Bugatti Veyron

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Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4
Bugatti Veyron at the 2006 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Greenwich, CT
Manufacturer Bugatti Automobiles SAS
Parent company Volkswagen AG
Production 2005–present
(approx. 300 to be produced)
Assembly Molsheim, Alsace, France
Predecessor Bugatti EB110
Body style(s) 2-door coupe
Layout Mid-engine, all-wheel drive
Engine(s) 8.0 L quad-turbocharged W16
Transmission(s) 7-speed Direct-Shift Gearbox sequential manual
Wheelbase 2710 mm (106.69 in)
Length 4462 mm (175.67 in)
Width 1998 mm (78.66 in)
Height 1204 mm (47.4 in)
at normal position
Curb weight 1888 kg (4162.33 lb)
Fuel capacity 100 L (26 US gal/22 imp gal)
Designer Hartmut Warkuss, and Jozef Kabaň[1]

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car[2] produced by Volkswagen AG subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS introduced in 2005. It is the quickest accelerating and decelerating street-legal production car in the world, and was the world's fastest street-legal production car until the introduction of the SSC Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo produced by Shelby SuperCars.

Powered by a 1,001 PS (987 hp/736 kW) W16 engine,[3] it is able to achieve an average top speed of 407.47 km/h (253.19 mph).[4] The car reached full production in September 2005, and is handcrafted in a factory Volkswagen built near the former Bugatti headquarters in Château St Jean in Molsheim (Alsace, France). It is named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm.

Contents

[edit] History

Development of this vehicle began with the 1999 EB 18/4 "Veyron" concept car which itself had a chassis based on that of the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car. Introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show, it was similar in design and appearance to the final Veyron production car. One major difference was the EB 18/4's use of a W18 engine with three banks of six cylinders. The Veyron's head designer was Hartmut Warkuss with exterior designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen rather than Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign who had handled the three prior Bugatti concepts too.

Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piëch announced the production Veyron at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show. It was promised to be the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car in history. Instead of the W18, the production model would use a VR6/WR8-style W16 engine. First seen in the 1999 Bentley Hunaudieres concept car, the W16 would get four turbochargers, producing a quoted (metric) 1001 horsepower (see engine section for details on the power output). Top speed was promised at 407 km/h (253 mph), and pricing was announced at €1 million.

Development continued throughout 2001 and the EB 16/4 Veyron was promoted to "advanced concept" status. In late 2001, Bugatti announced that the car, officially called the "Bugatti Veyron 16.4", would go into production in 2003. The car, however, experienced significant problems during development. Achieving the required high-speed stability was difficult - one prototype was destroyed in a crash and another spun out during a public demonstration at the Monterey Historics event in Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. Production of the Veyron was delayed pending resolution of these and other issues.

A silver and black pre-production Veyron on display at the 2004 Paris Motor Show.
A silver and black pre-production Veyron on display at the 2004 Paris Motor Show.

Piëch retired that year as chairman of the Volkswagen Group and was replaced by Bernd Pischetsrieder. The new chairman promptly sent the Veyron back to the drawing board for major revisions. Neumann was replaced as Bugatti president by Thomas Bscher in December 2003, and substantial modifications were made to the Veyron under the guidance of former VW engineer, Bugatti Engineering head Wolfgang Schreiber.

Each Veyron is being sold for €1,100,000 (net price without taxes), prices vary by exchange rates and local taxes (like value added taxes). Prices for the UK or the US are about over £800,000, or 1.2 million American dollars (net).

[edit] Official unveiling

A production Veyron at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show where it was unveiled.
A production Veyron at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show where it was unveiled.

The production Veyron was shown for the first time on October 19, 2005 at the Tokyo Motor Show.

The official United States launch for the production version occurred at the 2006 Los Angeles International Auto Show in January.

Visual differences between the prototype and production Veyrons are slight, but noticeable marks include the addition of marker lights or reflectors on the front fenders and a more pronounced "dorsal spine" on the bonnet (reminiscent of the Bugatti Atlantic), especially near the windscreen.

