Enough of the 'Veyron Can't handle Corners' nonsense

Sure, put the Veyron on a track meant for motorcycles or a lotus, it will be like driving a go-kart on a driveway. But put the Veyron on twisty mountain roads, and see how well it handles the turns at incredible speeds. Evo did a comparo with the Veyron & several others like the Zonda and Enzo, and the Veyron won outright by a long shot. The cars' handling and electronic stability control is so superior to anything out there, that maintaining 140mph on twisty roads is made too easy. The only downside is that after 140mph, you need to have a relatively smooth surface, with minimal depressions, as your car lowers to handling mode (thus bottoming out if you're not careful).

 

Again for those speculators who have never been a passenger or driver in a Veyron going fast, you would become a believer when you see how it can outdo anything on REAL roads that are meant for long distance touring, not go-karts.

 

Possibly the most impressive thing that ever happened in my Veyron was my 'jumping' incident -- driving approx. 205mph, when there was depression in the road, and the cars' 4 wheels left the ground for a short moment. On landing, the traction control light came on for a fraction of a second, but otherwise it was like the takeoff never happened. My passenger near pissed his pants. If that had happened in the Murci, there wouldn't have been anything left of us and the car. Speaking to a Bugatti engineer I know, I brought up this incident, and he confidently told me that 'its what the veyron can do'.

 

Remember that it takes a lot of confidence and trust in their product to have five of their customers drive their cars to 250+mph on their track. I've done it 3 times now on the Ehra Lessien, as well as two more times in the US.

Even Gordon Murray was surprised by the Veyron's abilities, in that famous mag piece where he drives his F1 and the Veyron back to back he comments repeatedly about how the Veyron is a far superior drive on-track than he expected for its weight.

I wonder what a Veyron would do in the standing mile?

 

Would like to see it first hand and not some 4000 internet links that says a guy knows a guy.......you know what I mean.

That car will still amaze people for years to come. It's just a masterpiece of technical engineering. Thanks for sharing your experiences! But do you really think a Murci would break loose and go all over the road with a little dip at those speeds? What technically makes the Veyron able to handle that?

 

most engineered car of the century

I think its beyond the engineering of the car -- its the electronics that make all the difference. Cars like the Carerra GT, Enzo, Zonda or Koenisegg are all incredible machines, but lack the freakish technology in this Veyron. Strip the Veyron of the ESP and futuretech, it might not hold up to the cars above -- but its the meshing of superior technology and engineering into one car that puts it above the rest.

 

I always tell people, the Veyron is more than the sum of its parts, what first meets the eye -- and a lot more than just horsepower and top speed. The more I've driven the car, the more it surprises me with its reliability & stability.

 

Lets not forget that even the single Ehra Leissen Bugatti we used for our top speed run did the following in 5 hours:

approx 20 runs to 200mph

approx 7 runs to 250+mph

 

And that is in a Bugatti that had 30,000+ miles on it.

But do you really think a Murci would break loose and go all over the road with a little dip at those speeds? What technically makes the Veyron able to handle that?

Traction control buddy....With a Murcielago's 4WD and rear wheel bias of X% etc.; would the traction control be able to handle the fraction of time the wheels have no traction and regulate all 4 to the same repetitions to keep the car going the direction it was pointed with no drama?? Or would the instant of no traction (4 seperate wheels turning at different speeds, two accelerating and 2 DE-celerating, all 4 at different rates) combined with a foot on the accelerator at 230mph; be a recipe for disaster??? The issue is....how advanced and quick can the computer, estimate and adjust all four through inputs of braking so the car has no instability of weight at the instant traction with the ground returns (just like slick surfaces). Now that job becomes more difficult for the computer and the car's mechanisms to act in unison efficiently; the faster the car is moving....

 

THAT is the Glory of the Veyron....No drama, no wiggle, nothing....

 

SO Rob....When are we finally going to see a Veyron vs GTT race?

The Veryon is perfection, and I doubt many companies will be willing to invest the equivalent R&D into a car in the future.

 

Have you noticed any differences in handling between the regular wheels and the pur sang wheels?

Sure, put the Veyron on a track meant for motorcycles or a lotus, it will be like driving a go-kart on a driveway. But put the Veyron on twisty mountain roads, and see how well it handles the turns at incredible speeds. Evo did a comparo with the Veyron & several others like the Zonda and Enzo, and the Veyron won outright by a long shot. The cars' handling and electronic stability control is so superior to anything out there, that maintaining 140mph on twisty roads is made too easy. The only downside is that after 140mph, you need to have a relatively smooth surface, with minimal depressions, as your car lowers to handling mode (thus bottoming out if you're not careful).

 

Again for those speculators who have never been a passenger or driver in a Veyron going fast, you would become a believer when you see how it can outdo anything on REAL roads that are meant for long distance touring, not go-karts.

