Bugatti

Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is a mid-engine grand touring car produced

by Volkswagen Group subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS and
introduced in 2005. It is currently the fastest accelerating and
decelerating production car in the world and, at 1.1 million Euro, it is
also the most expensive car.
Powered by a 736-kilowatt (1,001 PS/987 hp) W16 engine,[2] it can
reach 408.47 km/h (253.81 mph).[3] 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. Two examples of the Veyron are known to have been
wrecked since production began.[4]

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 chief 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 Veyron at the

2000 Geneva Motor Show. It was promised to be the fastest, most
powerful and most expensive production car in history. Instead of the
W18, it would use a VR6/WR8-style W16 engine. First seen in the 1999
Bentley Hunaudières concept car, the W16 would have four
turbochargers and produce 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 the price 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, but significant problems cropped up
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 problems.
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.

The Veyron costs €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 over £880,000, or around $1,400,000.

Special editions
Pur Sang

On 10 September 2007 a special version of the Veyron called the "Pur

Sang" (French for thoroughbred) was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor
Show. The only difference from the standard Veyron is the body
finishing: the Pur Sang has none, revealing the Veyron's pure
aluminium-carbon fibre body. Production of the Pur Sang will be limited
to five cars, which will have high-gloss aluminum wheels with a
diamond cut finish.[5][6]

Fbg par Hermès

At the Geneva motor show in 2008 Bugatti announced a partnership

with the French fashion house Hermès, resulting in the "Fbg Par
Hermès" trim. This has several new features as well as a redesigned
front end. The interior is trimmed in Hermès leather and it comes with
a specially designed Hermès suitcase to fit in the trunk. Built for
Rodrigo Cañizares.[7] Bugatti later made four new color schemes
available for order with the Hermès Veyron: called "Indigo Blue and
Vermilion", "Indigo Blue and Lime Green", "Black and Garance Red",
and "Prussian Blue and Blue Jean". The cars will also come with the
bespoke luggage, special 8-spoke rims and an H-pattern grill.[8]

Grand Sport

Bugatti announced the production of a targa top version, called Grand

Sport. The car was unveiled at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on
August 15, 2008, with production set to begin in spring 2009.[9] The
Grand Sport comes with small tweaks to the windshield and running
lights, and two removable tops. The first is a transparent
polycarbonate removable hardtop, and the second is a temporary roof
fashioned after an umbrella and inspired by pictures of classic Bugatti
racers with umbrellas in hand. The Grand Sport can reach 407 km/h
(253 mph) with the hardtop in place, the same top speed as the coupé
version. With no roof the top speed is limited to 360 km/h (220 mph),
and to 130 km/h (81 mph) with the temporary soft roof. The Grand
Sport has extensive reinforcement beyond the standard Veyron.

The chassis 001 car was sold in 2008 Gooding & Company Pebble
Beach auction with winning bid price of $2.9 million, with
approximately $900,000 of the auction price going to charity.[10]

Specifications and performance

The quad-turbocharged W16 engine used in the Veyron.

The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in four banks of four

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 by 86 mm (3.4 in. × 3.4 in.) bore and stroke.

The transmission consists of a dual-clutch Direct-Shift Gearbox

computer-controlled manual gearbox with seven gear ratios with shifter
paddles behind the steering wheel boasting an <150 ms shift time.
This is designed and manufactured by Ricardo of England. The Veyron
can be driven by full automatic transmission. It also features full-time
four-wheel drive based on the Haldex Traction system. It uses special
Michelin run-flat tires, designed specifically for the Veyron to
accommodate its top speed, which reportedly cost $25,000 per set.[11]
Curb weight is 2,034.8 kg (4,486 lb).[11] This gives the car a power to
weight ratio of 4.5 lb/bhp.

The car's wheelbase is 2710 mm (106.7 in). Overall length is 4462 mm

(175.7 in), width 1998 mm (78.7 in) and height 1204 mm (47.4 in).

The Veyron's hydraulic spoiler.

The Bugatti Veyron has a total of 10 radiators.[12]

• 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,[13] and a frontal area of 2.07 m2.[14] This
gives it a CdA ft² value of 8.02.
Veyron's W16, 8.0 litre engine with 4 turbochargers

Inside the spoiler's hole

Power

According to Volkswagen (and approved by TÜV Süddeutschland) the

final production Veyron engine produces 1,001 PS (736 kW/987 hp) and
1,250 N·m (920 ft·lbf) of torque.[2] The horsepower figure is believed by
some to actually be conservative, with the real total being 1001 or
more.[15]

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 (253.5 mph), which equated to precisely one-
third of the speed of sound at sea level. When getting close to 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
constant 250 km/h (155 mph) the Veyron is using approximately 270 to
280 horsepower (200 to 210 kW)[16], 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 160 km/h (99 mph) with one travelling at 320 km/h (200 mph), over
a given 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 time. As
power is work done in time taken it follows that the swifter 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)[3] during test sessions on the Ehra Lessien
test track on 2005-04-19.

