2011 Bugatti Veyron |
The Bugatti Veyron is (still) the world’s fastest production car, having just wrested the crown from itself in a successful world-record attempt. On Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track just outside of Wolfsburg, Bugatti’s official test driver got the new Veyron 16.4 Super Sport to hit a two-way average speed of 268 mph.
Production versions of the Super Sport will have their top speed electronically limited to 258 mph, in order to protect the tires from certain, expedient death. The Super Sport will make its public debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August. Production begins in the fall at Bugatti’s Molsheim Veyron hand-crafting facility. We’re waiting for the inevitable roadster version, which will have to be called Super Grand Sport.
On the exterior the car gets expanded and reshaped front air intakes, a revised back with double diffuser, and a centrally arranged exhaust system.
On a beautiful sunny day at 25 degrees the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport achieved a new landspeed world record for production cars, on the proving grounds of the Volkswagen Group at Ehra-Lessien (nearby its headquarters at Wolfsburg). In the presence of the German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) and a representative of Guinness Book of Records the Super Sport achieved an average top speed of 431 km/h.
No one but the driver is allowed to touch the car during this time. This time the car reaches 434, 211 km/h. This even hit Bugatti’s engineering team by surprise.
The Super Sport is a consequent of the further development of the classic exclusive 1,001-hp Bugatti Veyron 16.4, launched in 2005. With lateral acceleration of up to 1.4 G and improved interaction between the tyres and the intelligent all-wheel drive system, the Super Sport offers perfect handling and even more powerful acceleration of 1,500 Newton metres on corner exits.
The skin is made entirely of carbon-fibre composites, and the new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is available in 100 per-cent clearlacquered exposed carbon on request.
This ethos remains alive and well at the company, and the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is wholly unmistakeable, with every external modification serving to coax greater performance from the car. The Super Sport’s flat, elongated silhouette is immediately recognisable. Bugatti has a tradition of making super-sport versions of successful models, usually with racing chassis and supercharged engines. These cars were considered as true racing machines for diehard Bugatti devotees. Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. has sold 260 Veyrons and 35 Grand Sports by now, of which 249 Veyrons and 22 Grand Sports had been delivered. The Super Sport will begin production this autumn at Molsheim along with the Veyron and the Grand Sport.