Lets talk about the more well known and costly beast first, the Bugatti Veyron. Its manufacturer is Bugatti Automobiles SAS whose parent company is none other than Volkswagen Group AG. I was surprised to know that at first because Volkswagen is known for the cute Beetle and the classy Jetta and Passat rather than bloodthirsty 1000 odd bhp wielding monsters.
History tells us that its named after Pierre Veyron who won the 24 hour le mans race in 1939 for the original Bugatti company, one lucky guy. There have been a number of different versions, mostly different externally rather than under the hood but its unnecessary to talk about their features and specs. The main news is that the Grand Sport will replace all other models of the past. It can reach 408kmph with hardtop, a meager 367 kmph with no roof and paltry 130 kmph with temporary soft top. The first of these was auctioned for Rs. 13crore+..
Lets now talk about what we like the most, specs.
8000cc W 16 DOHC 64V Quad Turbo charged petrol engine with 7993cc displacement
987 bhp
1250 nm torque
Seven gear DSG
446.3 bhp/tonne
3.44 kmpl in city driving
1.28 kmpl at top speed driving
Top speed 408.5kmph
0-100 2.5 secs
0-300 16.7 secs
0-400 50 secs
Four wheel drive
100 Liter fuel tank
base model price Rs. 6 crore+
Pheewww!! So these are the 'regular' specs of this car, now lets talk about some irregular (read crazy as hell) specs.
The engine used is a W 16 engine which is functionally two narrow angle V8's matted in a W configuration, but finding a W 16 engine is quite rare, the closest is the Cadillac Sixteen concept(V 16) and the Bentley Flying Spur (W 12), which essentially means this is the only production, street legal W 16 in the world.
So much power going to the four wheels has to be controlled in some way, an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ensures necessary flexibility and maneuverability at any speed, easy to write, but what is behind this technology is even beyond imagine.
Even with such technology, a car going at 400+ kmph has a wee bit higher probability of crashing than the regular ones at 100, so these perfectionist maniacs at Bugatti installed a F1 safety concept to reduce risk of injuries in accidents.
It has a total of 10 radiators, that is why its so hot!!
Take a look at these
0-100 2.5
100 - 0 2.3400-0 in less than 10secs.
Thanks to its Carbon Fiber Reinforced Silicon Carbide brakes, this thing slows down faster than it climbs the speedo up, an amazing feat.
At is top speed of 408.5 kmph, the fuel lasts for only 12 odd minutes, the tyres last for only 4 minutes though..
If you thought there was any dearth of crazy heads, listen to this. Mansory, a german tuner, gets a brand new Veyron, tunes it to make 1,094 hp and 1,310 Nm with modifications to the car's cold air induction system and exhaust and names it the Linea Vincero. There are some cosmetic changes too, both inside and out, but anyway how can you even imagine to make the best better?? Maniacs..
If you thought that driving Veyron to its top speed needs only a straight track and the fuel, think again. The driver must, using a special key (the "Top Speed Key"), toggle the lock in order to attain the maximum speed of 408 km/h. The key functions only when the vehicle is at a stop, when a checklist then establishes whether the car—and its driver—are ready to enable 'top speed' mode. If all systems are go, the rear spoiler retracts, the front air diffusers shut and the ground clearance, normally 12.5 centimetres (4.9 in), drops to 6.5 centimetres (2.6 in). Sounds like some sci fi flick.
Again, if you thought only buying this drool maal was costly, think again. The cost of its first service is Rs. 10 lac+, yes thats what you read. Every 4000kms the custom made Michelin tires need to be changed, and they cost Rs 4.5 lac+ a set. The cost to extend its warranty for 2 yrs is Rs 46 lac +.. No wonder ambani's and bacchhan's do with Bentleys and Phantoms.
After this beast, lets focus on another one of this kind, the SSC Ultimate Aero. Its manufactured by Shelby Super Cars, an amercan company. They too are nothing less than total maniacs as suggested by their tagline, Life Begins At 250. Now here 250 isn't referring to 250kmph, its 250mph that converts to 400kmph, cool. Now lets take a deeper look at this marauder, which the comany says took 7 yrs to design..
Under the hood, this thing is vastly different from the too-many-cylinder approach of the Veyron. Its a normal 6.3l V8 twin turbo. The trend continues with the Ultimate Aero being a sole rear wheel drive vehicle, as opposed to Veyrons all wheel drive. Now this difference provides Veyron with the best traction but gives the Ultimate Aero pure sports car feel.
Dont get fooled by the smaller engine and lesser number of cylinders though, it can give much more than just a scare to the mighty Bugatti. It produces a staggering 1183 horse power and 1112ft lbs of torque. These specs dont only look good on paper, being verified time and again over the track. In september 2005, the Aero clocked 411.76kmph, usurping the Veyron as the world's fastest production car. Then again 2 years later, it bettered its own record by crossing 413kmph, now thats some feat. Presently the company claims it can do 434kmph, but it hasn't yet been substantiated..
And its cheap! relatively speaking that is. You can buy 3 Aeros for what you will get one Veyron for, sounds like a better deal then doesn't it? Sell your house then and get it, if you have a house of 3 crore value that is, otherwise sell your kids to madonna or brangelina and you are just about there.
Here are some hard specs now
Displacement 6.345 litres
Engine V8 twin turbocharged
Horse Power (claimed) 1287
Torque (claimed) 1112ft lbs
0-100kmph in 2.78 seconds
So here i have tried to show you some amazing machinery that some crazyheads have endowed upon us, but then there is no dearth of such people, the Zenvo ST1 is waiting around the corner to topple these two to the top..
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