The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is currently the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive street-legal full production car in the world, with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407.9 km/h or 253.2 mph), though several faster or more expensive vehicles have been produced on a limited basis. It reached full production in September 2005. The car is built by Volkswagen AG subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS in its Molsheim (Alsace, France) factory and is sold under the Italian/French Bugatti marque. It is named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm. It is also the world's second supercar with 16 cylinders, after the Cizeta Moroder V16T.
Specifications
The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders, or the equivalent of two narrow-angle V8 engines mated in a "W" configuration. Each cylinder has 4 valves, for a total of 64, but the narrow V8 configuration allows two camshafts to drive two banks of cylinders so only 4 camshafts are needed. The engine is fed by four turbochargers, and it displaces 8.0 L (7,993 cc/488 in³) with a square 86 by 86 mm bore and stroke.
Putting this power to the ground is a dual-clutch DSG computer-controlled manual transmission with 7 gear ratios via shifter paddles behind the steering wheel boasting an 8 ms shift time. The Veyron can be driven by full automatic transmission. The Veyron also features full-time all-wheel drive based on the Haldex system. It uses special Michelin run-flat tires designed specifically for the Veyron to accommodate the vehicle's top speed. Although these tyres are built to withstand extreme temperatures, at top speed they will only last for 15 minutes before running out. This is not a problem however, since at that speed the fuel will run out in 12 minutes.[1] While unusual for street-legal cars, frequent refuelings and tire changes are a common occurence in high speed car racing. At comparatively lower speeds (e.g. "only" 300 km/h instead of 400), both tires and fuel last significantly longer.
Curb weight is estimated at 4,160 lb (1890 kg). This gives the car a power to weight ratio of 529 bhp/tonne.
The car's wheelbase is 2710 mm (106.3 in). Overall length is 4462 mm (175.8 in). It measures 1998 mm (78.7 in) wide and 1206 mm (47.5 in) tall.
Final Numbers
Vehicle type: mid-engine, all-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe Base Price: € 1,127,210 (£757 359, $1,440,800) Engine type: quad-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 64-valve W-16, aluminium block and heads, direct fuel injection Displacement: 7993 cm³ (488.8 in³) Performance Ratings as Tested :
* Zero to 60 mph (97 km/h): 2.3 s * Zero to 100 mph (161 km/h): 5.4 s * Zero to 150 mph (241 km/h): 10.1 s * Zero to 200 mph (322 km/h): 18.2 s * Standing Quarter-Mile / 402 Meter: 10.2 sec @ 153 mph s [4] * Zero to 100 km/h: 2.4 s * Zero to 200 km/h: 5.5 s * Zero to 300 km/h: 18.3 s * Zero to 400 km/h: 32 s [5][6]
Top speed (Electronically Limited): 253 mph (407.5 km/h) Theoretical Top Speed: 257 mph (414 km/h) [7]
The turbocharged 2007 BMW 3-series coupe has 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque in U.S. spec. Also sold here will be 230-hp 328i and all-wheel-drive 328xi coupes.
The BMW 335i coupe that goes on sale in September 2006 may look like nothing more than the latest chapter in the 3-series coupe book, but there are some radical changes under the skin. The 335i (the C goes away on this coupe as it did on the 650i for the 2006 model year) will have a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six with piezoelectric direct injection. It’s the first gasoline turbocharged BMW in decades.
BMW claims the 335i coupe will accelerate from 0 to 60 in 5.3 seconds — scarcely more than the outgoing E46 M3. Our acceleration times in BMWs typically are even faster than the company’s claimed times, so an instrumented test time of five seconds flat isn’t out of the question. The 335i will be limited to 150 mph when equipped with an optional sport package.
Benz hasn't said much, but we do know the Mercedes 2007 S-Class will be 1.7 inches longer, almost an inch wider, and ride on a 124-inch wheelbase, about 3 inches longer than its predecessor.
These new dimensions create 1.5 inches of extra elbow room and slightly more headroom. Rear-seat passengers get an extra half inch of knee room compared to the preceding series. The trunk is bigger, too, up to nearly 20 cubic feet.
Behind the new engine will be the same driver-adaptive 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic that's also used in the 2006 M-Class. And as in the M-Class, the transmission will be controlled by a small electronic shift lever on the right side of the steering column. The design is very much like the one BMW pioneered in the 2002 7 Series, you lift the stalk up for "Reverse," push down for "Drive," and push a button on the end for "Park." Once under way, manual shifting is possible with buttons on the back of the steering wheel.
New Interior
The shifter isn't the only thing Mercedes lifted from the BMW design center, the interior looks like an homage to the present 7 Series.
In the center of the dash is an 8-inch high-resolution display for a new "Cockpit Management and Data System" (COMAND), which Mercedes says is more intuitive, and the system is operated by a COMAND Controller located on the lower center console. Sounds like iDrive to us, does it sound like iDrive to you? If you're like us, and hate the big knob, Mercedes says many vehicle controls are accessible by conventional hard keys, the multifunction steering wheel and optional voice control.
Among the new extreme features list are front seats that adjust 16 ways and offer several optional choices of ventilation and ergonomic adjustability. Optional Drive Dynamic seats will feature 25 individual pneumatic chambers and four levels of pulsating massage.
The company traces its origins back to 1899 and August Horch. The first Horch automobile was produced in 1901 in Zwickau. In 1910, Horch was forced out of the company he had founded. He then started a new company in Zwickau and continued using the Horch brand. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement and a German court determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company. August Horch was forced to refrain from using his own family name in his new car business. Horch immediately called a meeting at the apartment of Franz Fikentscher to come up with a new name for his company. During this meeting Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father - audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it AUDI instead of HORCH?". "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" which is "Audi" in Latin. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting. [1] It is also popularly (but incorrectly) believed that Audi is an acronym which stands for "Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt". Audi produces over 2 million vehicles annually at its main production site in Ingolstadt. Audi has another production plant in Neckarsulm.
Audi started with a 2612 cc (2.6 Liter) four cylinder model followed by a 3564 cc (3.6 L) model, as well as 4680 cc (4.7 L) and 5720 cc(5.7L) models. These cars were successful even in sporting events. August Horch left the Audi company in 1920. The first six cylinder model ,4655 cc (4.7 L) appeared in 1924. In 1928, the company was acquired by Jørgen Rasmussen, owner of DKW, who bought the same year the remains of the US automobile manufacturer, Rickenbacker including the manufacturing equipment for eight cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929. At the same time, six cylinder and a small four cylinder (licensed from Peugeot) models were manufactured. Audi cars of that era were luxurious cars equipped with special bodywork.
The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano set a new benchmark of excellence in the sports car world after it was introduced at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. This stunning new all-aluminum two-seater is summed up rather succinctly by its own name and delivers everything that this promises. Fiorano after the circuit Ferrari uses to hone the performance of its track and road cars; GTB as in Gran Turismo Berlinetta after the most famous Ferrari berlinettas ever built; and 599 to reflect the displacement of its V12 engine divided by 10.
The Ferrari 599 GTB was designed with several specific objectives in mind: to surpass the intense driving pleasure of such renowned models as the F40, to guarantee stunning performance courtesy of its highly innovative content and technology transfers from the F1 single-seaters, and to deliver superior standards of roominess, comfort, ergonomics and safety. The result is the absolute pinnacle of achievement in terms of thoroughbred Ferrari sportiness and technology.
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