugatti, the top-line division of the Volkswagen Group, was decidedly tight-lipped with the details when it came time to reveal the one-off during a day-early preview of VW's various Geneva Motor Show offerings. But from internal documents that have leaked out, recently, it appears likely that Centenaire will outperform the "base" Veyron's 0 to 62.5 mph (0-100 kmh) times of 2.5 seconds, perhaps by another tenth of a second. Meanwhile top speed is expected to jump noticeably from the current 253.8 mph (408.9 kmh), perhaps nudging the 265 mph mark. Another significant data point? Expect the Centenaire's brakes to deliver the car to a complete rest from 62 mph in just 2.2 seconds. Official details will be released on Tuesday morning.
As for the name, it signifies the fact that the legendary brand's exalted founder, Ettore Bugatti opened his company 100 years ago.