| The Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron was named after the last man to win the Le Mans 24-hour race in a Bugatti, Pierre Veyron. Bugatti wanted to build a street car that would have the world's most powerful engine with possibly a 4-digit horse power figure and be the world's fastest car at over 400 km/h. The result is a sleek, exciting sports car promising enormous power from an all-aluminium 7993 cc W16 engine mounted longitudinally ahead of the rear axle on a separate aluminium subframe and running four KKK turbochargers producing 987 bhp at 6000 rpm. The top speed is estimated to be 252 mph (406 km/h), although owners wanting to test this for themselves will have to contact the factory who will dispatch a mechanic to check the car over, fit high-speed tyres and remove the electronic speed limiter especially for the purpose. Zero to 186 mph should take just fourteen seconds. The Veyron's 7-speed sequential gearbox is unique in that it boasts a dual clutch transmission whereby one clutch controls gears one, three, five and seven whilst the other controls gears two, four and six, the result being a constant surge of power when accelerating. Special run-flat capability Michelin PAX tyres in 265 front and 365 rear, the largest tyre sizes ever fitted to a production car, are mounted on 20.5" (520 mm) diameter 12-spoke wheels. The car's external colours "rouge and ventoux noir" (red and black) are those originally applied to the 1937 T57 Bugatti. |
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