2.1 billion) by floating a stake of at least 10% in its Traton trucks unit later this month, its second attempt to bring the business to market. The stake size is at the bottom end of a range of 10%-20% that sources had earlier indicated. The German carmaker said in a statement that the offering would be priced at 27-33 euros per share and create a free float of 10-11.5%, depending on whether banks running the initial public offering exercise an over-allotment option. VW seeks to capitalise on the premium that truck stocks command over autos, and create an acquisition currency. It plans to invest the proceeds in transforming its auto business, as it readies the launch of dozens of electric vehicles. It has shown interest, meanwhile, in U.S.-based truck maker Navistar. The carmaker is being more cautious about the volume of shares it will place after halting earlier listing plans in March, when it had planned to place a stake of up to 25% on the stock market.
The salt is apparently particularly good (or so they say; I have no frame of reference), and the ride is smooth and easy. The car stays straight as an arrow and requires no corrections. I had been told to shut down at 165-170, but honestly I felt so comfortable, and the car so composed, I stayed in it until 185, while barely raising my heart rate. In fact, between reading 鈥?85鈥?and actually having the chute engage, the car made it all the way to 188, before even crossing the three-mile marker. In drag racing we鈥檇 call this 鈥渂reaking out.鈥?Normies would just call it 鈥済oing too fast.鈥?The VW folks looked mildly uncomfortable with the speed. No one directly said so, but I overheard a conversation between the VW folks and Tom that no one really wanted us media types cracking 205, you know, for safety. When the other journalist on site, badass off-road maven Emme Hall went 209 mph in her full pull, those smirks of mild discomfort reappeared amongst the folks from VW.
Tom smiled, as only a builder of race cars could. As they checked over the car, an incredibly thorough, 40-minute process THR went through between every run, I sat under the tent pondering why a front-drive platform really works here: the whole point is to stay straight. Without a big 鈥渓aunch鈥?event at the beginning, you don鈥檛 have to worry much about weight transfer to the rear, and without corners, understeer-mitigation is a moot point. The LSD gets the power to the ground evenly; in the low gears wheelspin overrides torque steer, requiring a mild amount of throttle modulation, and in the higher gears, there is no torque steer at all. In a front-drive car, applying throttle straightens the front end, and here at Bonneville, straightening the front end is, literally, the only thing you want. Even if you somehow got sideways, staying in the throttle is how you鈥檇 straighten it (or, in an emergency, pulling the parachute while staying in the throttle). I lined up again, ready for the (mostly) full beans.
Remember, I had 700 less RPM than the pro. Once the engine warmed to 140 degrees F, I was off. First gear, second gear, third gear, and short-shifted into fourth at 100, fully aware of the fact that I had five miles to play, and needed fewer than three of them to get to the high-180鈥檚. The turbo kicked in at the same 5,000 RPM, but now I had 800 more revs on top. I shifted into fifth at 138, 18 mph faster than before. I crossed the first mile marker at 169 mph as I shifted into sixth. Frankly, up to about 190 mph, the Jetta is as steady and smooth as any supercar I鈥檝e driven. It asks virtually nothing of me besides staying in the throttle and not making any drastic motions. I cross the two-mile mark at 196 mph-7200 RPM in sixth gear, and still going. Now, every rut in the salt feels amplified. I feel a small force, is it wind?
