Bugatti Veyron

One quickly runs out of superlatives when trying to describe the Bugatti Veyron. I'm not even sure if one should use the word "car" to refer to such a monster. Endowed with absolute power and a daunting maximum speed, the Veyron looks and sounds like it just came out of some impossible future inhabited by gigantic gas pumps.

50 years after Ettore Bugatti's death, Volkswagen used its magic wand to resurrect the legendary firm, and to say the least, the German carmaker did a mindblowing job.

Motorsports enthusiasts will instantly refer you to the mythical Bugatti Royale from the 1930s, a colossal and majestic masterpiece, sold at such a prohibitive price that only three people were able to afford to buy it at the time. The Royale turned out to be one of the most rare and prestigious automobiles of all times, but despite record-breaking performances, its endless and fairytale-like silhouette became above all a symbol of unequivocable luxury able to make any Rolls Royce look like your everyday sedan. Instead of trying to match the Royale's incredible legacy, re-Volkswagen decided to look for inspiration in Bugatti's racing history to design the Veyron, rightfully using the name of the famous driver who won at Le Mans in 1939 behind the wheel of a Bugatti Type 57.

We got to drive this exceptional vehicle for a few miles in the parking lot of a San Diego country club. It's easy to feel intimidated by this incredible machine, so we carefully and promptly handed it back to its official tutor, French race car driver PierHenri Raphanel.

The Veyron is unbeatable. Its wide and massive shape sets it aside from other supercars such as the sleek Mercedes McLaren SLR or the angular Ferrari Enzo. But the real thrill comes from the Veyron's unrivaled performances: with an engine delivering 1001 hp and a top speed neighboring 250 mph, the new Bugatti flies over the road like a rocket in the morning sky. The Veyron goes from 0 to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds, which is no less than a second faster than a Ferrari Enzo. Pedal to the metal, you can reach 200 mph in little more than 15 seconds. This is a first in the field of street-legal vehicles, and you would have to steal a Champ Car to have a chance to catch up with the Veyron. To be frank, at the end of the day, I still wouldn't put a dollar on you.

Revolutionary techniques were involved in the making of this 21st Bugatti. In order to gather the 1001 horsepower needed to establish a new automotive legend, Volkswagen has designed an 8 liter W16 engine by mating two narrow-angle V8s. Peak torque is 922 lb/ft at 2200 rpm No less than four turbochargers garnish this frenzied powerhouse and engineers had to come up with a special seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to allow for all this wild energy to be transferred to the road. Needless to say, fuel efficiency was never an issue in the process, and you'll be delighted to learn that the Bugatti Veyron has given a new meaning to the term gas-guzzler by settling for a little more than 2 miles per gallon at top speed. In this configuration, the tank would go from full to empty in less than 12 minutes. All kinds of rumors are surrounding this unbelievable ride: pushing hard on this monster will make a set of tires last about 125 miles.

It took several years of trial and error to achieve the Bugatti Veyron's final version. Launched by flamboyant CEO Ferdinand Piëch in 1999, the project started with a prototype equipped with a W18 engine (three flatV6's side by side).

Soon, engineers realized they needed a more compact structure, and the W16 was adopted and installed in a mid-rear position. Fine tuning the beast was a long and difficult task, and many incidents occurred during the testing. A lack of stability at high speed even provoked an accident and the destruction of a prototype. In 2003, Piëch was replaced by Bernd Pischetsrieder at the helm of Volkswagen, and the new leadership took the project back to the drawing board. Under the supervision of engineer Wolfgang Shreiber, the Veyron became more stable and drivable. Gordon Murray, the famous and brilliant father of the astounding McLaren F1 of the early 90s who had in the past harshly criticized the Veyron initial concept and prototypes, was recently revealing his thoughts on the Bugatti's final version: "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 tight chicanes."

