Bugatti Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron: a perfect blend of power and style

You may be a car enthusiast, and if so, you know that within the market of super high end performance luxury cars, nothing compares to the grace and power of a grand tourer (GT). Hand crafted with care to eat up long stretches of road in comfort and at high speed, these cars are truly the best of the best. Yet, even among this elite class, one stands out above its peers. The Bugatti Veyron is a masterful blend of art and muscle, with the Super Sport edition being the fastest street legal production vehicle in the world, hitting an incredible top speed of just over 267 miler per hour. How then did this triumph of engineering come to be?

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 was originally designed by the Volkswagen Group, and is now produced in Alsace, France by the Bugatti Automobiles group. You won't see a hint of mass production there, however, as each vehicle is crafted slowly and with skill by a team of master mechanics. With an incredible 1,000 horsepower at the wheels, the Bugatti overpowers the competition, producing such awesome numbers thanks to its 16 cylinder motor. Featuring a totally unique configuration, these cylinders are driven using only four camshafts to move the staggering sixty-four valves which feed the Bugatti its mechanical might. The brainchild of the Veyron's head designer, Hartmut Warkuss, it boasts a displacement of 487 cubic inches, and with the included four turbochargers, the Bugatti's engine is certainly a sight to behold. An engine of this magnitude throws off an unprecedented amount of heat, and the Bugatti Veyron needs the use of ten radiators to effectively cool itself - with three radiators being employed to cool the engine alone. Other specialty radiators include a dedicated unit for cooling the engine oil, as well as another for the transmission fluid.

All of this horsepower is transferred to the wheels using a dual-clutch system controlled by the use of the magnesium shifting paddles. This allows for lightning fast shift speeds, and this is only possible through the use of highly specialized computers to oversea the gearing ratios. Once the transmission does its job, all that power turns the state of the art wheels with the Haldex Traction system. These tires are so specialized, that they can only be serviced at the factory itself. Truly, this is a one of kind, elite machine.

With this level of detail devoted to the mechanics of the Bugatti Veyron, you may wonder if the same care was given to the its exterior appearance. In a word, yes. The company has kept the vision of its founder, Ettore Bugatti, alive in this vehicle. Hailing from a long line of artists, Ettore's goal was to wed intricate mechanics with unrivaled style. The Bugatti has achieved this stunningly, with every design element adding an increase in performance as well. Hidden within the sleek profile are the roof mounted cooling ducts, and the car comes to a point at a rear positioned hydraulic spoiler. Truly, the Bugatti Veyron is without rival in the world of performance machines.