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Bugatti
of St. Louis
Veyron
16.4
With its luxurious length of 4.47 m, the
Veyron is a perfectly balanced combination of high-powered
performance and sleek, racy design.
Even at complete standstill, the car’s enormous
power is made visible by its impressive mid-engine,
elevated majestically beneath the chassis. Simultaneously,
the Veyron’s bold proportions, well-balanced
surfaces, and clear line structures give an impression
of pure, sleek elegance. |
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Veyron Design
With its classic look, the large radiator grill – adorned
with the hand-enameled Bugatti emblem – represents
the grandness of the Veyron. The sports car’s distinctive
front is defined by the harmonious contrast of its broad
headlights and majestic grill. The rear end, 1.99 m wide,
features the formidable retractable spoiler and generously
designed fenders. The Veyron perfectly fulfills the main
design objective governing the development of the new
Bugatti: an uncompromising combination of highest elegance
and state-of-the-art technology.
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Acceleration
with the Veyron means pure delight without involuntarily
nodding heads:
The automobile uses the same launch control technology as
Formula 1 racing cars to reach maximum traction force from
first to seventh gear and up to 400 km/h maximum speed.
The Veyron’s electronically controlled acceleration
takes the car from standstill position beyond the 400 km/h
threshold in less than one minute. Just activate launch control,
engage gear, control the steering wheel, place your left foot
on the brake, and keep your right foot on full throttle. If
you release the brakes swiftly, you will accelerate on a par
with veritable Formula 1 cars.
The mighty, 1,001-horsepower sixteen-cylinder four-wheel drive
can be felt and driven through a wide spectrum of revolutions
per minute. Constant 250 km/h require only 270-280 of the Veyron’s
horsepower. More than 700 HP are continuously “on standby” for
quick and fast interludes. In other words: at 1,000 r.p.m.,
only slightly above idling, the Veyron has 730 Newton meter
torque available. Between 2,200 and 5,500 r.p.m., 1,250 Newton
meter torque are permanently accessible. No other production
vehicle has ever offered comparable torques. With this kind
of power and pull, the Veyron manages racecourses as easily
and competently as lonely mountain passes or rushhour traffic
in Tokyo.
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The
Veyron 16.4 is the fastest production vehicle of all
times.
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The
car documents state a maximum velocity of 407 km/h, but that’s
an understatement. On April 19, 2005, inspection officials
recorded a top speed average of 408.47 km/h. For years, the
Bugatti engineers had worked diligently in order to push the
400 km/h boundary. No wind tunnel can simulate this velocity,
which is why after each of a long series of improvements, the
different ground clearance levels and the modifications of
the rear fenders, spoiler and underbody were tested separately
on high-speed test ranges. This ambition and diligence paid
off, as the official speed measurement proves. |
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Veyron Structure
A super sports car like the Veyron 16.4 needs
to be light in order to reach top speeds.
From the initial concept to the design and the selection
of materials, the Bugatti engineers tapped the full potential
of their considerable expertise to ensure that this car
is, indeed, a lightweight. Titanium, carbon, magnesium,
and aluminum – each part of the Veyron 16.4 is
made of the material with the lowest weight and the highest
level of functionality. The titanium piston rods save
approx. 4 kg of weight, the titanium screws 3.5 kg, and
the magnesium valve caps another 2 kg. By reducing the
wheelbase, the original weight was reduced by about a
third, and the titanium exhaust system – another
Veyron 16.4 first – with its wafer-thin layer
of titanium aluminite saves yet another 17 kg. These
combined efforts capped the Veyron 16.4’s weight
at a compact 1,888 kg. Add the car’s high-powered
performance and unmatched speed, and you have a uniquely
fast and nimble super sports car. |
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There is one thing
the Veyron 16.4 does even faster than accelerating: braking.
The sports car exploits the full range of available technological
potential to allow for ultra-fast deceleration. It takes
less than 5 seconds to get from 0 to 100 km and back to
a complete standstill. In theory, that is, for such a feat
would require the driver to react with nearly superhuman
speed. The whole braking process takes no more than 31.4
meters or 2.3 seconds – that is less than the car
needs to get from 0 to 100 km. And even the 400-to-0-km/h
deceleration is a matter of less than 10 seconds. s
Made of high-tech carbon,
ceramic, and titanium materials, the brake system guarantees
consistently high friction values and optimum cooling.
Intelligent carbon-ceramic brake discs with interior
ventilation, eight-piston monoblock caliper units in
the front, and six-piston caliper units in the rear ensure
the necessary driving agility on a par with professional
racecars. The rear spoiler serves as an additional air
brake at speeds beyond 200 km/h. Activated by the brake
pedal, the spoiler shoots up and is deployed at a 55-degree
angle in less than 0.4 seconds. Tests including repeated
follow-up brake maneuvers have shown this brake system
to be not only the most powerful, but also the most reliable
and durable ever built into a serial production vehicle.
It boasts deceleration values of up to 1.3 g, with an
additional 0.6 g support by the rear spoiler. Even during
full braking maneuvers at top velocities, these brakes
won’t give. Brake fade,
the much feared performance reduction after repeated
application of the brakes – e.g. during long downhill
drives – is virtually impossible. |
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A car with such exceptional potential as the Bugatti
Veryon 16.4 calls for equally exceptional testing conditions:
repeated switches from the high-speed circuit to city traffic
and from the highway to the racetrack, steep uphill climbs
and descents, and every possible curve radius. The internal
tests required top speeds, full-throttle acceleration to
up to 350 km/h, again and again, and repeated full brake
maneuvers with a force of 1.3 g. The Bugatti test engineers
drove more than 1,000 km per day, only interrupted by the
necessary service breaks. And then there were the extensive
test drives on the extremely tough Nürburgring Grand
Prix circuit, and non-stop autobahn drives.
In addition to these internal tests, the Veyron 16.4 had
to pass all official roadworthiness tests just like any
other serial production vehicle for road traffic. Approval
criteria included reliability, stability, fine-tuning of
driveline, chassis, and transmission, as well as the overall
condition of the car after 50,000 driven kilometers. This
was rounded off by the thousands of hours the Veyron 16.4’s
engine, drive train, brakes and chassis were inspected
on numerous test benches.
Next, the Veyron was exposed to weeks of heat and cold
tests at extreme temperatures ranging from -20°C (-4°F)
to 50°C (122°F). The car and its inexhaustible four-wheel
drive braved both the ice and snow of Northern Europe and
the sizzling South African heat. Even in the snow, the ESP
always detects the degree of road grip, adjusting the engine
control systems accordingly. The active rear axle lock not
only helps the car take fast turns, but also ensures non-slip
acceleration even in the snow. One particularly memorable
episode occurred when a heavy van with camera equipment got
stuck in a Scandinavian snowdrift – to be pulled
out by the Veyron, which mastered this task like a professional
tow truck.
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