Bugatti history

Manufacturer
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.
Production
2005–2011 (Veyron 16.4)
2009–present (Grand Sport)
2010–present (Super Sport)
Assembly
Molsheim , Alsace, France
Designer
Jozef Kaban[1]
Body and chassis
Class
Sports car
Body style
2-door coupé (16.4, Super Sport)
2-door targa top (Grand Sport)
Layout
Longitudinal mid-engine , permanent all wheel
drive
Powertrain
Engine
Standard (Coupe), Grand Sport (Roadster):
8.0 L (488 cu in) W16 quad- turbocharged
1,001 PS (736 kW ; 987 bhp )[2]
Super Sport (Coupe), Grand Sport Vitesse
(Roadster):
1,200 PS (883 kW ; 1,184 bhp) [2][3]
Transmission
7-speed DSG sequential
Dimensions
Wheelbase
2,710 mm (106.7 in)
Length
4,462 mm (175.7 in)
Width
1,998 mm (78.7 in)
Height
1,159 mm (45.6 in)
Kerb weight
1,888 kg (4,162 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor
Bugatti EB110
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined
sports car , designed and developed by the
Volkswagen Group and manufactured in
Molsheim, France by Bugatti Automobiles
S.A.S.
The Super Sport version of the Veyron is the
fastest street-legal production car in the
world, with a top speed of 431.072 km/h
(267.856 mph). [4] The original version has a
top speed of 408.47 km/h (253.81 mph). [5] It
was named Car of the Decade (2000–2009) by
the BBC television programme Top Gear. The
standard Bugatti Veyron won Top Gear' s Best
Car Driven All Year award in 2005.
On 6 April 2013, Bugatti set the record for
having the highest top speed of any roadster in
the world with the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse,
reaching on average a top speed of 408.84
km/h (254.04 mph). [6][7]
The Veyron's chief designer was Hartmut
Warkuss, and the exterior was designed by
Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen, with much of the
engineering work being conducted under the
guidance of engineering chief Wolfgang
Schreiber.
A number of special variants have been
produced. In December 2010, Bugatti began
offering prospective buyers the ability to
customize exterior and interiors colours by
using the Veyron 16.4 Configurator application
on the marque's official website. [8][9]
Origin of the car
In 1998, the Volkswagen Group purchased the
trademark rights on the former car
manufacturer Bugatti in order to revive the
brand. [10] Starting with the Bugatti EB118 ,
they presented at various international auto
shows a total of four 18-cylinder concept cars.
At the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show, the first study
of the Veyron was presented. [11] At the time,
the name of the concept car was "Bugatti
Veyron EB 18.4," and it was equipped with a
3-bank W 18-cylinder engine instead of the 2-
bank W 16-cylinder engine of the production
version. While the three previous prototypes
had been styled by Giugiaro, the Veyron was
designed by the Volkswagen stylists.
The decision to start production of the car was
taken by the Volkswagen Group in 2001. The
first roadworthy prototype was completed in
August 2003. It is identical except for a few
details to the later series variant. In the
development to series production, however,
considerable technical problems had to be
addressed, so that the start of production was
delayed repeatedly, until September 2005. [12]
Name origin
The Veyron EB 16.4 is named in honour of
Pierre Veyron, a Bugatti development engineer,
test driver and company race driver who, with
co-driver Jean-Pierre Wimille, won the 1939
24 hours of Le Mans while driving a Bugatti.
[13] The "EB" refers to Bugatti founder Ettore
Bugatti and the "16.4" refers to the engine's
16 cylinders and four turbochargers.[14]
World record controversy
At the beginning of April 2013, driving.co.uk
(also known as Sunday Times Driving) began an
investigation following claims from US car
maker Hennessey that its 928 kW (1,244 bhp)
Hennessey Venom GT was the new world’s
fastest production car , taking the crown from
the Guinness World Record-holding Bugatti
Veyron Super Sport. With a recorded speed of
427.6 km/h (265.7 mph) the Hennessey was
3.4 km/h (2.1 mph) slower than the Veyron
but Hennessey dismissed Bugatti’s official
record saying that the Veyron Super Sport was
restricted to 415 km/h (258 mph) in
production form and that for it to achieve its
record top speed of 431.0 km/h (267.8 mph),
the car used was in a state of tune not
available to customers. Hennessey said its
Venom GT, on the other hand, was road-ready
and unmodified and was therefore a
production car in the strict sense of the term.