Six Veyrons were sold at the 2005 Dubai Motor Show in December, reportedly including the demonstration models used on the stands there. These would be the first reported private sales of the car.[5]

[edit] Sales and service

Bugatti originally planned to build 300 Veyrons over five years. In March 2006, Bugatti president Bscher claimed to have 70 firm orders, selling out 14 months of production. The company is reportedly speeding up production in response, with all 70 cars expected to be built in 2006. The March, 2008 issue of Winding Road (confirmed by Autoblog) reports that 220 of the 300 cars to be produced have been sold and 132 have been delivered to customers.

Potential buyers based in and around the London area can expect VIP treatment. One buyer (Farboud family scion Arash Farboud) wrote in a column for Lusso Magazine: "Dominic Lancaster, the head of Jack Barclay Bugatti in London, arranged for a private jet to take my wife and I over to the factory at Molsheim, in the top right hand corner of France."[6]

Maintenance will be possible at Bugatti dealerships but repair service will require a flown-in mechanic, who the company promises will be available 24 hours a day.

[edit] Pur Sang special edition

On 10 September 2007 a special version of the Veyron called the Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron "Pur Sang" was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The difference from a standard Veyron is the body finishing: the Pur Sang has none. Instead it reveals the Veyron's pure aluminium-carbon fibre body. Pur Sang is French, meaning thoroughbred or pure blood (literally). Production will be limited to 5 cars. The car will be included with high-gloss aluminum wheels with a diamond cut finish.[7][8]

[edit] Fbg par Hermès special edition

At the Geneva motor show in 2008 Bugatti announced a partnership with the French fashion house Hermès. The Bugatti Veyron Fbg Par Hermès was the result. It features several new features as well as a redesigned front end. The interior is done in Hermès leather and it comes with a specially designed Hermès suitcase to fit in the trunk.[9]

[edit] Sang Noir special edition

The Sang Noir edition was inspired by the Bugatti Type 57 Atlantique. Most exterior details were painted black, including the fuel cap and the headlight assembly, while the front grille, side mirror casings, and the roof rails are chrome. Also, the central section of the body is clearcoated carbon fiber. The interior features black-piano lacquer trims. [10]

[edit] Specifications

The quad-turbocharged W16 engine used by the Veyron.
The quad-turbocharged W16 engine used by the Veyron.

The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders, or the equivalent of two narrow-angle V8 engines mated in a "W" configuration. Each cylinder has 4 valves for a total of 64, but the narrow V8 configuration allows two camshafts to drive two banks of cylinders so only 4 camshafts are needed. The engine is fed by four turbochargers and displaces 8.0 L (7,993 cc/488 in³) with a square 86 mm (3.4 in) by 86 mm (3.4 in) bore and stroke.

Putting this power to the ground is a dual-clutch Direct-Shift Gearbox computer-controlled manual transmission with 7 gear ratios via shifter paddles behind the steering wheel boasting an < 150 ms shift time, designed and manufactured by Ricardo of England. The Veyron can be driven by full automatic transmission. The Veyron also features full-time all-wheel drive based on the Haldex system. It uses special Michelin run-flat tires designed specifically for the Veyron to accommodate the vehicle's top speed. Curb weight is estimated at 1,888 kg (4,160 lb). This gives the car a power to weight ratio of 529 bhp/ton.

The car's wheelbase is 2710 mm (106.7 in). Overall length is 4462 mm (175.7 in). It measures 1998 mm (78.7 in) wide and 1204 mm (47.4 in) tall.

The Veyron's hydraulic spoiler.
The Veyron's hydraulic spoiler.

The Bugatti Veyron has a total of 10 radiators.[11]

  • 3 radiators for the engine cooling system.
  • 1 heat exchanger for the air-to-liquid intercoolers.
  • 2 for the air conditioning system.
  • 1 transmission oil radiator.
  • 1 differential oil radiator.
  • 1 engine oil radiator.
  • 1 hydraulic oil radiator for the spoiler

It has a drag coefficient of 0.36 [12], and a frontal area of 2.07 m2.[13] This gives it a CdA ft² value of 8.02.

