Buggatti 16/4 Veyron

Bugatti 16/4 Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine grand tourer developed by the German car-manufacturer Volkswagen and produced by the Volkswagen-brand Bugatti Automobiles SAS at their headquarters in Château St. Jean in Molsheim (Alsace, France), and whose production and development is often credited to Ferdinand Karl Piech. 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 company.

Two hundred Veyrons are known to have been built and delivered since production began through late 2008. Veyron editions include the Veyron, Veyron 16.4, Pur Sang, Hermes Edition, Sang Noir, Targa, Vincero, and the Bleu Centenaire. It will be replaced with the Grand Sport, which is essentially a Veyron convertible.

According to Volkswagen Group, the DIN rated motive power output, approved by TÜV Süddeutschland, of the final production Veyron engine produces 736 kilowatts (1,001 PS; 987 bhp), and generates 1,250 newton metres (922 ft·lbf) of torque.The figure has been confirmed by Bugatti officials to actually be conservative, with the real total being 753 kilowatts (1,024 PS; 1,010 bhp) or more.

The top speed was verified by James May on Top Gear for the November 2006 issue, again at Volkswagen Group’s private Ehra-Lessien test track, where the final-production car hit 407.9 km/h, which equated to almost one-third of the speed of sound at sea level. As the Bugatti Veyron approached the top speed during the test, May 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 a constant 250 km/h, the Veyron is using approximately 600 to 1001 horsepower with a 0 to 60 time of 2.5 seconds putting it at the fastest street legal car on earth, but to get to its rated 408 km/h top speed required far more from the engine. Once back in the Top Gear studio, James was asked by co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson what the Veyron felt like to drive at 407 km/h (253mph) , James replied that it was “totally undramatic”, and very stable at speed.^[

German inspection officials recorded an average top speed of 408.47 km/h  during test sessions on the Ehra Lessien test track on 2005-04-19. The Bugatti website still refers to the Veyron as the fastest production vehicle of all time.

The car's everyday top speed is listed at 350 km/h. When the car reaches 220 km/h, hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 9 cm. At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy. This is the "handling mode", in which the wing helps provide 3,425 newtons (770 lbf) of downforce, holding the car to the road.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 408 km/h. 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 shut and the ground clearance, normally 12.5 cm, drops to 6.5 cm.