Simply Amazing :: The Bugatti Veyron will leave you speechless
POSTED: Tuesday by Phil Floraday
Pierre-Henri Raphanel probably has the best job in the world. He spends his days showing off the Bugatti Veyron and giving journalists and potential customers a quick lesson in how to keep the car on the road. When he asked if I was ready for him to open it up, I couldn't say yes fast enough.
With 1001 gross horsepower on tap, the Veyron is the fastest car in the world. The top speed is over 250 mph and the all-important 0-to-60-mph time is 2.5 seconds. You can hit top speed in less than a minute, but you better enjoy it just as quickly because you'll be out of fuel in less than 13 minutes when running wide open. None of this will actually matter if you are lucky enough to get behind the wheel of this beast.
Power delivery is instant and seemingly endless. We ran out of straight road long before we ran out of gears. I have no idea how fast we ended up going, but I do know I managed to put all 1001 horsepower to use. Raphanel kept his eyes on the horsepower gauge while I focused on the road. Yes, this car lets you know how much power you are actually making at a given moment. This is certainly a car no one needs, but even riding as passenger will have you grinning ear to ear for a few days.
Amazingly, the Veyron is so easy to drive that your grandma could use it as a daily driver. The roads were wet during my drive, yet I never felt anything less than a sense of complete control. The awd and traction control make launches a cinch. Even under hard braking, the Veyron is so composed that you can stomp on the pedal and take your hands off the wheel. Trust me, Raphanel was more than happy to demonstrate this feat, but only after he floored it with two fingers on the wheel. By the way, these "tests" were done on average roads in France, not a perfectly smooth test track. Think ultimate in performance and the potential for daily driving, along the lines of a Porsche 911, but multiply the power and performance exponentially. The market for daily drivable supercars is virtually nonexistent, but Bugatti has it covered.
The only thing more amazing than the finished car is watching the assembly. You can't really call the Bugatti factory a factory. It looks more like a master craftsman's shop. Even the floor is spotless and everything is assembled by hand. The attention to detail that each car receives is nothing short of incredible. It takes five days to build a Veyron, and absolutely everything is custom. There are 53 suggested color combinations, but you can get any color(s) you want if you decide to buy. There are several standard interior choices, but again you can really get anything you want. Customers wishing for a light-colored dashboard must sign a waiver because the light dash could reflect too much light and hamper visibility. Not exactly safe at 250 mph.
At this point, I have no idea how to top this experience. Maybe I'll hit the lottery and be able to own one of these gentle beasts. Even if I hit the lotto I'll be waiting over a year to take delivery. Time to buy a ticket before each car is spoken for. I only need $300,000 down…
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