{"id":61926,"date":"2013-06-14T11:00:24","date_gmt":"2013-06-14T15:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=61926"},"modified":"2013-06-14T07:26:29","modified_gmt":"2013-06-14T11:26:29","slug":"nudging-253-mph-in-a-bugatti-veyron-grand-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2013\/06\/nudging-253-mph-in-a-bugatti-veyron-grand-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Nudging 253 mph in a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport at rest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve driven some really great cars in my lifetime.\u00a0 Ferraris, Bentleys, Porsches, Mercedes \u2013 you name it, and chances are I\u2019ve driven it.\u00a0 That\u2019s the life of an automotive journalist. But my head is still spinning and my heart is still pounding from a recent drive in what can be considered to the <\/em>ultimate automobile, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport.<\/p>\n

It certainly is one of the most expensive, pushing $2 million.\u00a0 And among the most powerful, nudging up towards 1,200 horsepower. And the fastest, pushing to speeds at which large jetliners would long be airborne. And the most exclusive, with production measured in the tens, not tens of thousands.<\/p>\n

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News from a Source You Can Trust!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport is one of those rarities which, when given a chance you make sure to get behind the wheel.\u00a0 But first, a little history.<\/p>\n

The French car company with the Italian name (and now owned by German car company Volkswagen) was founded in 1909 by Ettore Bugatti.\u00a0 Bugatti built some of the world\u2019s most beautiful and successful cars, often raced against his main nemesis, Bentley.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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A Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse shown earlier this year making its land speed record run..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bugattis were built in Molsheim<\/a>, located in the Alsace<\/a> region which was part of the German Empire<\/a> until 1919. The company was known both for the high level of engineering in its automobiles, and for stunning designs. Bugattis enjoyed much success on the racetrack, with driver Jean-Pierre Wimille<\/a> winning the 24 hours of Le Mans<\/a> twice (in 1937 with Robert Benoist<\/a> and 1939 with Pierre Veyron<\/a>, for whom the current Veyron is named after). Early Bugattis were literally rolling works of art, with the most famous including the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Type 41 Royale, the Type 57 Atlantic and the Type 55 sports car.<\/p>\n

Ettore Bugatti’s son, Jean Bugatti, a key figure in the company, died in 1939 while testing a Bugatti, marking a turning point in the company’s fortunes.<\/p>\n

World War II was another turning point, as the Molsheim factory was destroyed during the war. And in 1947, Ettore Bugatti died, and the original incarnation of Bugatti dragged on for just five more years. What was left of the company changed hands several times until it was purchased by The Volkswagen Group in 1998.<\/p>\n

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The distinctive Bugatti W-16 engine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And that is when planning for the ultimate automotive experience began.<\/p>\n

As mentioned earlier, the Veyron line is named after legendary Bugatti driver Pierre Veyron (1903-1970). Veyron models include the Veyron, Super Sport, Vitesse and the subject of this review, the Grand Sport.<\/p>\n

The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport is purpose built for extreme performance. It\u2019s equipped with an 8.0-liter, 16-cylinder motor that produces an astonishing 1001 horsepower (1183 horsepower in the Super Sport and Vitesse).\u00a0 Zero to 60 ticks off in just 2.6 seconds.\u00a0 Top speed is a mind bending 253 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

Since ridiculous propulsion is available in every Veryon model, let\u2019s start with a breakdown of the magnificent Grand Sport engine.\u00a0 The 16-cylinder engine in the Veyron is in an unconventional W-16 configuration. Look at the letter \u201cW\u201d and it really should be called \u201cDouble V.\u201d\u00a0 Essentially, Bugatti merged two V-8 engines with a common crankshaft to create the unusual layout.<\/p>\n

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The Grand Sport heading out for a leisurely drive -- before unleashing its full fury.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Polished intakes just aft of the passenger compartment feed air into the engine. Four turbochargers and four wastegates provide and bleed off boost. \u00a0With all of the power and mechanical complexity, a tremendous amount of heat is generated in the Veyron.\u00a0 To keep things cool, a total of ten radiators and heat exchangers are staged throughout the engine compartment — three engine radiators, one each for the engine oil, transmission oil, differential and air conditioning system, and three heat exchangers for the air-to-liquid intercoolers. In addition, the W-16 has two water cooling circuits, each with a specific task.<\/p>\n