[edit] Performance

The ignition key of Bugatti Veyron 16.4.
The ignition key of Bugatti Veyron 16.4.

[edit] Power

According to Volkswagen (and approved by TÜV Süddeutschland) the final production Veyron engine produces 736 kW (987 hp) which is equivalent to 1001 PS (metric horsepower) and 922 ft·lbf (1,250 N·m) torque.[3] However, the car is advertised as producing "1001 horsepower" in both the US and European markets.

[edit] Top Speed

Top speed was initially promised to be 407 km/h (253 mph) but test versions were unstable at that speed, forcing a redesign of the aerodynamics. In May, 2005, a prototype Veyron tested at a Volkswagen track near Wolfsburg, Germany recorded an electronically limited top speed of 400 km/h (249 mph). In October, 2005, Car and Driver magazine's editor Csaba Csere test drove the final production version of the Veyron for the November 2005 issue. This test, at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track, reached a top speed of 407.5 km/h (253.2 mph). The top speed was verified once again by James May on Top Gear, again at Volkswagen's private test track, when the car hit 407.9 km/h (253 mph), which equated to precisely one-third of supersonic speed at sea level. When getting close to the top speed during the test he said that "the tires will only last for about fifteen minutes, but it's okay because the fuel runs out in twelve minutes." He also gave an indication of the power requirements, at 249 km/h (155 mph) the Veyron was using approximately 270 bhp (201 kW), but to get to its rated 407 km/h (253 mph) top speed required far more from the engine.

Aerodynamic friction or drag is proportional to the square of the speed; for example doubling speed quadruples drag. Work is a product of force applied over a distance travelled. Comparing a vehicle travelling at 100 mph (160 km/h) with one travelling at 200 mph (320 km/h), over a given period of time (e.g. 1 second), the faster vehicle must overcome 4 times the aerodynamic drag, and travel twice the distance of the slower one. Thus it does 8 times the work of the slower vehicle in that period of time. As power is work done / time taken it follows that the faster vehicle, travelling at twice the speed requires 8 times the power of the slower one. German inspection officials recorded an average top speed of 408.47 km/h (253.8 mph)[4] during test sessions on the Ehra Lessien test track on April 19, 2005.

The car's everyday top speed is listed at 375 km/h (233 mph). When the car reaches 220 km/h (137 mph), hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 8.9 cm (3½ inches). At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy. This is the "handling mode", in which the wing helps provide 3425 newtons (770 pounds) of downforce, holding the car to the road.[11] The driver must, using a special key (the "Top Speed Key"), toggle the lock to the left of his seat in order to attain the maximum (average) speed of 407 km/h (253 mph). The key functions only when the vehicle is at a stop when a checklist then establishes whether the car—and its driver—are ready to enable 'top speed' mode. If all systems are go, the rear spoiler retracts, the front air diffusers close and the ground clearance, normally 12.5 cm (4.9 inches), drops to 6.5 cm (2.6 inches).

[edit] Acceleration

The Veyron is one of the quickest production cars to 100km/h (62mph) with a proven time of 2.5 seconds[citation needed]. It reaches 60 mph (97 km/h) in approximately 2.46 seconds. This is an average acceleration of 1.18 g.

The forward acceleration in a Veyron may also be strong enough to cause head-up illusion, which gives passengers the impression of driving up a slope, very much like what is commonly experienced in a jet liner that accelerates for take off. This could arguably lead to false perception of stopping distances.

The Veyron reaches 200 and 300 km/h (124 and 186 mph) in 7.4 and 16.7 seconds respectively. And according to the February 2007 issue of Road & Track Magazine, the Veyron accomplished the quarter mile in 10.2 seconds at a speed of 142.9 mph (230.0 km/h). Other tests, however, have the Veyron hitting 150 mph (240 km/h) in 9.8 seconds (see below), so the quarter mile time is actually faster, making the Veyron the most rapidly accelerating production car in history.

