The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a car whose name alone turns heads. Famed for elegant styling and renowned as being the fastest road-legal car in the world. The original version boasts a top speed of 408.00km/h (253.52 mph). The newer Veyron 16.4 Super Sport version clocks in at an even more impressive 431.07km/h (267.85 mph).
Designed and developed by Volkswagen Group and built by its Bugatti Auto-mobile SAS subsidiary. The car has captured the attention of piston heads everywhere. The car is imbued with the legendary heritage, of French racing driver Pierre Veyron who won the Le Mans in 1939 with the original Bugatti company.
Legendary heritage apart it also utilises the latest in technology. A quad-turbocharged W16 engine powers the car and provides just under 1000 bhp in the original model and a truly awesome 1,184 bhp in the newer Super Sport. The technical accomplishments and design refinements are impressive but the key is that the car accomplishes a power to weight ratio of 440 bhp per ton. For comparison a Ford Escort has power to weight ratio of 81.45bhp per ton.
The Veyron is not only powerful but also capable of withstanding and fully harnessing this power. Creating this car was a task that took many years. The gearbox was particularly tough as the design specified that it last between 10-20 years. Formula 1 cars which are less powerful only have to last a few hours of intense use. The resulting seven-speed double-clutch flap paddle, took a team of 50 engineers five years to perfect.
The car caused a stir even before release, giving way to wonder when it was finally unveiled. Respected car show Top Gear declared the car as “the greatest car ever made and the greatest car we will ever see in our lifetime.” and voted it the car of the decade. The car industries “Concord moment”.
It beat the McLaren F1 to title of world’s fastest car and kept this crown until the SSC Ultimate Aero came along in 2007 to beat the Veyron’s speed claim with 256.18 mph. However the land-speed record was quickly reclaimed by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport on July 4, 2010 at 267.86 mph.
The cost of a tyre replacement runs in at $70,000 we shudder to think what the windscreen price is. Perhaps though its status as a thing of dreams only adds to its legendary allure. No one expects the Bugatti’s speed claim to remain unchallenged and it will probably be beaten by an even more powerful car. Ultimately the grandeur of the car lies in its status as a benchmark, in that sense the Bugatti Veyron will always remain unvanquished.
