Bugatti

Bugatti

Bugatti

Bugatti

Bugatti

Bugatti

As we reported late last year, the scandal plaguing Volkswagen over its emissions-cheating hasn't had negative consequences for the group's halo brand Bugatti. It was widely expected that the scandal and its possible $40 billion impact on VW Group would result in the cancellation of the replacement for the Bugatti Veyron. Thankfully, its replacement, the Chiron, was unveiled formally to the world Monday in Geneva.

Named after a prewar Monegasque racing driver, Louis Chiron (pronounced shi'ron), the new car will cost about $2.6 million (£1.9 million) before tax. Behind the cockpit is a reworked version of the 8L turbocharged W16 engine (four banks of four cylinders with a single crankshaft), which will propel the all-wheel drive monster to 261mph (420km/h).

But it's no stripped-out racer—as you might expect for a marque renowned for building the ultimate in four-wheel excess, the interior is a riot of leather and machined aluminum. Expect it to be as easy to drive at regular speeds as the old car, too—it's said the Veyron was an easy drive even for one's grandmother as long as she didn't floor it.

Bugatti will build 500 Chirons at its factory in Molsheim, France (home of the original Bugatti factory), and apparently a third of them have already been sold. We hope they let us drive one.