[edit] Fuel Consumption

The Veyron consumes more fuel than any other production car, using 40.4 L/100 km (6.99 mpg imp/5.82 mpg US) in city driving and 24.1 L/100 km (11.7 mpg imp/9.76 mpg US) in combined cycle[citation needed]. At full throttle, it uses more than 115 L/100 km (2.46 mpg imp/2.05 mpg US), which would empty its 100 L (26 US gal/22 imp gal) fuel tank in just 12 minutes 46 seconds[citation needed].

[edit] Braking

The Veyron's brakes use unique cross-drilled and turbine-vented carbon rotors which draw in cooling air to reduce fade. The front calipers have eight[11] titanium pistons and the rear calipers have six pistons. Bugatti claims maximum deceleration of 1.3 G on road tires. Prototypes have been subjected to repeated 1.0 g braking from 194 to 50 mph (312 to 80 km/h) without fade. With the car's acceleration from 50 to 194 mph (80 to 312 km/h), that test can be performed every 22 seconds. At speeds above 124 mph (200 km/h), the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, snapping to a 55-degree angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are applied, providing 0.68 g (4.9 m/s²) of deceleration (equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback).[11] Bugatti claims the Veyron will brake from 400 km/h (249 mph) to a standstill in less than 10 seconds.[11]

[edit] Final numbers

Statistics and specifications[14]
Basic stats
Vehicle Mid-engine, all-wheel drive 2-door coupe Base price €1,127,210 (GB£757,359/US$1,440,800)
Engine Quad-turbocharged DOHC 64-valve W16 Engine displacement 7993 cc (488.8 in³)
Performance
Top speed 407.47 km/h (253.19 mph) (average) 0-60 mph (97 km/h) 2.46 seconds
0-100 mph (161 km/h) 5.5 seconds 0-150 mph (241 km/h) 9.8 seconds
0-200 mph (322 km/h)[15] 24.2 seconds 0-250 mph (402 km/h)[16][17] 53 seconds
Standing quarter-mile (402 m)[18] 10.2 seconds at 143 mph (230 km/h)
Fuel economy[19]
EPA city driving 7 mpg–U.S. (33.6 L/100 km / 8.4 mpg–imp) EPA highway driving 10 mpg–U.S. (23.52 L/100 km / 12 mpg–imp)
Top speed fuel economy 3 mpg–U.S. (78.4 L/100 km / 3.6 mpg–imp)

[edit] Production figures

[edit] Critics and comments

[edit] Previews

Gordon Murray, designer of the McLaren F1 (which for many years was the fastest production car ever built) said the following about the Bugatti Veyron in UK auto magazine evo during its development period:

“ The most pointless exercise on the planet has got to be this four-wheel-drive 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) Bugatti. I think it’s incredibly childish this thing people have about just one element—top speed, standing kilometre or 0-60. It’s about as narrow minded as you can get as a car designer to pick on one element. It’s like saying we’re going to beat the original Mini because we’re going to make a car 10 mph (16 km/h) faster on its top speed—but it's two feet longer and 200 kilos heavier. That’s not car designing—that just reeks of a company who are paranoid. ”

Murray was impressed with the Veyron after he test drove one, but still apprehensive about it in an article he wrote for Road and Track magazine.[23]

[edit] Reviews

After the car had reached production, Murray went on to write an article for another UK auto magazine, Top Gear, retracting a lot of his past criticism of the car.

“ One really good thing, and I simply never expected this, is that it does change direction. It hardly feels its weight. Driving it on a circuit I expected a sack of cement, but you can really throw it at the tight chicanes. ”

He also declared in the article that: "The braking is phenomenal. ... And the primary ride and body control are impressive too" and "It's a huge achievement."

The trend of backtracking on negative comments about the Veyron continued when prominent UK car show host Jeremy Clarkson declared on Top Gear that it was "The best car ever made" after initially saying it was ridiculous and would never exist.[24] He would later extend this by saying he would spend the night with British reality TV star Jade Goody (whom Clarkson vehemently dislikes) to get his hands on one.[citation needed]

The Veyron was proclaimed the Top Gear Magazine Car of the Year for 2005 along with the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroën C1. The Veyron was also declared the Grand Award winner for the Autotech category of 2006 by Popular Science magazine.

