The technical requirements that the Veyron 16.4 developers had to meet could not have been any more complex.
They were to create a car like none before. Their declared objective was a serial production vehicle able to hold its own on the Formula 1 racetrack and provide a relaxed, yet exciting driving experience in everyday traffic.
The Veyron 16.4 exceeds these expectations with its 1,001-HP engine, its ability to reach a velocity of 400 km/h at the push of the gas pedal, and its racecar safety concept. This unmatched feat was made possible by a series of technical innovations never before built into a serial production vehicle. Many of the Veyron’s parts were previously unavailable on the world market: before the Veyron was created, the maximum capacity of available fuel pumps sufficed only for 650 HP. The world’s very first seven-gear direct-shift transmission was merely a concept. The central hydraulic system is yet another innovation: it supports the car’s brake and steering system, controls the rear spoiler and diffuser, and regulates the ground clearance, which varies from 65 to 125 mm, depending on the velocity. One central requirement governed the development of all new parts: they had to work perfectly together. And at Bugatti, perfection is an absolute without compromises.
Top velocities are always available at the push of the Veyron’s pedal. One decisive speed factor is the car’s aerodynamics – the perfect balance of drag, propulsion, and downforce. Again and again, the Bugatti engineers varied minute details of the car’s exterior shape, particularly the front and rear spoilers, until finally, there wasn’t a wind channel in the world that could simulate the necessary speed, and the car had to go back on the racetrack for each further detail test.
Wind tunnel tests
The first car from construction stage 3 in the Sauber wind tunnel.
Shortly afterwards, this car drove over 400 km/h for the first time on
the high-speed test track in Ehra.
