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The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a

mid-engine In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

, designed and developed in Germany by the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

and Bugatti and manufactured in

Molsheim Molsheim () is a commune and a subprefecture in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.

, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver

Pierre Veyron Pierre Veyron (1 October 1903 – 2 November 1970) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver active from 1933 through 1953. Career Pierre Veyron enrolled at university to study engineering. Veyron's friend, Albert Divo, convinced Veyron to tak ...

. The original version has a top speed of . It was named the 2000s Car of the Decade by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

television programme ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

''. The standard Veyron also won ''Top Gear''s Best Car Driven All Year award in 2005. The Super Sport version of the Veyron is one of the fastest street-legal production cars in the world, with a top speed of . The Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse was the fastest roadster in the world, reaching an averaged top speed of in a test on 6 April 2013. The Veyron's chief designer was

Hartmut Warkuß Hartmut is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Hartmut of Saint Gall (died 905), Benedictine abbot * Hartmut Bagger (born 1938), retired German general of the Bundeswehr * Hartmut Becker (born 1938), German actor * Hartmut Boockma ...

and the exterior was designed by

Jozef Kabaň Jozef Kabaň (born 4 January 1973) is a Slovak automobile designer. He started his career as a designer at Volkswagen. In 2003 he moved to Audi as an exterior design assistant. In 2007 he advanced to the position of Chief of Exterior Design at Au ...

of Volkswagen, with much of the engineering work being conducted under the guidance of chief technical officer Wolfgang Schreiber. The Veyron includes a sound system designed and built by

Burmester Audiosysteme Burmester Audiosysteme GmbH, commonly referred to as Burmester, is a German manufacturer of high-end audio components. The company is based in Berlin-Schöneberg and was founded in 1977 by an Austrian-born musician and engineer Dieter Burmester (1 ...

. Several special variants have been produced. In December 2010, Bugatti began offering prospective buyers the ability to customise exterior and interior colours by using the ''Veyron 16.4 Configurator'' application on the marque's official website. The Bugatti Veyron was discontinued in late 2014, but special edition models continued to be produced until 2015.

Origins

In May 1998,

Volkswagen AG Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

acquired the rights to use the Bugatti logo and the trade name Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. To succeed the EB 110 model produced under the previous ownership, the automaker quickly released a series of concept cars whose technological advancements would culminate in the form of the Veyron 16.4. Between October 1998 and September 1999, Bugatti introduced a series of

Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...

-designed concept vehicles, each with

permanent four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

and powered by the Volkswagen-designed W18 engine. The first car, the EB 118, was a 2-door luxury coupé presented at the 1998

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...

. The next car, the EB218, was a 4-door saloon presented at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show. The third and final car, the 18/3 Chiron, was a

presented at the 1999 International Motor Show in Frankfurt. In October 1999, Bugatti unveiled a fourth

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

at the

Tokyo Motor Show The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show ...

. The EB 18/4 Veyron was a

sports car styled in-house under the direction of Hartmut Warkuß. In 2000, a modified version, the EB 16/4 Veyron, was displayed at motor shows in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Geneva, and Paris. Rather than the three-bank W18 engine of the four previous concept cars, the EB 16/4 featured the four-bank W16 engine architecture installed in every production example of the Veyron. The decision to start production of the car was made by the Volkswagen Group in 2001. The first roadworthy prototype was completed in August 2003. It is identical to the later series variant, except for a few details. In the transition from development to series production, considerable technical problems had to be addressed, repeatedly delaying production until September 2005. The Veyron EB 16.4 is named in honor of

, a Bugatti development engineer, test driver and company race driver who, with co-driver

Jean-Pierre Wimille Jean-Pierre Wimille (26 February 1908 – 28 January 1949) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. Biography Born in Paris, France to a father who loved motor sports and was employed as t ...