In May 2007, one of the two (at least) known Veyrons in Mexico was tested by the Mexican automotive magazine Automóvil Panamericano at the Rodríguez Brothers Racetrack.[25] However, due to Mexico City's elevation the car could only reach 850CV out of 1001CV and a top speed of 300km/h:

“ (Translated from Spanish) But, the Bugatti Veyron we tested did not reach those figures [1001CV, 1250nm]; with DF's elevation and our gasoline's octane rating, it stucked in about 850 CV that most supersports drivers would wish for their cars. ”

[edit] Popular culture

A number of fictional Transformers characters turn into Bugatti Veyron cars. The first of which was Cybertron Crosswise. His toy was later recolored or remolded into Cybertron Smokescreen, Transformers Movie Jolt, Timelines Jazz and Timelines 2008 Ricochet. All the toys for these characters turn into 1:34 scale cars.

[edit] References

[edit] Citations

  1. ^ Skoda Auto. Skoda a.s.. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  2. ^ Aesthetic Principles of a Super Sports Car. bugatti.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  3. ^ a b bugatti.com: "2.5 – 7.3 – 16.7 – 55.6"—official acceleration and engine specs
  4. ^ a b bugatti.com: 400 and Beyond
  5. ^ Fancy a Bugatti Veyron, or Six?. Motortorque.
  6. ^ Buying a Bugatti Veyron.
  7. ^ bugatti.com: The Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron “Pur Sang”.
  8. ^ Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang: pure blooded exclusivity.
  9. ^ bugatti.com: Cooperation between Hermès and Bugatti
  10. ^ Limited edition Bugatti Veyron Sang Noir
  11. ^ a b c d e Adams, Eric (2006), "Inside a Street-Legal Land Rocket", Popular Science 269 (6): 73
  12. ^ http://www.bugattipage.com/ride.htm
  13. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Slideshow/slideshowContentFrameFrag.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2005/10/17/upixbug.xml
  14. ^ Bugatti Veyron 16.4 - - Car and Driver - November 2005
  15. ^ Hennessey Viper beats Veyron in 0-200 dash. Autoblog.com.
  16. ^ Bugatti Veyron | Sports Cars
  17. ^ ROADandTRACK.com - Cover Story - Road Test: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 (2/2007)
  18. ^ ROADandTRACK.com - Cover Story - Road Test: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 (2/2007)
  19. ^ Model 1 Vehicle Characteristics
  20. ^ Automobil Revue, catalogue edition 2006, p. 46
  21. ^ Automobil Revue, catalogue edition 2008, p. 47
  22. ^ Automobil Revue, catalogue edition 2008, p. 47
  23. ^ ROADandTRACK.com - Road Tests, Comparison Tests - Technical Analysis: Anatomy of a Supercar (1/2006)
  24. ^ driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12529-1890873.html.
  25. ^ Automóvil Panamericano: Bugatti Veyron, 1001CV en México (Spanish). Retrieved on May 23, 2008.

[edit] External links

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Preceded by
Koenigsegg CCR		 Fastest street-legal production car
408.47 km/h
(2005–2007)		 Succeeded by
SSC Ultimate Aero TT
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Bugatti car timeline, 1910–present – a marque of the Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen AG) (VWAG) since 1998
Type 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1963–86 1980s 1990s 2000s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Company
full name		 Bugatti Bugatti Automobili S.p.A Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.
Owner Flag of Italy Ettore Bugatti / Roland Bugatti Flag of Italy Romano Artioli Flag of Germany Volkswagen AG
Touring
car		 Type 30 / Type 49 Type 57
Type 46
Limousine Type 41 Royale
Roadster Type 13 / Brescia Tourer Type 55
Coupé Type 101
Sports
car		 Type 13 Type 18 Garros Type 252 EB110 Veyron
Founder: Ettore Bugatti • Bugatti corporate website • A marque of the VWAG group