Welsh Motoring Writers
  • Home
  • About us
  • News
  • Car Reviews
  • Blogs
  • Contact
  • Members
  • Blog

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

11/1/2010

 
Picture
It’s not every day that you’re handed the key to the fastest car in the world and told to “have fun”.

Yet here I am, in southern Spain, key to said car in hand.

There’s a full tank of super unleaded and miles of empty, perfect highway at my disposal and, with a gulp and a quick prayer, I mentally prepare myself for the ultimate version of the ultimate performance car.

The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is the final hurrah for what many thought would be an impossible car to design and build.

The original brief was very simple: it must be able to do more than 250mph, crack 60mph in under three seconds, look as sleek as the designer’s sketch and be as easy to drive as a VW Polo. The original Veyron, against all the odds, emerged mission accomplished.

Unbelievably, some owners started grumbling about how they wanted even more power and a less civilised experience behind the wheel. The Super Sport is for them and, with a price tag of around £1.7million, it had better be astonishing.

Orders have already been placed for 26 of these things; proof that not everyone is feeling the recession’s pinch. For the money they get a motoring legend – full stop.

Everything in a Veyron is built to be as close as possible to engineering perfection and the Super Sport takes that a step further – it’s a comprehensively re-engineered car.

In July 2010, a Super Sport set the world speed record for a production car at 268mph but customer cars are limited to 258mph because the tyres just can’t cope with that speed for any length of time without exploding. Not that you could do it for long – at full pelt a Veyron will go through its 25 gallon tank in ten minutes. That’s 2mpg…

Power in the Super Sport is up by another 200bhp to 1200, which is basically like bolting on the engine from a Golf GTI. That you only get another 6mph out of it shows just how extreme the limits are in which this car operates – at these speeds the air acts like a brick wall. And, with this in mind, I drop into third gear and put my foot down.

The road, that was so long and straight that it disappeared into infinity, is destroyed in just a few seconds. The acceleration is so brutal that all my innards are trying to escape out back and there’s a furious roar from the 16-cylinder engine inches behind my head. Sounds like Darth Vader is back there too, sucking in cooling air and spitting it out when I lift off the throttle.

I keep the power on and, in the blink of an eye the Super Sport is doing 200mph so I back off the power and hit the brakes hard; my body coursing with adrenaline.

As the big stoppers bite, I feel everything inside my skeletal frame seeking a way out through my chest and a second or two later the Super Sport is at a legal speed once again. This entire exercise is over almost as soon as it began – like a white-knuckle fairground ride.

Yet, as impressive as the sheer speed is, what hits me between the eyes is that the Veyron remains totally, utterly composed. No lift, no stray, it just stays true to the course its driver inputs. It’s mind bending stuff.

It is, without a doubt, the world’s greatest, most exciting car. If your numbers come up on Saturday night you’d better be quick because there’s just a handful of build slots left before production ceases and the motoring world becomes a duller place. A towering achievement.

By Kevin Hackett

Comments are closed.

    View by date

    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    December 2020
    August 2020
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    July 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    May 2010
    December 2009
    October 2009
    August 2009
    November 2001


    View by tags

    All
    Alfa Romeo Giulietta
    Alfa Romeo Mito
    Aston Martin Rapide
    Audi A3
    Audi A6
    Audi A7 Sportback
    Audi Q3
    Bmw 520d
    Bmw 5 Series Touring
    Bugatti Veyron Super Sports
    Fiat 500 Twinair
    Ford Focus
    Honda Civic Type R
    Honda CR-Z
    Hyundai Ix35
    Infiniti Ex37
    Infiniti Fx
    Infiniti G37 Cabrio
    Jaguar Xf
    Jeep Grand Cherokee
    Kia Soul
    Kia Sportage
    Land Rover Discovery 4
    Lexus Ct200h
    Mazda3
    Mazda CX-5
    Mercedes-Benz C-Class
    Mini Countyman
    Mitsubishi Shogun
    Nissan X-Trail
    Peugeot 3008
    Peugeot 508 Rxh
    Peugeot 508 Saloon
    Peugeot Rcz
    Range Rover Evoque
    Renault Mégane
    Renault Mégane Coupe Cabriolet
    Renaultsport Clio Gordini
    Renault Wind
    Seat Leon Cupra R
    Seat Leon Ecomotive
    Skoda Octavia Scout
    Skoda Superb Estate
    Skoda Yeti
    Ssangyong Korando
    Suzuki Alto
    Suzuki Swift
    Toyota Avensis Saloon
    Volkswagen California
    Volkswagen Tiguan
    Volkswagen Touareg
    Volvo S60
    Volvo V60

    RSS Feed

© WELSH MOTORING WRITERS 2023