, won the

1939 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans () was the 16th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place at Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, on 17 and 18 June 1939. The 1939 programme cover depicted the raising of six nations' flags: France, Italy, Great Br ...

while driving a Bugatti. The "EB" refers to Bugatti founder

Ettore Bugatti Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (15 September 1881 – 21 August 1947) was an Italian-born French automobile designer and manufacturer. He is remembered as the founder and proprietor of the automobile manufacturing company Automobiles E. Bugatti, wh ...

and the "16.4" refers to the engine's 16 cylinders and quad-

turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

Bugatti Veyron (2005–2011)

Specifications and performance

The Veyron features an 8.0-litre, quad-turbocharged, W16 cylinder engine, equivalent to two narrow-angle

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...

s bolted together. Each cylinder has four valves for a total of 64, but the configuration of each bank allows two

overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

s to drive two banks of cylinders so only four camshafts are needed. The engine is fed by four

s and displaces , with a square bore and stroke. The transmission is a

dual-clutch A dual-clutch transmission (DCT) (sometimes referred to as a twin-clutch transmission) is a type of multi-speed vehicle transmission system, that uses two separate clutches for odd and even gear sets. The design is often similar to two separat ...

direct-shift computer-controlled

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...

having seven

gear ratio A gear train is a mechanical system formed by mounting gears on a frame so the teeth of the gears engage. Gear teeth are designed to ensure the Pitch circle diameter (gears), pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each other without slipping, pr ...

s, with

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

paddles behind the steering wheel and a shift time of less than 150 milliseconds, built by

Ricardo Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

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 . It also has

permanent all-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

using the

Haldex Traction Haldex Traction is a manufacturer of intelligent all-wheel drive (AWD) systems, founded in Sweden. Since invention of Gen I in 1998, the company produced several generations of products licensed to and customized for some major automotive brands, ...

system. It uses special Michelin

PAX Pax or PAX may refer to: Peace * Peace (Latin: ''pax'') ** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace ** Pax, a truce term * Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services * Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly ki ...

run-flat tyres, designed specifically to accommodate the Veyron's top speed, and cost per set. The tyres can be mounted on the wheels only in France, a service which costs . Kerb weight is . This gives the car a power-to-weight ratio, according to Volkswagen Group's figures, of per ton. The car's wheelbase is . Overall length is which gives of overhang. The width is and height . The Bugatti Veyron has a total of ten radiators: *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 (normal condition) and (after lowering to the ground), and a frontal area of . This gives it a drag area, the product of

drag coefficient In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag e ...

and frontal area, of .

Engine power output

According to Volkswagen Group and certified by TÜV Süddeutschland, the W16 engine utilised by the Veyron has a power output of , and generates of torque.

Top speed

German inspection officials recorded an average top speed of the original version at during test sessions on Volkswagen Group's private Ehra-Lessien test track on 19 April 2005. This top speed was almost matched by

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...

on ''

'' in November 2006, at the Ehra-Lessien test track, at . May noted that at top speed the engine consumes of air per minute (as much as a human breathes in four days). Back in the ''Top Gear'' studio, co-presenter

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...

commented that most sports cars felt like they were shaking apart at their top speed, and asked May if that was the case with the Veyron at . May responded that the Veyron was very controlled, and only wobbled slightly when the air brake deployed. The car's normal top speed is listed at . When the car reaches , hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about . At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy. In this ''handling mode'', the wing provides of downforce, holding the car to the road. ''Top speed mode'' must be entered while the vehicle is at rest. Its driver must toggle a special top speed key to the left of their seat, which triggers a checklist to establish whether the car and its driver are ready to attempt to reach . If so, the rear spoiler retracts, the front air diffusers shut, and normal ground clearance drops to .

Braking

The Veyron's brakes use cross drilled, radially vented carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composite discs, manufactured by

SGL Carbon SGL Carbon SE is a European company based in Germany. It is one of the world's leading manufacturers of products from carbon. With 31 production sites around the globe (17 in Europe, 9 in North America and 5 in Asia), and a service network in ov ...

, which have less

brake fade Vehicle braking system fade, or brake fade, is the reduction in stopping power that can occur after repeated or sustained application of the brakes, especially in high load or high speed conditions. Brake fade can be a factor in any vehicle that ...

and weigh less than standard cast iron discs. The lightweight aluminium alloy monobloc brake calipers are made by

AP Racing Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy. History Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...