Only 300 Bugatti Veyrons will be made over the next five years. It will cost you no less than $1.5 million to get your hands on one of them, but apparently, Bugatti has already received 70 firm orders. In a classy move, Volkswagen moved Bugatti back to Ettore's original headquarters at Saint Jean Castle in Molsheim, Alsace, and the resurrected firm should even increase its production in 2006 to meet the demand. Believe it or not, all in all, the Veyron is a good bargain: its manufacturing costs far exceed its selling price. Following the steps of its respectable ancestors, this unique automobile is first and foremost a magnificent and decadent study announcing the end of an era. Stepping away from the cockpit of this unforgettable machine, lost in a state of denial, it was almost hard to keep in mind that the days of gasoline engines are numbered.

The Bugatti Veyron, Super Fast, Super Car

In the world of fast sports cars, there's fast, and there's ridiculously, crazy fast. The Bugatti Veyron is the latter. This exotic sports car is one of the smallest around, even smaller than the Porsche 911. But what this car lacks in size, it makes up for in shear power.

The Veyron has a top-end speed of 252-mph, making it the fastest production car in the world. Its W16 engine puts out an amazing 1,001 horsepower, which also makes it the most powerful. With a carbon fiber and aluminum body and frame to help reduce the car's weight, it checks in at 4,500 pounds - which is still surprisingly heavy for its size.

W16 refers to the Veyron 16.4 cylinder and turbocharger engine. This quad-turbo 8-liter monster is one of the most powerful engines ever constructed for an automobile. The "W" refers to the two narrow-angled Volkswagen V8s that are joined together. The Bugatti Veyron literally has two Corvette engines.

The car is all-wheel-drive (AWD) and operates like an F-1 car in terms of the 7-speed automated manual gearbox. Sitting in this car and pressing on the accelerator may be enough to cause serious injury unless you're properly secured. The Veyron is nothing to be played with.

It can go from 0 to 60 mph in only 2.5 seconds, and it runs the quarter mile in an amazing 10 seconds. With the top-speed mode engaged, a driver could top out at the amazing 252 mph in under a minute. However, as that speed is a dangerous prospect, Bugatti's production models are released with a speed max of 230 mph.

Surprisingly, the Bugatti Veyron is said to be a very easy car to drive. The wheel base on the sports car is massive, and thanks to the AWD, hairpin turns and other handling obstacles are that much easier. The car is said to not be so "knee-jerk" like other sports cars on the market.

If you're thinking that the Veyron is all-machine with no class, think again. The car is designed to be beautiful and elegant. The leather interior covers a plush seat, and the aluminum trim gives the car the look of a racecar, with the feel of a luxury automobile.

Drivers of the Veyron have testified to its handling capabilities. Once the car reaches 200 mph, the front end becomes light and starts to lift off of the ground. Even though the Veyron is beautifully designed to look more like a jet plane without the wings, the shear speed of the air from underneath the light front end will still cause it to list slightly.

One of the biggest accomplishments achieved by the Bugatti Veyron is its ability to handle (in this sense, meaning not going out of control) in a straight line at top speed. Some other fast cars of the world, like the McLaren F1, will spin out of control at 240 mph. The Veyron is a marvel of modern machinery.

Can You Afford to Own a Bugatti Veyron? Probably Not!

I remember my first look at the awesome Bugatti Veyron. It was on an episode of Top gear where Jeremy Clarkson drove the beast of a machine from Italy to the UK in a race against his co-hosts, Richard Hammond and James May who were doing the same route in a small passenger plane. After watching that episode and hearing all about the car, I thought to myself: "That would be an awesome car to own!" For this reason I own many Bugatti Veyron... Pics! It turns out however, that even if you can afford the enormous Bugatti Veyron price tag of the car, chances are you won't be able to afford to maintain it.

