Bugatti’s ambitious 1001 bhp Veyron hypercar project is finally nearing completion. Dogged by delays, the monster has been spotted out ice testing prior to its September arrival, probably at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Veyron is powered by a compact 8.0-litre, 16-cylinder, W formation (basically two 4.0-litre V8s sharing a common crank), engine developing an astonishing 1001PS and 1250Nm of torque.
The 16.4 refers to the 16 cylinders and 4 turbos that the Veyron’s mighty engine boasts. Combined consumption is expected to be around 18mpg - but few will ever match that.
That powerplant is expected to enable the Veyron 16.4 to breach 400kph - or around 250mph - 10 mph more than the official record set by the Koenigsegg CCR at the Nardo track in Italy recently.
All that power is distributed through a four-wheel-drive transmission featuring a sequential paddle-shift, seven-speed, double clutch, DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) that pre-selects the next gear allowing for instantaneous shifting. A similar gearbox can be seen on the new Golf GTI and other cars in the Volkswagen group, that today owns Bugatti, Lamborghini and Bentley, as well as more down-to-earth marques like Skoda and Seat.
Braking is taken care of by carbon disc brakes and supplemented by the rear wing that doubles as an airbrake at speeds above 200kph. In addition the Veyron 16.4 has a separate calliper for its handbrake which features ABS – it can be used to stop the car safely in the event of a main brake failure.
Bugatti claims that the Veyron 16.4 can stop from 250mph to standstill in ‘considerably less than 10 seconds’.
The first cars are expected to be delivered to customers in the second half of 2005 - somewhat later than its anticipated 2003 debut.
Performance figures have yet to be verified, but the Veyron 16.4 is expected to reach 62mph (100kph) in three seconds, and 186mph (300kph) in less than fourteen. The Ford GT, which is one of the fastest accelerating current road cars, does 0-60 in around 3.6 seconds.
Michelin has had to produce unique tyres to handle the Veyron 16.4’s unique performance. They feature the PAX run-flat system and can driven on flat for around 125 miles at up to 50mph. The rear tyres at 14.4-inches (540mm) in width are the widest fitted to a production car.
With only 300 planned for production and priced around $1,000,000 the Bugatti is an expensive and exclusive toy. Despite that huge list price the Veyron 16.4 is never likely to recoup its massive development costs.
