Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Bugatti sell their 400th Veyron – just 50 left to go. But what next for Bugatti?

The 400th Veyron – a Grand Sport Vitesse Jean-Pierre Wimille Special Edition Bugatti may have come to rely on ‘Special Edition’ Veyrons to keep making sales, but they’re now getting close to the end of their production run. The Veyron – which debuted in 2005 – is limited to a total of 300 coupes and 150 Roadsters, and all the coupes are long gone with just the Roadsters left to finish their run, and only 50 of are those left to sell. Not surprisingly, the 400th Veyron to be sold – the latest Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Jean-Pierre Wimille Special Edition – went to a client in the Middle East at a hefty €2.14 million which, at a rates of around one a week sold for the last eight years, means the Veyron will be consigned to the Bugatti history book by the end of 2014.

Build your Mini Cooper Hardtop

We suspect that your initial inclination upon the discovery of a new model's configurator is to throw gobs and gobs of equipment at a car to see just how high the price will go. After all, that's what we tend to do. It's especially satisfying with German automakers — notably Porsche and BMW — who seem to have turned option pricing into something bordering on absurdist theatre.

Winners of the 2013 Michelin Design Challenge announced

Michelin presented the three winners of the 2013 Michelin Challenge Design at its private Designers' Reception during of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit's Renaissance Center. A jury of automotive designers and industry experts picked the winners from the 15 finalists that best explored how design contributes to and impacts the ongoing effort to develop more efficient vehicles, while keeping the emotional side of car design front of mind. This year's top three finalists are Jorge Biosca (Spain), Liu Shun (China) and Song Wei Teo (Singapore).