Bugatti made big news last month when it unveiled the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. The 1200-horsepower supercar smashed the production car speed record by reaching nearly 268 mph at the Volkswagen proving grounds. It’s not just a top speed monster either, as it also turned the fastest ever lap around the Top Gear test track at the hands of the Stig.

We’ve previously only seen pictures of the Super Sport model that actually set the record – the polarizing orange and black one – but now we know that the Bugatti factory has produced at least two examples. The Super Sport made its North American debut at the Quail Motorsports Gathering last week done up in a gorgeous blue carbon fiber. We have to say we much prefer it over its counterpart.

The record-setting Super Sport was also in town and turned up at Laguna Seca to pace a special class of thirty-something vintage Bugatti GP cars during the 2010 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Although we begged them to go for the production car lap record set by the Dodge Viper a while back, they limited the big Bug to a simple parade lap. Still, the presence of this thing is undeniable.

They went and turned it up to twelve. Rumors of an even more powerful version of the Bugatti Veyron have been around almost as long as the Veyron itself. But as Veyron production winds down, those rumors have reached a new peak. The latest gossip has Bugatti introducing a new Veyron SuperSport with twelve-hundred horsepower, and more importantly, 300 fewer kilos to lug around, at this year’s Paris Motor Show this Fall.

A Veyron with 1,200 horsepower, that is some 660 pounds lighter than the current model, should be capable of hitting 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in a mere 2.2 seconds on its way to a top speed of 425 km/h. That’s 264 mph in case you’re wondering, a good 10 mph higher than the record-setting v-max of the regular Veyron.

We’re not exactly sure what the official name will be, but the SuperSport name is a good guess for this model, as it has been used on the most powerful version of the ’90s-era EB110 and the ’30s-era Type 55. As if the €1.5 million ($1.8M) price tag won’t be enough to keep it exclusive, word has it that Bugatti plans to build just 30 examples. So start saving your pennies now.

We’ve just heard that Hennessey Performance isn’t going to quite make it to the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland next month, so the official debut of their Venom GT supercar will come at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. The Lotus Elise-based supercar will make its first U.S. appearance in Monterey this August and we can hardly wait.

Weighing just 2,400 pounds, the coupe is powered by a twin-turbocharged V8 that should be making somewhere north of 1,000 horsepower, giving it a superbike-like 2.4 lbs/hp ratio. That should be good enough to make this stretched Lotus one of the most impressive performers on the planet.

Expectations are a 0-60 mph run of just 2.2 seconds, with 100 mph coming up in an NHRA-worthy 4.9 seconds and the double-century mark passing in an other-worldly 14.5 seconds. If you recognize those numbers as being faster than even the mighty Bugatti Veyron, know too that the fun won’t stop until a claimed top speed of 262 mph, well beyond the Mulsanne Mauler’s 253.

Those numbers also put the Venom well beyond your run-of-the-mill tuner cars and place it in a league with limited run exotic, race and kit cars like the 9ff GT9, Koeniggsegg CCXR, Saleen S7 Competition and Mosler MT900S. Looking essentially like an extended Elise, Goodwood won’t know what hit it.

Last month, Top Gear magazine published its 200th issue, and to celebrate, they “put together a haphazard ramble through 17 years of the world’s shiniest car mag, including the best and worst cars we’ve ever driven, the greatest journeys and the top jaw-breaking pictures. And now we’re putting them online - starting with this - the 20 cars since ‘93 that have kept us coming back for more…”

The list is a fun one, with a strong proclivity for European machinery. Some of the choices are quite obvious, while others are more in the “WTF?” category. The mighty McLaren F1 and Bugatti Veyron make the list as does the Ferrari F50, but they are one slot behind the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Fiat 500 and Vauxhall Monaro respectively. Below is the list from 20 to 1, but click over to Top Gear to read their rationale for each selection. It’s almost as entertaining as the show itself.

• Caterham Superlight R500
• Ford Escort Cosworth
• Honda Civic Type-R
• Fiat Panda
• Lotus Exige
• Porsche 911 GT3 RS
• Lancia Delta Integrale
• Corvette ZR1
• Bugatti Veyron
• Vauxhall Monaro
• Honda NSX-R
• Ferrari F50
• Fiat 500
• Ford S-Max
• Audi RS2
• Renault Clio Cup
• McLaren F1
• Aston Martin V12 Vantage
• Volkswagen Golf GTI MkV
• Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4SV