From December 18th, 2009 to January 17th, 2010, Autoworld Brussels will host an exhibition displaying 30 of the prestige carmaker’s most iconic models.

From King Léopold III’s own Bugatti to the present-day Veyron Grand Sport, this exhibition marks the end of the centenary celebrations.

Ettore Bugatti founded the marque On December 15th, 1909 in Molsheim (Alsace), 20 km from Strasbourg. AFP

Bugatti is giving a glimpse of its future beyond the Veyron with this W16-powered four-seat limousine.

Like its two-seat stablemate, the 16C Galibier aims to be the ultimate: the fastest, most powerful, most elegant and expensive car in the world.

Officially it’s a concept car, but Bugatti has started showing the Galibier to customers and opinion-makers, last weekend in Molsheim.

Last week, Bugatti took the wraps off another special-edition version of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, called the Sang Bleu.

The model, which celebrated Bugatti’s 100th anniversary made its debut at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

But reports now indicate that this will be the last of the special-edition Veyrons before Bugatti unveils its successor.

One of the earliest Bugatti racing cars is expected to fetch up to 2.4 million euros ($3.4 million) at a sale in France, said auction house Bonhams.

Built in 1912, it was raced by by the manufacturer’s eponymous founder, Ettore, at Le Mans and on the Mont Ventoux.

Compared to the other Bugattis of the era, it has an unusually large engine and uses chains to drive the rear wheels.

Bugatti unveiled a Sang Bleu special edition model of its new Veyron Grand Sport this weekend at Quail Lodge at Pebble Beach in California.

The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Sang Bleu combines carbon fiber and polished aluminum – an innovative combination never realized before.

Bugatti calls this approach a ‘new dimension of « Art – Forme – Technique »’, the company’s core values statement.

Original Bugatti’s are still to be found.

Last Sunday a diving team lifted the wreckage of a Bugatti Brescia from the depths of Lago Maggiore near Ascona in Switzerland.

For seventy years it had slumbered at a depth of more than fifty metres. Isn’t it amazing how these things survive?