; the front have eight

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

pistons and the rear calipers have six pistons. Bugatti claims maximum deceleration of 1.3 g on road tyres. As an added safety feature, in the event of brake failure, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) has also been installed on the handbrake. Prototypes have been subjected to repeated 1.0 g braking from to without fade. With the car's acceleration from to , that test can be performed every 22 seconds. At speeds above , the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, snapping to a 55° angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are applied, providing an additional 0.68 g (6.66 m/s²) of deceleration (equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback). Bugatti claims the Veyron will brake from to a standstill in less than 10 seconds, though distance covered in this time will be half a kilometre (third of a mile).

Special editions

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport (2009–2015)

The

targa top Targa top, or targa for short, is a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The term was first used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, and it remains a registered trademark of Porsc ...

version of the Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4, dubbed the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, was unveiled at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It has extensive reinforcements to compensate for the lack of a standard roof and small changes to the windshield and running lights. Two removable tops are included, the second a temporary arrangement fashioned after an umbrella. The top speed with the hardtop in place is the same as the standard coupé version, but with the roof removed is limited to —and to with the temporary soft roof. The Grand Sport edition was limited to 150 units, with the first 50 going exclusively to registered Bugatti customers. Production began in the second quarter of 2009.

Special editions

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, World Record Edition (2010–2011)

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is a faster, more powerful version of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. Production was limited to 30 units. The Super Sport has increased engine power output of at 6,400 rpm and a maximum torque of at 3,000–5,000 rpm and a revised aerodynamic package. The Super Sport has been driven as fast as , making it the fastest production road car in the world at the time of its introduction although it is electronically limited to to protect the tyres from disintegrating. The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport World Record Edition is a version of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 SuperSport. It is limited to five units. It has an orange body detailing, orange wheels, and a special black exposed carbon body. The electronic limiter is also removed with this version. The model was unveiled in 2010 at The Quail, followed by the 2010 Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca, and the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Top Speed World Record

On 4 July 2010,

, a television presenter on BBC Two's television show ''

'', drove the Veyron Super Sport on Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien (near

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

, Germany) high-speed test track at . Later that day, Bugatti's official test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel drove the Super Sport version of the Veyron at the same track to establish the car's top speed. With representatives of the Guinness Book of Records and German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) on hand, Raphanel made passes around the big oval in both directions achieving an average maximum speed of , thus taking back the title from the SSC Ultimate Aero TT as the fastest production vehicle of all time. The mark was reached by averaging the Super Sport's two test runs, the first reaching and the second . When the record was certified it was already well known to the public that the customer car would be electronically limited to . Yet, after a query by the ''Sunday Times'' Guinness' PR director Jaime Strang was quoted on 5 April 2013: "As the car's speed limiter was deactivated, this modification was against the official guidelines. Consequently, the vehicle's record set at 431.072 km/h is no longer valid." On 10 April 2013, it was written on its website: "Guinness World Records would like to confirm that Bugatti's record has not been disqualified; the record category is currently under review." On 15 April 2013, Bugatti's speed record was confirmed: "Following a thorough review conducted with a number of external experts, Guinness World Records is pleased to announce the confirmation of Bugatti's record of Fastest production car achieved by the Veyron 16.4 SuperSport. The focus of the review was with respect to what may constitute a modification to a car's standard specification. Having evaluated all the necessary information, Guinness World Records is now satisfied that a change to the speed limiter does not alter the fundamental design of the car or its engine."

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse (2012–2015)

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse is a targa top version of the Veyron Super Sport. The engine in the Vitesse variant has a maximum power output of at 6,400 rpm and a maximum torque of at 3,000–5,000 rpm. These figures allow the car to accelerate from a stand still to in 2.6 seconds. On normal roads, the Vitesse is electronically limited to . The Vitesse was first unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and later at the 2012

Beijing Auto Show Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, Beijing Motor Show or Auto China () is an auto show held biennially in Beijing, China since 1990. China is currently the largest auto market in the world. 2020 The 2020 Auto China show was due to open o ...

and the 2012 São Paulo Motor Show.

Special editions

A number of special editions of the Vitesse were made: * The World Record Car (WRC) Edition was limited to 8 units, debuted in 2013, and went on sale for . In 2013, Bugatti produced a series of Vitesse dedicated to racing legends, including

Jean Bugatti Jean Bugatti (15 January 1909 – 11 August 1939) was an automotive designer and test engineer for Bugatti. He was the son of Bugatti's founder Ettore Bugatti. Biography Born Gianoberto Maria Carlo Bugatti in Cologne, he was the eldest son ...