[15] There is also contention about whether
the Hennessey Venom GT is in fact a "series-
production" car as it can only be registered
for road use in the US as a (modified) Lotus
Exige.
Driving.co.uk requested clarification from
Guinness World Records, which investigated
this claim and found that indeed the
modification was against the official guidelines
of the record. Upon finding this, Guinness
World Records voided the Super Sport's record
and announced it was "reviewing this category
with expert external consultants to ensure our
records fairly reflect achievements in this
field." [16]
After further review, SSC, the producers of the
Ultimate Aero TT, said that they had reclaimed
the record. [17] However Guinness World
Records later said they had reinstated the
Super Sport's record, after coming to the
conclusion that "a change to the speed limiter
does not alter the fundamental design of the
car or its engine." [18]
Bugatti Veyron (2005–2011)
Specifications and performance
The Veyron's quad-turbocharged W16 engine
The Veyron features an 8.0-litre, quad-
turbocharged, W16 cylinder engine, equivalent
to two narrow-angle V8 engines. Each cylinder
has four valves for a total of 64, but the VR8
configuration of each bank allows two
overhead camshafts to drive two banks of
cylinders so only four camshafts are needed.
The engine is fed by four turbochargers and
displaces 7,993 cubic centimetres (487.8 cu in)
, with a square 86 by 86 mm (3.39 by 3.39 in)
bore and stroke.
First U.S. Bugatti Veyron on display in April
2006
The transmission is a dual-clutch direct-shift
gearbox computer-controlled automatic with
seven gear ratios , with magnesium paddles
behind the steering wheel and a shift time of
less than 150 milliseconds, built by Ricardo of
England rather than Borg-Warner , who
designed the six speed DSG used in the
mainstream Volkswagen Group marques. The
Veyron can be driven in either semi-automatic
or fully automatic mode. A replacement
transmission for the Veyron costs just over US
$120,000. [19] It also has permanent all-wheel
drive using the Haldex Traction system. It uses
special Michelin PAX run-flat tyres , designed
specifically to accommodate the Veyron's top
speed, and cost US$25,000 per set. [19] The
tyres can be mounted on the rims only in
France, a service which costs US$70,000. [19]
Kerb weight is 1,888 kilograms (4,162 lb). [20]
This gives the car a power-to-weight ratio,
according to Volkswagen Group's figures, of
530 PS (390 kW ; 523 bhp) per ton.
The car's wheelbase is 2,710 mm (106.7 in).
Overall length is 4,462 mm (175.7 in) which
gives 1,752.6 mm (69.0 in) of overhang. The
width is 1,998 mm (78.7 in) and height 1,204
mm (47.4 in). The Bugatti Veyron has a total of
ten radiators: [21]
3 heat exchangers for the air-to-liquid
intercoolers.
3 engine radiators.
1 for the air conditioning system.
1 transmission oil radiator.
1 differential oil radiator.
1 engine oil radiator
It has a drag coefficient of C d =0.41 (normal
condition) and C d=0.36 (after lowering to the
ground), [22] and a frontal area of 2.07 m2
(22.3 sq ft). [23] This gives it a drag area, the
product of drag coefficient and frontal area, of
C dA =0.74 m2 (8.0 sq ft).
Engine output
According to Volkswagen Group and certified
by TÜV Süddeutschland, the final production
Veyron engine produces 1,001 metric
horsepower (736 kW ; 987 bhp ) of motive
power , and generates 1,250 newton metres
(922 lbf·ft ) of torque. [2][24] The nominal
figure has been stated by Bugatti officials to be
conservative, with the real total being 1,020
metric horsepower (750 kW ; 1,006 bhp).
Top speed
German inspection officials recorded an
average top speed of the original version of
408.47 km/h (253.81 mph) [5] during test
sessions on the Ehra-Lessien test track on 19
April 2005.
This top speed was verified by James May on
Top Gear in November 2006, again at
Volkswagen Group's private Ehra-Lessien test
track. May noted that at top speed the engine
consumes 45,000 litres (9,900 imp gal) of air
per minute (as much as a human breathes in
four days). The Veyron at the time had the
highest top speed of any street legal
production car. Back in the Top Gear studio,
co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson commented that
most supercars felt like they were shaking
apart at their top speed, and asked May if that
was the case with the Veyron at 407 km/h (253
mph). May responded that no, the Veyron was
very controlled, and only wobbled a tiny bit
when the air brake deployed. [25]
The car's everyday top speed is listed at 343
km/h (213 mph). When the car reaches 220
km/h (140 mph), hydraulics lower the car unti