Bugati Veyron

BUGATTIVEYRON
Let’s start with the Bugatti’s 8.0 litre, 16 cylinder, quad turbo engine, which
produces 1001 bhp, or more than an F1 car. This propels the Veyron to 100
km/h (62 mph) in less than 3 seconds, or approximately the time it takes to say, “zero to one hundred kilometres an hour”. For those of you with a stammer, the Bugatti will be doing well in excess of 100 mph by the time you manage to get that out. The Veyron’s party piece, and the feat which earns it the most column inches in the motoring press, is top speed. Try searching the internet for 400 km/h or 250 mph and see which production car appears most frequently in the results. In order to achieve this heady velocity you’ll need: 1) to engage maximum speed mode using an additional key Bugatti provides; 2) a very long and straight section of road, preferably without any pot holes or speed bumps; and 3) huge bollocks, because if you wuss out and
touch the brakes it will automatically disengage this function, limiting you to a mere 375 km/h (230 mph). With maximum speed mode engaged the Veyron squats down on it’s haunches until there is only 65 mm of ground clearance at the front and 70 mm at the rear. Additionally, to further reduce wind resistance, the flaps on the front spoiler close and the rear wing and spoiler retract. When not trying to reach maximum speed, these aerodynamic aids automatically deploy above 220 km/h (137 mph) to improve high speed stability, but generate too much drag through the air to allow the car to break the magic 400 km/h / 250 mph barrier. One of the design challenges Bugatti faced was finding a tyre which could cope with a 1900kg (over 4000 punds) car capable of such high speeds. Since Bugatti is selling the Veyron in the US it also had tofactor in the possibility of two, junk food addicted, 300 pound occupants – although no doubt they always order a bucket-sized cup of diet coke when supersizing their fast food order - in the tyre specifications. The Michelin tyres were specifically designed for the Veron, and will last for 15 minutes at the top speed, although flat out, a full tank of fuel will only last for 12 minutes… Visually, the Veyron pays homage to Bugatti’s rich heritage, with the horseshoe-shaped grill, and two tone paint, highlighting the elliptical sculpted sides, reminiscent of the marque’s legendary racing and sports cars of the 1920’s and 1930’s. The engine is proudly on display in the open, although that’s more a side-affect of trying to keep it cool than a styling feature. To assist with the cooling the Veyron has a total of ten radiators, which is more than the average family dwelling. The interior is no less stunning, with the combination of leather and aluminium creating a truly unique, sumptuous experience, as befitting a car with a price tag in excess of 1 million Euros. Ultimately, I can’t decide whether the Bugatti Veyron is the best car ever made or an utterly pointless one-trick pony, designed purely to be the fastest ever road car. I for one can’t think of too many places where it would be possible to reach 400 km/h without touching the brakes, even on the unrestricted autobahns of Germany. For the mega rich, knowing they own the fastest car ever built is probably enough of a reason to buy one, as well as advertising to the world that they’ve got so much money that pissing away this trifling amount on a car isn’t a big deal. In some respects the Veyron also represents great value – bear with me on this one – because even though it costs in excess of 1 million Euros, each one is rumoured to cost Bugatti’s parent company, Volkswagen, around 7 million Euros to produce. Although a penis extension may cost less, at least you can openly flaunt the Veyron in public.