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Geneva, Switzerland - The decision stands: the Bugatti EB 16·4 Veyron is coming.
Over 90 years have passed since Ettore Bugatti first built his own cars in Molsheim,
Alsace – for decades the most fascinating cars of all time. Now the newly-set-up
BUGATTI Automobiles S.A.S. of Volkswagen AG marks the start of a new age, bringing
the spirit of a great past into the present, and adapting it to the future. The first
car to be produced as of 2003 will be the super-sports car EB 16·4 Veyron.
As it was originally, the headquarters of the company is at Molsheim Château
St. Jean near Strasbourg. To mark its foundation, BUGATTI Automobiles S.A.S. is showing
the EB 16·4 Veyron super-sports car at the 71st Geneva Motor Show with its
definitive engine, a 736 kW / 1001 bhp 16-cylinder direct injection unit. At Geneva
the new-age Bugatti is paired with an impressive vehicle of the thirties: the Bugatti
51A. The racing driver Pierre Veyron, winner of the 1939 Le Mans 24-hour race, made
this car the most successful motorsports Bugatti with numerous Grand Prix wins. The
man and the machine are a legend. For this reason Pierre Veyron is invoked as patron
for the Bugatti EB 16·4. In this way Geneva 2001 will become an interface
between past, present and future.
The present of the BUGATTI marque - Dr. Karl-Heinz Neumann, President, Reinhold
Kopp on the Board of Management
BUGATTI Automobiles S.A.S. was founded on 15th December 2000. As of this date,
Dr. Karl-Heinz Neumann was appointed President and Board of Management member for
technology, and Reinhold Kopp Board of Management member for commercial matters.
This means that both now exercise a dual function within Volkswagen AG: Dr. Karl-Heinz
Neumann also heads-up Volkswagen drive unit development, and Reinhold Kopp the government
relations division. The two Board members are linked not only by their long association
with Bugatti, but also by a great passion for the marque: Dr. Neumann presided over
the creation of the engine for the 16·4 Veyron; Kopp was responsible for coordinating
all the activities of the exclusive marque even prior to the setting-up of BUGATTI
Automobiles S.A.S. |
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The future of the BUGATTI marque
- starting 2003 with the 1001-bhp EB 16·4 Veyron
The Bugatti EB 16·4 Veyron exhibited in Geneva is a super-sports car which
is utterly unique in the present and the historic automotive landscape. In this class,
probably only the Bugatti Atlantic, on account of its uniquely progressive body design
with its riveted roof fin which continues to inspire the world's designers to this
day, can be considered to have similar significance as a sports car. This roof fin
is to be seen again on the EB 16·4 Veyron in stylized form.
The team led by Hartmut Warkuss, head of the "Center of Excellence Design"
of the Volkswagen Group, was entrusted with the exacting task of interpreting and
further developing the historic Bugatti styling for the new age. The EB 16·4
Veyron, at 4,380 millimeters (172 inches) long and 1,206 millimeters (47 inches)
high expressing both power and aesthetic appeal, is the proof of their complete success.
The technology of the 16-cyl. engine in the EB 16·4 Veyron - direct petrol
injection, four exhaust turbochargers, 7,993 cc
The design of the innovative W16 alloy engine, with roller rocker fingers and
four overhead camshafts with variable valve timing, is already – even before the
first production example has appeared – absolutely unique in international engine
construction. Two very close-set banks of eight cylinders apiece joined at 90 degrees
form the heart of this 736 kW / 1001 bhp 16-cylinder unit. The W16, placed ahead
of the rear axle, measures only 710 millimeters (28 inches) long by 771 millimeters
(30 inches) high. The V-V, or W, configuration makes possible not only such compact
dimensions, but also excellent engine rigidity, and as a consequence high volumetric
efficiency. |
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Four exhaust turbochargers provide
the 7,993 cc direct-injection unit with the sort of thrust that would give any Formula
1 car impressive lap times. Two charge air coolers are situated above the cylinder
heads. A total of 64 valves control the inlet and exhaust functions. The fuel is
injected via electromagnetic injection valves directly into the combustion chambers
on the principle of FSI (fuel stratified injection), which is highly efficient and
reduces emissions. This process makes it possible to precisely define the moments
at which fuel is introduced in the power stroke of each cylinder and the time needed
for the petrol and air to mix.
For the perfect coordination of all the parameters of the W16 engine, BUGATTI utilizes
a master-slave system derived from computer technology for electronic control; two
independently-functioning computers per cylinder bank are managed by a central control
unit.
The synergies between cubic capacity, charging, direct injection and computer control
make possible an incredible torque of 1,250 Newton-metres (885 lb/ft) between 2,200
and 5,500 rpm. No other production car in the world can offer this kind of power
development. It is almost impossible to describe it. The only physical force that
can noticeably affect the Bugatti EB 16·4 Veyron is gravity. And that is only
because the aluminum space-frame body develops enormous downward pressure on account
of perfectly-balanced underfloor and overall aerodynamics. By contrast, wind resistance,
or the mass to be accelerated, are practically insignificant for this car.
The power is transmitted via a rear axle differential flanged directly to the engine
and a permanent four-wheel drive to the 20-inch wheels. New aluminum wheels have
been developed for the version of the EB 16·4 Veyron shown in Geneva. The
front tires are 265/30 R 20, the rear 335/30 R 20. The sophisticated drive system
and a brake system derived from motor racing ensure that the power can be transmitted
to the road in sovereign fashion. The actual top speed and maximum acceleration values
will be announced by BUGATTI Automobiles S.A.S. at a later date. |
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The history of the BUGATTI marque
- Ettore Bugatti built the most fascinating cars of all time
The mystique of Bugatti came into being in the first half of the last century.
Ettore Bugatti, and later his son Jean, designed vehicles which were far ahead of
their time in styling and technology. Types such as the T 57 SC Atlantic or the many
versions of the T 41 Royale were then, and still are, legends, and some of the most
valuable motors of all time. But the mystique is not founded solely on those coupes,
roadsters, convertibles and saloons which were driven by the most prominent people
of the twenties and thirties – the Bugatti mystique also developed in the racing
activities of those decades.
Particular success was enjoyed by the works driver Pierre Veyron in the years between
1933 and 1937 in a Bugatti 51A. With this eight-cylinder compressor racing-car, which
developed an output of 140 bhp from a cubic capacity of 1,493 cc and had a for that
time sensational top speed of 210 km/h, he and two other drivers set six international
speed records on 23rd January 1934 at the historic circuit of Montlhery near Paris.
A year later, on 30th and 31st March 1935, three further world records were set up
on the same circuit. In addition, eight times the Bugatti 51A with chassis number
54211 went through the chequered flag as winner of Grands Prix, including on its
first ever outing the Grand Prix at the Avus in Berlin on 20th May 1933. In these
years Pierre Veyron and the Bugatti 51A established for good and all the legendary
name of an automobile marque and a designer of genius: Ettore Bugatti, EB.
It is precisely this Bugatti 51A of Pierre Veyron – now in private ownership in the
USA and one of the most desirable collectors' items in the world – which is to be
seen at this year's Geneva Motor Show next to the Bugatti EB 16·4 Veyron.
Seven decades, two cars, one history. |
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For more discussion
on this news story and to see what others have to say click on the link to our discussion
forums at the right. |
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Information
© 2001 VWvortex.com
All rights reserved.
Material may not be copied or reprinted without written permission.
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