Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport

 

Welcome to the fastest production car in the world…and the most expensive. This past summer, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport   set the speed record as the fastest production car in the world going 431 km/h (268 mph), with former race driver Pierre-Henri Raphanel behind the wheel.
Now it was our turn to drive.


The new Veyron is large for a two-seater, measuring 175.7 in. from bumper to bumper, and riding on a 106.7-in. wheelbase. It’s wide and low at 78.7 in. and 46.8 in., respectively. The car looks similar to the base Veyron, but there are subtle differences. On its roof are two NACA ducts that feed air into the engine, and the front of the car has been reshaped to house larger air vents (the lower one extending around the sides to the wheel arch).
The project leader, Frank Gotzke, said that all exterior (and many interior) changes were made for cooling. The major obstacle when creating this super car was to cool the engine, so it could produce the output needed to make this car the fastest production car in the world.
The quad turbocharged W-16 engine produces a remarkable 1200 bhp peaking at 6400 rpm and 1106 lb.-ft. of torque from 3000 to 5000 rpm. Now when you’re talking numbers on this grand of a scale in a production car, you naturally have obstacles. Cooling the engine, as mentioned before, becomes a problem, so Gotzke added larger intercoolers than the ones in the “normal” 1001-bhp Veyron 16.4 to offset the bigger turbos. There are also dedicated coolers for the engine, transmission and differential oils. Another necessity was more powerful fuel pumps to feed the hungry aluminum 16-cylinder powerplant. The carbon-fiber chassis was also strengthened to handle the extra power with a stiffer suspension setup and enhanced structural rigidity. Despite the use of super lightweight materials throughout the car, including carbon fiber for the body and much of the chassis, as well as aluminum, magnesium and titanium for the engine, the Super Sport is quite heavy, tipping the scales at 4044 lb. Gotzke explained that this was intentional because he didn’t want the Super Sport to be seen as a race car for the street whose only mission was to set fast lap times. He wanted the car to be useable everyday, comfortable yet sinister.
True to his word, the car was smooth, quiet and comfortable when I sat behind the steering wheel. When the road opened up, I floored it. As soon as my right foot hit the floor, my torso was violently slammed into the seatback, as if I was struck head on by NFL linebacker Ray Lewis. Everything seemed to go white for a split second before I realized that I was already at the far end of the road. I looked at the speedometer, it showed 270 km/h (169 mph). Behind me, the rear wing had extended, cutting through the air like Superman’s cape and providing downforce to the rear of the car. According to Bugatti, the Super Sport goes from 0-100 km/h (0-61 mph) in 2.5 seconds. From the seat of my pants, it felt a lot quicker. There’s no way a car weighing more than two tons should be able to accelerate this quickly, I thought.
I got off the throttle a bit as a long sweeper materialized in front of me. I touched the brakes and turned in. The car leaned a bit, but the handling balance was near neutral, thanks in part to the 45/55 front/rear weight distribution. The steering felt precise and crisp, and surprisingly light. My co-driver, Raphanel, said that the car will not oversteer unless you do something really stupid, like brake or lift abruptly in mid corner. The balance of the car was set up for mild understeer, but will pull 1.4g around a skidpad, according to the company.
When we reached a small village, I put the car in cruise mode, traveling about 40 mph. The car returned to a mild-mannered Clark Kent, with its flowing red cape tucked neatly away. The seats were comfortable and the cabin was quiet. The fit and finish of the interior were first-rate, and all the materials, including the leather and carbon fiber, were presented in a classy manner. The instrument cluster consisted of the usual tachometer, speedometer, fuel level and oil pressure gauges, but one special meter stood out. It was the horsepower gauge that told how much power was being produced. While the stock Veyron’s maxed out at 1001, the Super Sport’s went all the way up to 1200.
So what does it take to own one of what could be the most collectible car in modern-day history? Money and patience. If you have €1.95 million (that’s $2.7 million) lying around in some xx fund for the black-and-orange World Record Edition (or €1.65 million for the base Super Sport), then you can order now, but it will take about a year for delivery. The factory makes only two Veyrons a week (of all types). If I ever hit it big and have the resources to purchase one, I would in a second, not just because it’s a hoot to drive, but because this will go down in history as the most excessive yet exclusive car ever produced.