| ronalclx | Date: Monday, 20 May 2013, 15:14:37 | Message # 1 |
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| Dominic Fraser/Bugatti One of Mr. Piech's prime metrics for the project was a top speed of 400 kilometers per hour, a speed unattainable in wind-tunnel simulation because automotive wind tunnels don't go that fast. This was a car that had to drive exquisitely at low and moderate speeds but also be able to soar to near-maximum speeds at the driver's whim. This necessitated the Veyron's complex, morphing aero package, including the (huge, ultracool) hydraulically articulating wing/air brake on the rear deck; the adaptive ride-height system; and closable flaps in the car's flat underbody. All of which was designed to excel here, at Ehra-Lessien. You know that weird dolphin telepathy that men have? With a look, Mr. Raphanel and I both stuck our hands out of the car to investigate what a 210-mph laminar airflow actually feels like. It feels like your hand is being power washed.The focus of this entire exercise was the Bugatti's missing top. The Grand Sport is the Veyron with the removable roof panel鈥攖he roadster, if you like. The Super Sport is the fast one, with larger turbocharging raising the output from 1,001 to 1,200 hp. The Grand Sport Vitesse marries the hot engine with an aero package tuned for the roadster's distinctive physics. More on Cars Driver's Seat blog Eyes on the Road Jonathan Welsh: Me My Car Nerd alert: The GSV's cockpit opening interrupts the smooth flow of air rushing across th <a href=http://louisvuitton-italia.weebly.com>Borse Louis Vuitton</a> e nose of the car, creating an opportunity for turbulence, drag and buffeting, which is unpleasant for occupants and potentially destabilizing at high speed. To help smooth this airflow across the open cockpit, the GSV comes with a kind of headliner Gurney flap, a thin carbon-fiber wing that you鈥攐r your manservant鈥攃lip into the car's headliner after the top is removed. This small wing raises the airflow just millimeters, but it's enough to keep the boundary layer "attached" until it is picked up by the rear bodywork. So they tell me.In fact, with the GSV, Bugatti has created a sort of glass-bottom boat of aerodynamics. In this car, as in no other, you can observe at point-blank range the behavior of a fluid medium being swept aside by a very large car at more than 200 mph. The difference in pressure is really respectable. Wow. That's breezy. Didn't I have five fingers on that hand? Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse Price as tested: $2.62 million (est.) Powertrain: Quad-turbocharged and intercooled 8.0-liter DOHC, 64-valve W16; seven-speed dual-clutch rear transaxle; perm <a href=http://michael-kors-outlet-handbags.weebly.com>michael kors sale</a> anent all-wheel drive Horsepower/torque: 1,200 hp at 6,400 rpm/1,106 pound-feet at 3,000-5,000 rpm Length/weight: 175.7 inches/4,400 pounds (est.) Wheelbase: 106.7 inches 0-60 mph: Top speed: 254 mph EPA fuel economy: 11/14 mpg, city/highway (est.) Cargo capacity: 4 cubic feet (est.) Last week, Bugatti invited a handful of media and clients to watch test-driver Anthony Liu set a world speed record for an open-top car (a record, by the way, that no one else seems to be hotly contesting). After a brief introduction trackside, Mr. Liu鈥攁 29-year-old, Chinese-born, Los Angeles-based in <a href=http://toms-shoesoutlet.weebly.com>toms outlet online</a> vestor who speaks with the thick Mandarin accent of, say, Zac Efron鈥攄rove down the track and out of sight in an orange-and-black World Record-edition car. The guests then meandered over to the guardrail on the north side of the main straight, waiting for the car. Bugatti had set up a digital display board of the car's <a href=http://coachoutlet-store-online.weebly.com>Coach Outlet Store Online</a> instantaneous speed. After an aborted first pass, Mr. Liu came around again. The top-speed procedure at Ehra-Lessien is always the same: Coast around the top lane of the three-lane, 30-degree high bank to the south with the cruise control set to 124 mph while gradually shifting down to four <a href=http://coach-outletstore-online.weebly.com>Coach Factory Outlet</a> th gear. Come off the banking and nail it. Which Mr. Liu did. Even from kilometers away, the sound of the 8-liter W16 engine suddenly ingesting 1,250 gallons of air and about 2 gallons of premium unleaded a minute is pretty emotional. Bugatti says the waste heat from this engine could warm 10 family homes in the winter. That's it, I'm getting rid of my old Lennox. Seconds later, the twinkling bi-Xenon headlights grew more focused, and we could now see the hump of the car. The numbers on the speed display climbed, then slowed, then stopped at 408.84 kph. An even 254 mph. We turned from the display board just in time to hear and feel, if not quite see, the car go past in a stunning, hissing, shock-wave crescendo. Shazam.Email Dan at rumbleseat@wsj.com and follow him on Twitter @Danneilwsj Explore More
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