essays & effluvia: Bugatti Veyron

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Bugatti Veyron

Here's a WSJ reporter's description of a Bugatti Veyron test drive:

Wsj_veyron_instruments_cluster_1 " Settling into the tight interior required a few minutes of seat adjusting, mirror fiddling, slow breathing and throat clearing as the awesome power of the machine became apparent. The car's 1,001 horsepower engine made a low but powerful "VVvvvvvvv" sound -- not scary, but enough to announce its presence at a stoplight. A young man parked on the road outside the factory snapped my picture as I eased out from behind the factory gate and onto a public street.

With the official Bugatti test driver in the passenger seat, I swung into traffic. We blew past a tractor trailer that was edging into my lane. One tap of the accelerator and it was in the rear-view mirror. I began to experience a curious feeling of superiority.

Wsj_buga_20051213_1 When the speedometer hit 112 miles per hour, this reporter declined to go faster. But the professional test driver, when he took the wheel, showed less restraint. A former race-car driver, he took off. My eyes darted back and forth between the speedometer -- climbing higher and higher, like my blood pressure -- and the test driver's vacant expression. There nothing like traveling 170 mph, in the rain, on a one-lane road. Except when your driver slams the brakes to illustrate their stopping force.

Time and space came to a halt. The asphalt on the road ahead looked like it was about to spill into my lap. I unpeeled the back of my head from the seat. The last time I felt something this powerful at my back, there was a woman in a blue-and-gold Lufthansa uniform serving me a drink, and a voice overhead reminding me to turn off all portable electronic devices.

Wsj_bug_20051213 Since the car has a top speed of nearly 253 mph, it's natural to question how responsible most Veyron buyers will be behind the wheel. Surprisingly, for all the time and money invested in this car's development, Bugatti officials say most customers show little interest in driving it at top speed. But after only a half hour with the Veyron, I understand why. I'm worried enough about getting a scratch on this work of art."

The specs of the BV:
The Bugatti Veyron boasts a massive, rear-mounted 16-cylinder engine with 1,001 horsepower -- roughly the equivalent of a couple of Porsche 911s combined -- and a rear spoiler that helps keep the car from spinning out of control at high speeds. It needs just 2.5 seconds to accelerate from zero to 62 miles per hour, and burns rubber so quickly that its makers had to hire France's Michelin SCA to develop a special compound for its tires. Its top speed: 252.9 mph.

The official Bugatti website is here
http://www.bugatti-cars.de/

Along with these fine pics
(click for larger image):

Sources:
Million-Dollar Baby: World's Most Expensive Car
STEPHEN POWER
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, December 14, 2005; Page D1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113451536827021669.html

The Million-Dollar Test Drive
STEPHEN POWER
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, December 14, 2005; Page D13
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113452660362621958.html