When one speaks of the zenith of ICE car technology, the Bugatti Veyron convertible comes to mind.
It has a performance that will perhaps never be equaled, let alone bettered. But then you have not considered the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 L Grand Sport.
Every hi-tech product, be it a camera or a sound system, has its competitors offering equally matching features. But this is one product that stands out even among the exclusive field of sports cars.
It would be futile to even try to compare this car to any car because nothing ever comes close to its $2 million plus class. At that price, you could buy every single model of the Mercedes or pick up 7 Ferrari 599. You can even pick up a Maybach with the chauffeur paid upfront to last the life of the car.
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport: The Greatest Gasoline Power Vehicle Ever?
So if there is a car that pretends to match the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, it would be just that, posturing. Because the Bugatti Veyron is arguably the greatest vehicle that has been created.
For a start, the open top. Because people who can afford it have specified that the greatest car ever should also have an open top, considered something impossible for long, this carmaker went ahead and created one.
The first creation from the ultra-luxury carmaker owned by Volkswagen is an ace in engineering. Its reinforced roof held together the body. It prevented it from collapsing under the multiple stress of wind, horsepower, and lateral acceleration.
The Bugatti Veyron arguably stands as the greatest creation of the petrol-powered age. Combined with the intellectual force of the smartest and the largest among car companies, it had both the qualities of speed and safety, being an easy drive compared to another card with similar power.
But removing the roof of the original Bugatti Veyron to create the Veyron Grand Sport was a challenge on another level: especially if the engineers were to create a car with similar safety features.
So to create a rooftop version of the Bugatti Veyron, engineers had to look at other features. They bolstered the doors, B pillars (the resting place for the windows’ back edges), and the floor. And for that, they have used carbon fiber. And they used lots of it.
The final product is considered the most structurally rigid among convertibles. But by a miracle, it weighs around the same as the coupe from which it is derived.
The Bugatti Veyron boasts legendary figures. The mid-mounted 16-cylinder 8.0-L engine boasts over a thousand horsepower. It is a 4-wheel drive with a dual-clutch 7-speed transmission that has among the smoothest gear-switching mechanisms. And it’s the quickest ever when it comes to acceleration.
They Don’t Make Them More Stable Than The Bugatti Veyron
While the Lamborghini Murcielago LP340 takes 3.2 seconds to hit 60 miles, for the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, that speed can be achieved in less than 2.5 seconds. Jens Schulenberg, the chief vehicle engineer of Bugatti had this to say about the pinnacle of engineering: “Run the 1,000 hp Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport at top speed and it will empty its 26.4-gallon fuel tank in 12 minutes. The Vitesse, with its extra 200 hp, will do it in 10.3, which is lucky actually because Michelin won’t guarantee the tires to run above 250 mph for more than 15 minutes.”
The G-force generated by the acceleration can disorient an inexperienced driver with a speed that can outrun most helicopters. But the speed is not about screaming revs and shredded asphalt. The exhaust surprisingly is quiet and its power is unbelievably manageable.
Despite double the power of cars like the Viper SRT-10, the Bugatti Veyron’s 14-inch tires and the all-wheel-drives hold onto the road tightly. The special Michelin tires, and the AWD are among the contributing factors for its stability. Add to that the giant engine mounted bang in the middle that provides perfect weight distribution.
There is also the unbelievably advanced suspension and aerodynamics. It automatically transforms the ride height and shape of the card, adding a downforce of 800 pounds more whenever the Veyron tops the speed of 137 mph. and finally it is the weight. At around 4,400 pounds, it is almost half a ton, or 50%, heavier than the Ferrari430.
The Bugatti Veyron will be as close to perfect as a petrol-driven car will ever get. It will remain the last gas-guzzler king in an ever-changing world.