It wouldn't be my choice of superrcar but a car that can cruise smoothly in stop and go traffic, then hit 268mph in total safety and comfort, is a remarkable engineering achievement:
Leno's video on the car (the longest video I've ever seen on his site):
__________________ Our fellow citizens have been led hoodwinked from their principles by a most extraordinary combination of circumstances. But the band is removed, and they now see for themselves. --Thomas Jefferson
On the Grand Turismo game (simulator) it is supposed that the different cars have some similitude with the real thing. I know personalty some and they have done a pretty good job in replicating the car's driving characteristics.
I have drove the Veyron in the Gt game...it's a dog
If the car was fast (except on a straight line) you would have the car competing in GT races, like all other good gts. I never saw a Veyron racing.
On the Grand Turismo game (simulator) it is supposed that the different cars have some similitude with the real thing. I know personalty some and they have done a pretty good job in replicating the car's driving characteristics.
I have drove the Veyron in the Gt game...it's a dog
If the car was fast (except on a straight line) you would have the car competing in GT races, like all other good gts. I never saw a Veyron racing.
Regards
Paulo
The Veyron exists for no other reason than for a couple of rich guys to be able to say "mine is faster (read bigger) than yours". It is insanely expensive - $20K tires that only last a few thousand miles, service requirements that regularly cost as much as other entire exotic cars and so forth. On top of that, it is butt ugly.
The McLaren, when attempting the same thing (lets build the worlds fastest street car and see how much we can spend) at least made it beautiful, somewhat useful and VERY fast on a racetrack. The Veyron only accomplishes the first of those (fastest).
I think the first used sale of one at Barret Jackson told the story - 8000 Km's, $2.1MM initial cost, auctioned for $800K and then the "buyer" welshed on the deal. Jackson bought it to maintain his good name.
Last I heard, even Jay Leno hasn't bought one and he has just about every cool car ever made.
__________________
"There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats". The Water Rat from The Wind In The Willows
Sailing for 40 years in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean but mostly Georgia Straight.
Currently own a Columbia 43.
You have to respect the engineering of the Bugatti...
. . . and the guts to order its creation and to bring to market.
To focus on anything else - who does or doesn't have one, motive projection, how much VAG is making or loosing on each sold - is to miss the point of this story and a huge chunk of what makes life worth living.
__________________ Our fellow citizens have been led hoodwinked from their principles by a most extraordinary combination of circumstances. But the band is removed, and they now see for themselves. --Thomas Jefferson
Last I heard, even Jay Leno hasn't bought one and he has just about every cool car ever made.
First, he tries not to by cars with paddle shifting transmissions.
Second, how do you know he's in a position to spend $3M on a car right now?
Third, how do you know he hasn't ordered one, say the last one being made?
Fourth, if he didn't like it, why would he end the longest segment I've ever seen on his site by pronouncing the SS to be the ultimate car?
(Personally, I'd take a McLaren F1 LM or a Pagani Zonda F over the SS, as I'm more into handling than top speed. That's a long way from the SS not being a noteworthy achievement, though.)
__________________ Our fellow citizens have been led hoodwinked from their principles by a most extraordinary combination of circumstances. But the band is removed, and they now see for themselves. --Thomas Jefferson
On the Grand Turismo game (simulator) it is supposed that the different cars have some similitude with the real thing. I know personalty some and they have done a pretty good job in replicating the car's driving characteristics.
GT takes dynamics accuracy very seriously. If you want really good dynamics accuracy, try some of the custom PC games out there. They're a step above, even though the graphics aren't as good.
Quote:
I have drove the Veyron in the Gt game...it's a dog
It's way too heavy to handle. But it's an incredible achievement nonetheless.
Quote:
If the car was fast (except on a straight line) you would have the car competing in GT races, like all other good gts. I never saw a Veyron racing.
I doubt it could clear FIA even if there was a chance it could win anything.
__________________ Our fellow citizens have been led hoodwinked from their principles by a most extraordinary combination of circumstances. But the band is removed, and they now see for themselves. --Thomas Jefferson
One other thing about the Veyron being the fastest street car - people like Gale Banks and the late John Lingenfelter have built Corvettes and Thunderbirds that were as fast or faster and still steetable.
And they did it for a tiny fraction of the cost, probably less $$ than the sales taxes on a Veyron.
And the cars were good looking (although that is purely a matter of personal taste - I imagine there are people who think the Veyron is good looking as well).
__________________
"There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats". The Water Rat from The Wind In The Willows
Sailing for 40 years in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean but mostly Georgia Straight.
Currently own a Columbia 43.
The battle for the title of “World’s Fastest Production car” has just heated up – again. And this time its round two of the classic David vs. Goliath encounter: diminutive Shelby Super Cars taking on the might of VW-owned Bugatti. American one man show SSC, forced the world to take them seriously after the original Ultimate Aero snatched the title away from the Veyron with a run of 256mph, recorded on a four-mile-long Texas single carriageway that featured a dogleg bend that needed to be navigated at “just” 210mph. The man at the wheel was 71 year old Chuck Bigelow who had no racing experience and refused to wear even a crash helmet.
Hitting back, the Veyron Super Sport took to VW’s ultra-modern, ultra-smooth and wide Ehra Lessien test track, with a pro driver at the wheel and crowd of engineers at their beck and call. The result was an impressive 267mph from the 1200HP special edition.
Considering all that Bugatti have at their disposal compared to Jerod Shelby and his band of 16 engineers – that work from a garage behind his house – you begin to realize the magnitude of their accomplishments. Now they have unveiled their new creation, a 1350HP RWD beast that’s yet to be officially named. For convenience, we’ll just call it the Aero II.
UPDATE 07/18/2011: SSC has confirmed that their future supercar will be called "Tuatara" - a name that comes from the Maori language and means ’peaks on the back’. The tuatara is a reptile endemic to New Zealand that has the fastest evolving molecular structure of any animal and the fastest evolving DNA on the planet. The company has also unveiled a first presentation video of the supercar, so enjoy!
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