Meo Costantini Bartolomeo "Meo" Costantini (14 February 1889 in Vittorio Veneto – 19 July 1941 in Milan) was an Italian aviator and racing car driver, known for being the sporting manager of the Bugatti car manufacturer. Military service He joined the Italo ...

, and

All six models in the Legend series are limited to three vehicles:

Records

A Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse driven by the Chinese racing driver Anthony Liu at Volkswagen Group's proving grounds in Ehra-Lessien became the fastest open-top production sports car, with a top speed of . After the world record attempt, Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber, President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S, said "When we introduced the Vitesse, we established the top speed for open-top driving to be 375 km/h. Still, we could not let go of the idea of reaching the 400 km/h mark with this car as well. The fact that we have succeeded in reaching 408.84 km/h is a thrill for me, and it reaffirms once again that Bugatti is the leader when it comes to technology in the international automotive industry." The driver, Anthony Liu, claimed "Even at such high speeds it remained incredibly comfortable and stable. With an open-top, you can really experience the sound of the engine and yet even at higher speeds I did not get compromised by the wind at all."

Specifications (all variants)

Special editions by car tuners

Bugatti Veyron Linea Vincero

The Bugatti Veyron Linea Vincero is a Veyron 16.4 modified by the German car modification firm

Mansory Mansory is a luxury car modification firm based in Brand, Germany. Besides luxury cars, they also work on supercars, luxury SUVs and custom bikes. The company was founded in 1989 by Iranian-British tuner Kourosh Mansory. His Munich-based worksh ...

. The Linea Vincero has new wheel rims and new exterior lower bodywork. It extensively uses carbon fibre in the interior and exterior as well. This car, with its interior and exterior customisations, is worth US$1 million more than a standard Veyron 16.4.

Bugatti Veyron Linea D'oro

The Bugatti Veyron Linea D'oro is a car made on the basis of the Veyron Grand Sport and the 16.4 by the German car modification firm

. The D'oro's exterior design is identical to its predecessor's but it has a few differences such as the gold paint on the badge, rims and other features. The iconic "V" shaped badge is also present on this car's front grille.

Bugatti Veyron Linea Viviere

Mansory Kitted Cars at Geneva 2014 (Ank Kumar) 04

The Bugatti Veyron Linea Viviere (commonly known as the Mansory Viviere) is a car made on the basis of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport by the German car modification firm

. This car's exterior design features the iconic "V" shaped front grille and an additional exhaust system below its rear lights. The interior has been handcrafted and carbon fibre has been extensively used. This car has a second generation known as the Viviere Diamond Edition which has been made on the same basis. This car is the final Veyron Edition tuned by Mansory and has a marble coloured exterior paintwork. The Bugatti Veyron Linea Viviere costs US$2.3 million, making it one of the most expensive Veyrons ever produced.

Production

, 405 cars have been produced and delivered to customers worldwide, with orders that have already been placed for another 30. Bugatti was reported to produce 300 coupés and 150 roadsters up to the end of 2015. Production amounted to 450 units in a span of over 10 years. The final production vehicle, a Grand Sport Vitesse titled "La Finale" (The Last One), was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show from 5–15 March 2015.

Future development

In 2008, Bugatti then-CEO Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen confirmed that the Veyron would be replaced by another high-end model by 2012. In 2011, the new CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer revealed that the company was planning to produce two models in the future — one a sports car-successor to the Veyron, the other a limousine known as the Bugatti 16C Galibier, which was later cancelled since Bugatti was later then working on a successor to the Veyron, which became the

Bugatti Chiron The Bugatti Chiron is a mid-engine two-seater sports car designed and developed in Germany by Bugatti Engineering GmbH and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. The successor to the B ...

. The successor to the Veyron was unveiled in concept form as the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo at the September 2015

Frankfurt Motor Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...

. A toned-down version of the radically styled Vision Gran Turismo concept car, now called the

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...

, debuted at the March 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Production started in 2017 and will be limited to 500 units.