The seven-speed dual clutch transmission is unique, as it has to harness about twice as much torque as a regular sports car transmission. Shifts rattle off with lightning fast speed.<\/p>\n

Okay, we know the Veyron Grand Sport is powerful, but the visceral experience behind the wheel is like no other.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The classic Bugatti logo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it was time to hit the road, a professional race driver hired by Bugatti drove first, to show me what to do and what not to do to when driving such a machine.\u00a0 After \u201cBugatti 101,\u201d I was ready, or at least I thought I was ready to experience 1001 horsepower.\u00a0 He nailed the accelerator and all four of the Veyron\u2019s turbochargers kicked in as if the car was on a mission to the moon.\u00a0 Liftoff!<\/p>\n

The sheer thrust was frightening at first, because I did not expect to leave my stomach back at the starting line. The symphony of quad turbos, quad wastegates and the rush of air to feed the big engine was sweet music. Now, it was my turn behind the wheel.<\/p>\n

I wisely limited my bursts of speed to super quick runs up to 140 mph and then hard on the brakes to keep the local constables from throwing me under the jail for reckless driving. To the left of the dash cluster, a horsepower gauge shows that during steady state cruising, more than 700 additional horsepower is available for rapid acceleration.<\/p>\n

Two modes combine to get you to the Veyron\u2019s top speed. In \u201cnormal\u201d mode, top speed for the Grand Sport is 220 mph. When it reaches 140\u00a0mph, hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 3.5\u00a0inches. At the same time, the rear wing and spoiler deploy, with the wing alone providing some 770\u00a0pound-feet of downforce, helping to hold the car to the road.<\/p>\n

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The Bugatti's center stack.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To reach the magical 253 mph top speed, you insert a special \u201ctop speed\u201d key to the left of the driver’s seat. A checklist then establishes whether the car is ready to make its attempt. As part of the process, the rear spoiler retracts, the front air diffusers shut, and normal 4.9\u00a0inches of ground clearance drops to 2.6\u00a0inches. The front grilles and windshield are specially reinforced to resist bird strikes at triple-digit speeds.<\/p>\n

If you travel this fast, you\u2019d better be able to slow down in a hurry.\u00a0 No worries, as the Grand Sport braking is also impressive, with eight-piston brakes front and six-piston rear clamping massive 15-inch plus rotors. To help slow you from speeds in excess of 120 mph, the rear spoiler deploys upward at a 55 degree angle in less than half a second to become a large air brake. Not only does it slow you down, it looks totally cool when the airbrake deploys.<\/p>\n

Ride quality is surprisingly good.\u00a0 The tires on the Grand Sport are like steamrollers \u2013 very wide.\u00a0 This usually means you feel every pebble on the road.\u00a0 Not so with the Grand Sport, which is quite comfortable to drive at any speed.\u00a0 Cabin fit and finish is excellent, and luxury accoutrements abound.\u00a0 The glass roof panel is removable (two very careful people are needed!), but cannot be stored onboard.\u00a0 If you get caught out in inclement weather, a special portable top stores in the front trunk. The portable top is not rated for top speed though.<\/p>\n

Veyron maintenance costs as one would expect are very, very high.\u00a0 Replacing the special Michelin PAX tires alone will set you back about $30,000. They are the only tire made that\u2019s certified to be used on Bugattis. They last about 10,000 miles, and you can only mount tires twice before you have to buy a new set of wheels at nearly $70,000.\u00a0 The reason is that the wheel bead can be compromised from too many tire changes.\u00a0 Losing tire pressure due to a bad bead at 253 mph would be a disaster.\u00a0 Annual dealership maintenance costs are estimated at more than $21,000 per year.<\/p>\n

Is this the world\u2019s most amazing car?\u00a0 It\u2019s got my vote.\u00a0 At $2 million dollars, it should be special, of course to honor the legacy of Ettore Bugatti.\u00a0 Anything less just simply wouldn\u2019t justify the name.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our reviewers routinely get the chance to drive a wide range of cars, trucks and crossovers. But few are more expensive, more powerful, or faster than the 253 mph Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport TheDetroitBureau.com had the chance to take out recently. Here’s the review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":61928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61926"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61926"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=61926"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=61926"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=61926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}