 

Possibly the most impressive thing that ever happened in my Veyron was my 'jumping' incident -- driving approx. 205mph, when there was depression in the road, and the cars' 4 wheels left the ground for a short moment. On landing, the traction control light came on for a fraction of a second, but otherwise it was like the takeoff never happened. My passenger near pissed his pants. If that had happened in the Murci, there wouldn't have been anything left of us and the car. Speaking to a Bugatti engineer I know, I brought up this incident, and he confidently told me that 'its what the veyron can do'.

 

Remember that it takes a lot of confidence and trust in their product to have five of their customers drive their cars to 250+mph on their track. I've done it 3 times now on the Ehra Lessien, as well as two more times in the US.

 

That's incredible. I would have had a potato in my shorts after a ride like that!

Glad you brought this up rob.

 

I think, i've never driven one, but the veyron is the best car ever made, as an overall thing, so what if it looses on the track to the other top of the line cars, when its time to leave drive home in traffic or up a mountain road, its the one i'd want, i'd still want it on the track because its not like it would be bad by any means. I absolutely love the car and i'm so excited for the sedan, just imagining how great they will make that at being a perfect long distance 4 person sedan.

 

Also, rob as you've heard many times before congrats on the car i hope you enjoy every single day of it

Is the Veyron profitable...? I had read it actually isn't a profitable car for Bugatti, that the company is subsidized, if so, then it's highly unlikely any company would invest the R&D into creating a Veyron.

 

Also sounds like the Veyron is the F-22 Raptor of cars!

Is the Veyron profitable...? I had read it actually isn't a profitable car for Bugatti, that the company is subsidized, if so, then it's highly unlikely any company would invest the R&D into creating a Veyron.

 

Also sounds like the Veyron is the F-22 Raptor of cars!

 

Bugatti is actually loosing money on each Veyron sold but VW had the Veyron built to

put the Bugatti brand back on the map. Since Bugatti is owned by VW they can afford

to loose money on each car. By making the Veyron the "the world's fastest production

car" Bugatti was put back on the map big time. I have heard that in order for the

Veyron to actually make money each of the 300 cars would have had to have sold

for over $4 million a piece. They plan on making Bugatti profitable over time with

other cars to come into the picture. The sole purpose on the Veyron was to make a statement

that would make the world know that the Bugatti brand is back as an elite car manufacturer.

 

The Veyron IS actually a bargain at $1.5MM for what it is... It's a car with 1,000hp that a little old lady could drive at 240mph...

Here's a perfect example for those that haven't seen it, Tiff Needel takes it through its paces:

 

Factory tour:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4kN9JC3spQ

 

Tiff tries to kill himself and the Bugatti won't let him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC6reb73F1w

 

 

cool vid with tif i hadn't seen it before, its been out for years but i keep getting more and more impressed with that car

i am looking forward to the veyron vs heff G-TT shootout!

 

rob thanks for the great info!

The Veyron is by far the Countach of this ERA... It is the Dream Supercar.. The pinnacle of perfection in my opinion.

The Veryon is perfection, and I doubt many companies will be willing to invest the equivalent R&D into a car in the future.

 

Have you noticed any differences in handling between the regular wheels and the pur sang wheels?

 

The wheels are identical, there isn't any difference in size, weight, balance or performance. Same goes for the tires.

rob, just a question out of curiosity, is it true you have to replace the wheels, not the tires, every 7500 miles

rob, just a question out of curiosity, is it true you have to replace the wheels, not the tires, every 7500 miles

 

 

Replace the Tires, yes. Every 6-7000 miles. They're soft composites, and will run out faster than normal run-flats. I had mine replaced at 4500 miles because of so much track time and high speed runs.

QUOTE (R o b @ Nov 12 2009, 02:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Replace the Tires, yes. Every 6-7000 miles. They're soft composites, and will run out faster than normal run-flats. I had mine replaced at 4500 miles because of so much track time and high speed runs.

ahh okay because i read Wikipedia and it said;

Tyres need to be replaced approximately every 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi).....At every third tyre change, the roadwheels must be replaced.

 

and that didn't sound true to me so i figured i'd ask. Thanks for the response

 

Hey Rob.. Would you consider strapping a vbox to your car so we can get some 60-130 times?

That would be so awesome to have some numbers from a actual owner who knows how to get the most out of his car. I would love to see some real world numbers

Hey Rob.. Would you consider strapping a vbox to your car so we can get some 60-130 times?

 

What does 250MPH feel like?

What does 250MPH feel like?

 

 

I did 226 at the Texas Mile and can say it doesn't REALLY feel all that crazy fast (don't get me wrong you can tell you are really movin') while you are doing it.........it's the stopping part that puts it into perspective.

The Veyron is by far the Countach of this ERA... It is the Dream Supercar.. The pinnacle of perfection in my opinion.

 

 

this is true, it is the pinnacle of today's automotive tecnology for the road

 

it reflects the times we are living

 

it is the dream supercar of this computer era