Engine outputAccording to Volkswagen Group and certified by TÜV Süddeutschland, the final production Veyron engine produces 1,001brake horsepower (746 kW; 1,015 PS) of motive power, and generates 1,250 newton metres (922 ft·lbf) of torque. The nominal figure has been stated by Bugatti officials to be conservative, with the real total being 1020 bhp or more.
Top speedThe top speed of the original version was verified by James May on Top Gear in November 2006, again at Volkswagen Group's private Ehra-Lessien test track. Jeremy Clarkson, driving a Veyron from Italy to London, noted that at top speed the engine consumes 10,000 imperial gallons (45,000 L) of air per minute (as much as a human breathes in four days). The Veyron has the fastest top speed of any street legal car. Once back in the Top Gear studio, James was asked by co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson what the Veyron felt like to drive at 407 km/h (253 mph), May replied that it was "totally undramatic", and very stable at speed.
German inspection officials recorded an average top speed of 408.47 km/h (253.81 mph) during test sessions on the Ehra-Lessien test track on 19 April 2005. On 4 July 2010, Bugatti's official test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel piloted the Super Sport edition and was clocked at an average of 431.072 km/h (267.856 mph) on the same track, taking back the title of the fastest production vehicle of all time from the SSC Ultimate Aero TT. The 431.072 km/h mark was reached by averaging the Super Sport's two test runs, the first topping out at 265.96 mph (427.93 km/h) and the second at 269.86 mph (434.20 km/h). The record run was certified by the German government and the Guinness Book of World Records.
The car's everyday top speed is listed at 350 km/h (220 mph). When the car reaches 220 km/h (140 mph), hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 9 cm (3.5 in). At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy. This is the handling mode, in which the wing helps provide 3,425 newtons (770 lbf) of downforce, holding the car to the road. The driver must, using a special key (the top speed key), toggle the lock to the left of his seat in order to attain the maximum (average) speed of 407 km/h (253 mph). 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 cm (4.9 in), drops to 6.5 cm (2.6 in).
BrakingThe Veyron's brakes use cross drilled, radially vented carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composite discs, manufactured by SGL Carbon, which have a much greater resistance to brake fade when compared with conventional cast irondiscs. The lightweight aluminium alloy monobloc brake calipers are made by AP Racing; the fronts have eight[7] titaniumpistons and the rear calipers have six pistons. Bugatti claims maximum deceleration of 1.3 g on road tyres. As an added safety feature, in the event of brake failure, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) has also been installed on the handbrake.
Prototypes have been subjected to repeated 1.0 g braking from 312 km/h (194 mph) to 80 km/h (50 mph) without fade. With the car's acceleration from 80 km/h (50 mph) to 312 km/h (194 mph), that test can be performed every 22 seconds. At speeds above 200 km/h (120 mph), the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, snapping to a 55° angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are applied, providing an additional 0.68 g (6.66 m/s2) of deceleration (equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback).Bugatti claims the Veyron will brake from 400 km/h (250 mph) to a standstill in less than 10 seconds, though distance covered in this time will be a third of a mile.
Top speedThe top speed of the original version was verified by James May on Top Gear in November 2006, again at Volkswagen Group's private Ehra-Lessien test track. Jeremy Clarkson, driving a Veyron from Italy to London, noted that at top speed the engine consumes 10,000 imperial gallons (45,000 L) of air per minute (as much as a human breathes in four days). The Veyron has the fastest top speed of any street legal car. Once back in the Top Gear studio, James was asked by co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson what the Veyron felt like to drive at 407 km/h (253 mph), May replied that it was "totally undramatic", and very stable at speed.
German inspection officials recorded an average top speed of 408.47 km/h (253.81 mph) during test sessions on the Ehra-Lessien test track on 19 April 2005. On 4 July 2010, Bugatti's official test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel piloted the Super Sport edition and was clocked at an average of 431.072 km/h (267.856 mph) on the same track, taking back the title of the fastest production vehicle of all time from the SSC Ultimate Aero TT. The 431.072 km/h mark was reached by averaging the Super Sport's two test runs, the first topping out at 265.96 mph (427.93 km/h) and the second at 269.86 mph (434.20 km/h). The record run was certified by the German government and the Guinness Book of World Records.
The car's everyday top speed is listed at 350 km/h (220 mph). When the car reaches 220 km/h (140 mph), hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 9 cm (3.5 in). At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy. This is the handling mode, in which the wing helps provide 3,425 newtons (770 lbf) of downforce, holding the car to the road. The driver must, using a special key (the top speed key), toggle the lock to the left of his seat in order to attain the maximum (average) speed of 407 km/h (253 mph). 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 cm (4.9 in), drops to 6.5 cm (2.6 in).
BrakingThe Veyron's brakes use cross drilled, radially vented carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composite discs, manufactured by SGL Carbon, which have a much greater resistance to brake fade when compared with conventional cast irondiscs. The lightweight aluminium alloy monobloc brake calipers are made by AP Racing; the fronts have eight[7] titaniumpistons and the rear calipers have six pistons. Bugatti claims maximum deceleration of 1.3 g on road tyres. As an added safety feature, in the event of brake failure, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) has also been installed on the handbrake.
Prototypes have been subjected to repeated 1.0 g braking from 312 km/h (194 mph) to 80 km/h (50 mph) without fade. With the car's acceleration from 80 km/h (50 mph) to 312 km/h (194 mph), that test can be performed every 22 seconds. At speeds above 200 km/h (120 mph), the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, snapping to a 55° angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are applied, providing an additional 0.68 g (6.66 m/s2) of deceleration (equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback).Bugatti claims the Veyron will brake from 400 km/h (250 mph) to a standstill in less than 10 seconds, though distance covered in this time will be a third of a mile.
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