A recent comparison was done between the maintenance costs of a Bugatti compared to a small private jet. The results may surprise you:

If you manage to find a car dealer in your vicinity that actually has a Bugatti for sale, you could expect to pay about $2,128,230 for the car. Once you have plucked up the courage to pay for the car, you need to be prepared to pay for the service plan which will set you back about $20,000 a year. $20,000 for an annual service is almost 8 times the amount it would cost you to service a Ferrari Enzo. OUCH! The Bugatti uses tailor made tires which manufacturers advise you replace every 2500 miles. Replacing the tyres will set you back about $10 000 - EACH! That's $40 000 per set of tyres. The manufactures of the Bugatti Veyron (who clearly think money grows on trees) also advise that you replace the cars wheels every fourth tyre change to ensure optimal performance and safety. Not a problem, I'm all for safety. However, when wheels cost $60 000 to replace then I think I'd rather just take my chances with the ones I already have.

So now, if you take into account all of the above costs and add in the costs for insurance (I shudder at the thought) and fuel, your annual costs for owning this beast of a machine start to near the $300,000 mark. That is a lot of money.

Perhaps, you have a car dealer nearby and feel you can afford the above costs for the Bugatti Veyron because you like to travel in style. This is why we've compared it to costs for a private jet, I mean, what's more comfortable than travelling in a private jet?

I don't want to go in to too much detail about the costs of owning a private jet, but what I can tell you is that it will cost you about $200 000 a year for a medium sized private jet. This includes all maintenance costs, catering costs as well as paying someone to fly the thing. Value for money springs to mind in this instance.

A blogger from the Autocar blog stated that they had a client who owns a Bugatti Veyron as well as a private jet. However, when travelling long distances, the gentleman prefers to transport his Bugatti in the back of a trailer and fly himself to the specified location. The reason for this, it's simply cheaper to fly than to drive the Bugatti Veyron all that way. Case closed I say! I think I'll just stick to staring at my Bugatti Veyron Wallpaper.

The Bugatti Veyron - The World's Ultimate Supercar

In 1998 Volkswagen decided to resurrect the famous Bugatti name, and announced that their first new car, called the Veyron, would be the fastest production road car ever with a top speed that would eclipse the mighty Mclaren F1. To achieve that aim took over seven years of testing and development, and resulted in a critically acclaimed car that would cost over one million dollars.

The Veyron is named after a French Bugatti racing driver from the 1930's who went on to win the 1939 Le Mans in a 57C Bugatti. However, whilst the name of the car was set firmly in the past, Bugatti would have to push the limits and boundaries of automotive technology to achieve their aims.

In order to reach its 253mph top speed the Veyron is powered by a 8.3 litre W16 engine, the W configuration is achieved by joining two separate V8's together at the crankshaft. The resulting engine has a quoted power output of 1001PS or 987bhp, although it is an open secret that the real output is more likely to be around 1035bhp.

To contain the 1250NM of torque that the engine produced, Bugatti turned to the specialised gearbox manufacturer Ricardo in Great Britain, who came up with a seven speed, twin clutch direct shift gearbox controlled by paddles behind the steering wheel. The seamless shift system allows the Veyron to reach sixty in just 2.4 seconds.

Having designed an engine and gearbox that could take them to their planned top speed Bugatti needed to make sure the Veyron had suitable brakes and tyres to cope with extraordinary forces it could produce. Michelin produced the run-flat road tyres capable of surviving the 253 mph top speed, whilst silicon carbide reinforced carbon brakes and a huge rear spoiler, which acts as an airbrake above 124 mph, ensured that the Veyron could reach a standstill from 249 mph in just 10 seconds.

Inside the Veyron it is easy to see why this supercar weighs over 1.8 tons. It contains all the refinement you would expect in a luxury saloon, including exquisite leather trim for the seats and surrounds and bespoke aluminium controls for the car lights and sound system. The owner also a receives a special top speed key, which retracts the rear spoiler, closes the front air vents and lowers the ride height to 6.5 cm in preparation for a high speed run.

Externally the Veyron looks very similar to the early concept car, however much of its shape and form has been driven by the need to achieve high speed stability and cooling. In fact the Veyron has an incredible 10 radiators, which provide cooling for everything from the engine and transmission through to the hydraulic fluid that is used to raise the rear spoiler.

In every way the Veyron sets new standards for the ultimate supercar, and in these tough economic times it may be quite a while until will see those performance figures bettered.