Sales

# The last Veyron, N^o. 450 was sold in May 2014.

Reception

''Top Gear''

All three former presenters of the popular BBC motoring show ''

'' have given the Veyron considerable praise. While initially skeptical that the Veyron would ever be produced,

later declared the Veyron "the greatest car ever made and the greatest car we will ever see in our lifetime", comparing it to

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

and S.S. ''Great Britain''. He noted that the production cost of a Veyron was , but was sold to customers for just .

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

designed the car merely as a technical exercise.

described the Veyron as "our Concorde moment". Clarkson test drove the Veyron from

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingdom ...

in northern Italy to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in a race against May and Richard Hammond who made the journey in a

Cessna 182 The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area. Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a ...

aeroplane. A few episodes later, May drove the Veyron at the VW test track and took it to its top speed of . In series 10, Hammond raced the Veyron against the

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

and lost. He also raced the car in Series 13 against a

McLaren F1 The McLaren F1 is a sports car designed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Cars, and powered by the BMW S70/2 V12 engine. The original concept was conceived by Gordon Murray. Murray was able to convince Ron Dennis to ...

driven by

The Stig The Stig is a character from the British motoring television show '' Top Gear''. Created by former ''Top Gear'' presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman, the character is a play on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, ...

in a one-mile (1.6 km) drag race in Abu Dhabi. The commentary focused on Bugatti's "amazing technical achievement" versus the "non-gizmo" racing purity of the F1. While the F1 was quicker off the line and remained ahead until both cars were travelling at approximately , the Bugatti overtook its competitor from and emerged the victor. Hammond has stated that he did not use the Veyron's launch control in order to make the race more interesting. The Veyron also won the award for "Car of the Decade" in ''Top Gear'' end of 2010 award show. Clarkson commented, "It was a car that just rewrote the rule book really, an amazing piece of engineering, a genuine Concorde moment". When the standard version was tested in 2008, it did not reach the top of the lap time leader board, with a time of 1:18.3, which was speculated as being due to the car's considerable weight disadvantage against the other cars towards the top. In 2010 the SuperSport version achieved the fastest ever time of 1:16.8 (dethroned the Gumpert Apollo S, replaced by the

Ariel Atom V8 The Ariel Atom is a street-legal vehicle, road-legal high performance open-wheel car made by the British Ariel Motor Company based in Crewkerne, Somerset, England, and under license in North America by TMI Autotech, Inc. at Virginia Internatio ...

in 2011), as well as being taken to a verified average top speed of by Raphanel on the programme, thenceforth retaking its position as the fastest production car in the world.

Martin Roach

In 2011, Martin Roach's book ''Bugatti Veyron: A Quest for Perfection – The Story of the Greatest Car in the World'' took the stance that the car had now become so famous that it is effectively a bona fide celebrity. The book follows its author as he attempts to track down and drive the car, along the way interviewing chief designers, test drivers, and the president of Bugatti.

Gordon Murray

During its development period

designer

Gordon Murray Ian Gordon Murray (born 18 June 1946 in Durban, Union of South Africa), is a South African-born British designer of Formula One racing cars and the McLaren F1 road car. He is the founder and CEO of Gordon Murray Automotive. Early life Born t ...

said in UK auto magazine '' Evo'': "The most pointless exercise on the planet has got to be this four-wheel-drive, thousand-horsepower Bugatti." But after driving it he called it "a huge achievement". Murray was impressed with the Veyron's engine and transmission after he test drove one for '' Road & Track'' magazine. He also praised its styling: "The styling is a wonderful mélange of classic curves and mechanical edges and elements — this should ensure that the car will still look good years from now, and therefore have a chance of becoming a future classic."

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=September 2019 Veyron Rear mid-engine, all-wheel-drive vehicles Grand tourers Roadsters 2010s cars Cars introduced in 2005 Flagship vehicles

Origins

Bugatti Veyron (2005–2011)

Specifications and performance

Engine power output

Top speed

Braking

Special editions

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport (2009–2015)

Special editions

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, World Record Edition (2010–2011)

Top Speed World Record

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse (2012–2015)

Special editions

Records

Specifications (all variants)

Special editions by car tuners

Bugatti Veyron Linea Vincero

Bugatti Veyron Linea D'oro

Bugatti Veyron Linea Viviere

Production

Future development

Sales

Reception

''Top Gear''

Martin Roach

Gordon Murray

See also

References

External links