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 downheft, holding
the car to the road.[12] 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
shut and the ground clearance, normally 12.5 cm (4.9 in.), drops to 6.5
cm (2.6 in.).

Acceleration

Bugatti claim that the Veyron has the greatest acceleration of any
production car to date, reaching 97 km/h (60 mph) from a standstill in
2.46 seconds.[17] It reaches 100 km/h (62 mph) in approximately 2.5
seconds, which equates to an average acceleration of around 1.18 g.
The car is greatly aided in achieving such times by the presence of a
four-wheel drive system that permits the transmission of such great
amounts of power in the initial stages of acceleration.

The Veyron reaches 200 and 300 km/h (124 and 186 mph) in 7.4 and
16.7 seconds respectively. 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).

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 (22 imp gal/26 US gal) fuel tank in just

12 minutes.[18][19]

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[12] titanium pistons and the rear calipers have six
pistons. Bugatti claims maximum deceleration of 1.3 Gs on road tires.
Prototypes have been subjected to repeated 1.0G 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 Gs (4.9 m/s²) of deceleration
(equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback).[12] Bugatti
claims the Veyron will brake from 400 km/h (249 mph) to a standstill in
less than 10 seconds.[12]

Final numbers

Statistics and specifications[20]

Basic stats
Mid-engine, all-
€1,100,100
Vehicle wheel drive 2-door Base price
(£850,000/$1,600,000)
coupe
Engine
Quad-turbocharged
Engine displacemen 7993 cc (488.8 in³)
DOHC 64-valve W16
t
Performance
408.47 km/h
0–100 km/h
Top speed (253.81 mph) 2.46 seconds[17]
(62 mph)
(average)
0–160 km/h 0–240 km/h
5.5 seconds 9.8 seconds
(99 mph) (149 mph)
0–320 km/h 0–400 km/h
(199 mph)[2 24.2 seconds (249 mph)[22][ 53 seconds
1] 23]

Standing quarter-mile (402 10.2 seconds at 230 km/h (143 mph)

 m)[23]
Fuel economy[24]
7 miles per US
EPA city gallon EPA highway 10 miles per US gallon
driving (3.0 km/l/8.4 mpg- driving (4.3 km/l/12 mpg-imp)
imp)

3 miles per US gallon

Top speed fuel economy (1.3 km/l/3.6 mpg-imp) 1.39 gallons per
minute

Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 Manufacturer

Bugatti Automobiles SAS Parent company Volkswagen Group
Production 2005–present
(approx. 300 to be produced) Assembly Molsheim, Alsace, France
Predecessor Bugatti EB110 Body style(s) 2-door coupe Layout Mid-
engine, four-wheel drive Engine(s) 8.0 L quad-turbocharged W16
Transmission(s) 7-speed Direct-Shift Gearbox sequential manual
Wheelbase 2,710 mm (106.7 in) Length 4,462 mm (175.7 in) Width
1,998 mm (78.7 in) Height 1,204 mm (47.4 in) Curb weight 2,034.8 kg
(4,486 lb) Fuel capacity 100 L (22.0 imp gal/26.4 US gal) Designer
Hartmut Warkuss, and Jozef Kabaň[1]

Critics and comments

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... ”
However, Murray was impressed with the Veyron after he test drove
one although still apprehensive about it in an article he wrote for Road
and Track magazine.[27]

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.[28] In his Times Online review,
his conclusion is that "[The Bugatti Veyron] is a triumph for lunacy over
common sense, a triumph for man over nature and a triumph for
Volkswagen over absolutely every other car maker in the world".[29]

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.

Top Gear also managed to get it on the track for a power lap in 2008.
Surprisingly, it was only fifth on the Power Lap board, getting round the
track in 1.18.3, which was 1.2 seconds slower than the car at the top -
the Gumpert Apollo. It initially placed fourth, but was subsequently
pushed down the board by the new Pagani Zonda Roadster F, which
was tested immediately after on the same episode. Its unexpected
track time can be attributed to its weight, despite the enormous power.