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Archive August 2007

The speed demon Bugatti Veyron

by shadowfax (08/10/2007 - 09:14)

Guys like fast cars and even faster women. There’s no denying either of those claims. And in the typical pissing contest that is top speed, there can be only one champion. Let us introduce you top the Bugatti Veyron. This bullet of a car is actually faster than an F1 race car. Not only that, but it has a radio, air conditioning and leather seats (optional of course). Oh, did we mention its top speed is 253 miles an hour? Strap yourself in and hang on.

The Bugatti Veyron. 1001 horsepower. Fuck me running! That will launch you from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds, and you’ll be blowing past 200 mph in just 13 seconds. Compare that to a Dodge Viper with a paltry 500 hp. Astonishingly the Viper is only nine tenths of a second off on 0 – 60. But it’s all the Veyron’s extra horses that it up to that magical 253 mph, while the turtle-like Viper only manages 190. Yeah, only.

 

This is the rear air spoiler. It provides down force, which in turn, keeps the car on the ground for cornering and “relatively” high-speed driving. For top speed runs a special key is needed to manually override the wing for maximum aerodynamic efficiency (the car also automatically lowers). It also acts as a parachute brake in emergency “oh shit I need to stop” situations. This isn’t an Acura fiberglass bolt on accessory; it’s the real deal.

 

This is the interior of the land rocket. Surprisingly plush and refined, it hardly looks like it was made to crack the sound barrier. Around the driver and passenger is a single-piece carbon-fiber monocoque, the same things on every racecar, providing superior crash protection.

 

Note the top speed on the speedometer to the far right; 260. This is serious business. You know it is when the tachometer is front and center. There really isn’t that much time to admire how fast you are going when you are covering a football field a second.

 

This is the quad-turbocharged W16 engine. The heart of the beast consists of four banks of four cylinders (two juxtaposed V8 engine blocks), coupled to a single crankshaft. This drives the power to all four wheels. Which, by the way, are specially and specifically designed high-speed tires for the Veyron.

 

So I want one, and you probably want one now too, eh? So how much will this bad boy set you back? Only about $1,700,000. Gulp. But for that price you ARE the fastest thing on the road, and in many cases the sky too. It provides unadulterated and uninterrupted acceleration from a standing start to maximum speed: a feeling previously known only to jet pilots. Sign us up.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4: The Facts

Engine

 
Type: Quad-turbocharged W16
Displacement cu in (cc) 488 (7993)
Power bhp (kw) at RPM: 1001 (736) / 6000
Torque lb-ft (Nm) at RPM: 923 (1250) / 2200-5500
Redline at RPM: 6500
   

Brakes and Tires

 
Brakes F/R ABS, vented disc / vented disc
Tires F/R 265-680 ZR500A – 365-710 R540A (PAX System)
Driveline: All wheel drive
   

Exterior Dimensions and Weight

 
Length x Width x Height in: 174.2 x 77.9 x 47
Weight lb (kg): 4162 (1888)
   

Performance

 
Acceleration 0-62 mph s: 2.5
Top speed mph (km/h) 253 (407)
Fuel Economy EPA city/highway mpg (l/100 km) n.a. (24.1)

5 Sports Cars We'd Like to See as SUVs

by shadowfax (08/10/2007 - 08:31)

To be honest, those two categories should never occupy the same sentence. Unless it’s something like “an SUV pulled out in front of a sports car today and was T-boned into oblivion.” Then OK, fine. Sports cars as sport utilities, though?

But, as much as we hate to admit it, the amalgamation of the two has already begun. It all started with the Porsche Cayenne - an unholy union if we’ve ever seen one.  But the Cayenne really isn’t as family friendly as advertised. When compared to other makes in its class, it falls short on both usability and functionality.  What did you really expect from one of the leading sports car manufacturers? So the question is, who’s next to jump on this bandwagon? Well, if it were up to us -- and the automobile industry is united in being glad that it isn’t -- here are the top five sports cars that would be made into SUVs.

 

Dodge Viper

What would be better than an SUV with a V10 and about 450 hp? Not much, that’s what. Just add some racing stripes down the center and you’ll have a car the kids will beg to get picked up in. Not only that, but your round-trip grocery time will be reduced to approximately zero.

 

Ford GT


Limited my ass. Not when we get ahold of this bad boy. Take that “classic” branding and throw it out the window. With that you just might want to throw your sanity too, as if this was an SUV, God help us. Slap on some more racing stripes and soccer moms will be playing like they're in the Daytona 24-race on the way to Timmy’s recital. We’ll ditch the two seats for seven, but keep the V8, 550 hp, and 205 mph top speed, thank you very much.

 

Lamborghini Murciélago


Not to leave the Italians out of this silly game, we introduce the Murciélago. Just imagine a SUV with less-than-easy to use gull-wing doors. Sure, you'd need four of them, but who’s counting? To keep things status quo, the Lambo’s engine would remain a mid-engine ass-stomping V12. For fun, it would be smack dab in the center of the SUV, so the kiddies could roast marshmallows on it or burn their little fingers, whatever kids do with such things.

 

McLaren F1


Imagine the shock and awe McLaren would have if someone turned their precious “ultimate road car” into nothing more than a weekend warrior SUV. Again, two or four more doors would be in order, as would about six more seats. Don’t forget a place to put a grill, an ice chest and some lawn chairs. Maybe even a stroller. Again, we’d keep the engine and gold-foil heat shields, but instead of only making a paltry 100 limited-edition cars, we’d make millions.

 

Saleen S7


Touted as the first American “supercar,” this limited edition monster could easily be Frankenstein-ed into a SUV.  As usual, the gull-wing doors would have to stay and be multiplied by a few. We’ll use the twin-turbo engine (750 hp) to cope with the extra weight of seats and an actual trunk. Strap some surfboards on the roof and head to the beach, you’ll be sure to both turn some heads and inspire their owners to scratch them quizzically.

Archive August 2007