- Brian Byrne
New Bugatti will be fastest production car
30 June 2003: This is the 2004 Bugatti 16.4 Veyron, now confirmed for production at E1 million, and set to be the fastest production car in the world. There will only be 50 a year built.
It is powered by a 987hp, 8-litre W16 format engine. It was first shown as a concept the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show. Bugatti says it will be 12mph faster than the 252mph top speed of the McLaren F1, the current holder of the production car top speed.
The 0-100 km/h is said to be 2.9 seconds, 0.3 of a second quicker than the Mclaren.
The quad-turbocharged and intercooled W16 engine - essentially two narrow-angle V8s mounted side by side and driving a shared crankshaftis - is located in a classic midship layout.
Power goes to all four wheels via a 7-speed gearbox featuring a double-clutch arrangement first shown recently in the Audi TT.
The car's body is a lightweight carbon fiber monocoque plated with aluminum on a tubular space frame.
The interior is art deco-inspired and uses much soft leather, while the console is covered in aluminum.
The car is named after Pierre Veyron, who won Le Mans in a Bugatti Type 57SC in 1939. It will be assembled outside Molsheim in France, where Bugattis were originally built.
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