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Who was Elisabeth Junek, and why is Bugatti giving her a special Veyron?

Bugatti is in the habit of recalling names from its storied history on the nameplates of its new models. The Veyron, after all, was named after Pierre, one of its most accomplished racing and test drivers. So, too, was the concept that preceded it named after Louis Chiron, another Bugatti racing driver of yore. And lately, the Alsatian marque has been reviving other names from its history with a series of special editions.
The "Légendes de Bugatti" series kicked off with the Jean-Pierre Wimille edition last year, which was followed by the Jean Bugatti edition and the Meo Costatini edition (pictured above) just a few months ago. We would have expected that the next one would honor Jean's brother Rembrandt Bugatti - the artist behind the rearing elephant hood ornament that adorned the legendary Bugatti Royale - but the word on the street is that the next special-edition Vitesse will pay tribute to one Elisabeth Junek.
Also known as Eliška Junková, she was one of the earliest and most renowned of female racing drivers at the dawn of motorsport. She would often accompany her banker/gentleman-racer husband Cenek Junek on his motoring exploits in their Bugatti Type 35B and would sometimes take the wheel herself. Her most famous race was the 1928 Targa Florio, which she led until the final lap before mechanical troubles dropped her down to fifth place - but still ahead of Tazio Nuvolari.

Bugatti by Venet is the world's fastest art

Some consider the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport to be a piece of rolling art, while others consider the real masterpiece to be the engineering feats to be what lies underneath. Impressively, French artist Bernar Venet has managed to combine these two notions in one dramatic special edition model: the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Venet.
Venet, whose works can be found everywhere from New Zealand to Versailles, confessed that he initially thought it unnecessary to alter what he already considered a work of art. The French painter and sculptor drew inspiration from Bugatti's engineering equations that led to the development of the Veyron. The numbers and functions were placed on the bodywork in such away that it appears they are being blown off the Grand Sport as it drives at speed. These equations are also stitched into the interior, and the finishing touches come in small replicas of Vanet's works on the oil cap, filler cap and the center console.
The Bugatti Grand Sport Venet will be on display at the Rubell Family collection during Art Basel Miami Beach, which runs through December 9. Check out the video below to see Venet discuss creating this high-speed work of art, surrounded by his own works.

Bugatti teases mystery reveal on Facebook

On the heels of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport being stripped of its World's Fastest Car title by Guinness World Records comes this tease from the French automaker, hinting that it will soon "share the latest example of exceptional Bugatti performance" over the next few days its Facebook page.
The timing of the announcement is interesting. Even though the current Super Sport boasts a quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 developing 1,200 horsepower that pushes the two-seater to an unrestricted top speed of 267 mph, today's competitors are knocking at kicking down Bugatti's door. The much lighter and more agile Hennessey Venom GT (twin-turbo 7.0-liter V8 rated at 1,244 horsepower) recently ran to nearly 266 mph - and it still hasn't fully stretched its legs. And then there is the Shelby SuperCars Ultimate Aero (twin-turbo 6.9-liter V8 rated at 1,300 horsepower) that will hit 256 mph.
So, we have to ask, what exactly will Bugatti reveal this week? Is this another variant of the Super Sport, sans its electronic limiter for a boosted top end? Is this the rumored 1,600 horsepower Super Veyron, which we first heard about many months ago? Or, will Bugatti finally be revealing a production version of its 16C Galibier sedan? Let us know what you think in our comments section, below.