Some input on the Bugatti Veyron.

Posted Tuesday, November 22nd 2005

In the November 2005 issue of CAR magazine, in an article, Wolfgang Schreiber, Bugatti engineering’s technical director is quoted saying the following:

“The maximum combustion energy in fact adds up to 3000 bhp - 1000 bhp is swallowed by the cooling system, 1000 bhp goes through the exhaust apparatus, and 1000bhp is relayed to the four driven wheels.”

Now isn’t that a bit scary? In the December 2005 issue, Mark Walton, CAR’s ‘editor-at-large’ (whatever that means), in his column says:

“If you had 3000 horses, you could make 2.328 watts, or 2.2 megawats… … 2.2 megawatts could switch on 37.000 60 watt lightbulbs. Given that the total population of the Shetland Islands is 22.500, you can start to imagine a Veyron hooked up to the national grid, the Bugatti test driver’s boot mashed hard on the gas, the W16 screaming in the night, and the Shetlands glowing in the dark Atlantic like Chernobyl on a raft.”

Now that’s a good description if I’ve ever seen one. And just proves again the utter lunacy of the Veyron. As a technological achievement - it’s astounding. As a car, it’s ludicrous, a bit pointless and just a bit daft.