[NEW YORK] Bugatti took just one evening to sell almost all of its limited-edition road models of the Chiron hypercar, which touched a record 304 mph at a test track last month.

At a Saturday dinner in Molsheim, France, before this week's Frankfurt Motor Show, chief executive officer Stephan Winkelmann announced plans to produce 30 of the cars. He promptly took orders for all but three or four of them, which he expected to go soon.

The Chiron Super Sport 300+ has some modifications and is 20 centimetres longer than the version that zipped round the recently-resurfaced Volkswagen track in Ehra-Lessien. It costs 3.5 million euros (S$5.3 million.)

Bugatti is looking at "sexy" financing for its next edition, Mr Winkelmann said in an interview, after parent company Porsche AG used a promissory note to partially fund the development and production of the battery-powered Taycan. The idea of making an electric version of the Chiron wouldn't work, he said.

"There is still a lot of time for internal combustion engines," the 54-year-old said.

Mr Winkelmann briefly discussed the idea of uniting VW's luxury brands - Bugatti, Lamborghini, Bentley, Ducati and Porsche - under one umbrella. He declined to be drawn on the prospects of Bugatti holding a public stock offering, saying it's not his decision to make.

"There is no real group until now, but I think if we put those type of brands together it's unique in the automotive industry," Mr Winkelmann said.

BLOOMBERG