Wow! 250 MPH In A Car
Or does it make sense? Bugatti, a small car company bankrolled by Volkswagen (VW), has brought out the Veyron 16.4 with a top speed of 248 mph 聳 and the car was tested at the speed on the fastest track Volkswagen could find in Europe! Nowhere else would allow the car to get to that speed and be timed for long enough to say it actually could do this. The previous record for a production car was 242 mph round the Nardo track in Italy 聳 and that required a great deal of skill by the driver to keep the car on the banked track! I guess it is a bit like saying the moon is there so lets go there. The Bugatti Veyron is a very impressive car, powered by a W-16-cylinder 8.0 liter engine developing 1,001 bhp. The 聭4 stands for the four turbochargers needed to boost the engine to that amount of power.
The whole Bugatti project was the idea of Dr Ferdinand Piech, then chairman of the VW Group. He wanted VW to build a car to showcase technology and to move the goal posts so no one could get close. Evidently, during testing this engine was proved to be reliable when producing 1,200 bhp. The car does showcase technology. The engine is similar to the W-12 installed in the Audi A8 and S8, and in turbocharged form in the Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur. The gearbox is also based on VW Group technology. It is a seven-speed sequential box with automatic or manual shifting. It has a dual clutch arrangement so that when you change gear the power continues to be transmitted all the time, one clutch disengaging exactly at the moment the other engages. Stunning technology that really delivers benefits. The same concept is available in six-speed form in the VW Golf, Audi A3 and S3. It is called DSG. Of course, the Bugatti has a special version of this concept, made by Ricardo, a powertrain specialist in the UK.
The Bugatti has a carbon fiber structure, suspension like a racing car, and two large air intakes in the roof to keep that huge engine cool. Of course, the engine is mounted behind the driver and passenger but forward of the rear wheels. Most exotic cars have rear-wheel drive, but the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 has so much power that it has four-wheel drive. Actually, some Audis, including the 450 bhp RS4, and all Lamborghinis - also in the VW Group - now have four-wheel drive. If you are wondering why four-wheel drive is needed, just think about it. With two-wheel drive there would be 500 bhp going through each tire! Most makers of supercars and exotic cars think that 300 bhp per tire is plenty. Ok, so the Bugatti was timed at 248 mph, and reaches 60 mph in less than 3 seconds. Did the other makers of exotic cars give up, and say: 聭Well, we cant match that? No, Pagani, produced the 650 bhp Zonda F with an option of 700 bhp.
Saleen upped the power output of its S7 to 750 bhp, while Ferrari produced a few FXXs with 850 bhp, and Maserati also has a version of the MC-12 developing 750 bhp or so. On the other hand Koenigsegg decided not to pursue the power race for the time being at least. After all its CCR has a 806 bhp engine, and was timed at 242 mph. Instead, Koenigsegg has introduced the CCX which is designed to meet US regulations and is a more practical street machine. Others have decided to go for maximum power including one of the tuners of Porsche 911s. Then, a small British company is introducing a car with a turbocharged 7.0 liter V-8 with a power output of 1,000 bhp. They say that the engine could be tuned to 1,200 bhp. More will follow down this route to madness. Id go for the 500 -600 bhp myself in a car that really handles and is very, very responsive. Like a Pagani Zonda or an Ascari KZ1.
I wanted to have at least one day driving the GTI Autobahn on dry roads. I got my wish, and it messed up everything. The front-wheel-drive GTI Autobahn hatchback, equipped with a 2-liter, turbocharged (forced air), four-cylinder gasoline engine, delivers 210 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. That is a lot of oomph for a compact car with a curb weight (vehicle weight minus passengers and cargo) of 2,972 pounds. I was having so much fun driving the GTI Autobahn, I had no regrets at all leaving Geneva to enjoy some quality time behind its wonderfully-fit-to-hand flat-bottom steering wheel. And then the wet stuff started falling 鈥?the dreaded 鈥渨intry mix,鈥?at first. But there appeared to be no accumulation that would impede the next day鈥檚 driving. I parked the GTI Autobahn and watched a few more weather forecasts, dismissing all of them as alarmist TV reporting. I awakened to a nightmare. How could so much snow (about six inches, according to my unscientific measurement using a school ruler) have fallen so fast? Mary Anne, a Texan who is sometimes insanely energized by snowfalls, tried to shovel the stuff from the sidewalk and driveway.
