Monday, June 27, 2011

Bugatti Veyron: the decline of the myth

The Bugatti Veyron leaves the stage: the French manufacturer announced it had sold the last unit of the 16-cylinder coupe priced at $ 1.7 million to a wealthy European client. The 300th car left the factory in Molsheim, which will be delivered in October, will become coveted by collectors supercar. Marketed since 2005, the Bugatti Veyron put a strain on German engineers (the label founded by Ettore Bugatti belongs to the Volkswagen Group since 1998): coupe presented as the only car that can exceed 400 km/h speed maximum, the first unit was delivered after years of delay, despite the down payment of 300,000 euros paid by future owners.

The problems to be addressed were different: the mighty 16-cylinder engine with 4 turbochargers W (hence the acronym derived 16.4), capable of over 1000 horse power, had some serious overheating problems during testing and also took fire; road handling at high speed was too low (during a demonstration on the track at Laguna Seca American pilot lost control destroying the expensive coupe), the braking system was not up to the mass of the car and, as the last problem, tire wear was too early.

Despite the long series of problems, the Bugatti went on sale through winning several firsts to its performance. The maximum speed recorded is equal to 434 km / h, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is covered in just 2.5 seconds and to reach 300 km/h are 16.7 seconds. Obviously, the primacy of consumption are: crushing to "pad" the Veyron driving less than a mile to the gallon of gasoline! Aficionados of the Veyron are not able to get hold of the exclusive coupe but still have a chance to lead the bolide 1,001 horses, the French plant will continue to produce the version of Grand Sport (chassis number plate, limited edition of 150 units and priced 1.4 million euros), will start production until the new Bugatti Royale.

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