A super sports car like the Veyron 16.4 needs to be light in order to reach top speeds.
From the initial concept to the design and the selection of materials, the Bugatti engineers tapped the full potential of their considerable expertise to ensure that this car is, indeed, a lightweight. Titanium, carbon, magnesium, and aluminum – each part of the Veyron 16.4 is made of the material with the lowest weight and the highest level of functionality. The titanium piston rods save approx. 4 kg of weight, the titanium screws 3.5 kg, and the magnesium valve caps another 2 kg. By reducing the wheelbase, the original weight was reduced by about a third, and the titanium exhaust system – another Veyron 16.4 first – with its wafer-thin layer of titanium aluminite saves yet another 17 kg. These combined efforts capped the Veyron 16.4’s weight at a compact 1,888 kg. Add the car’s high-powered performance and unmatched speed, and you have a uniquely fast and nimble super sports car.
Optimum protection is guaranteed by the car’s carbon monocoque construction: weighing only 110 kg, the survival cell withstands enormous crash impact forces. This principle is comparable to that used in the Formula 1 world, where drivers usually emerge uninjured from their cars even after severe accidents. The maximum impact force reduction is mainly due to the frames integrated in the carbon monocoque. The front part of the monocoque is made of aluminum; the rear consists of a combination of carbon, stainless steel, and aluminum. The car’s safety concept, which includes two frontal airbags for the front-seat occupants, is so sophisticated that additional airbags would be redundant. Crash tests have shown the Veyron 16.4 to conform to all international safety standards – and to exceed them. As painful as it was for the engineers to watch their valuable prototypes hit the test wall, they were always glad to see that the Veyron survived these maneuvers almost unharmed.
Magnesium
Engine covers, intercooler covers (shown)
Aluminium
Wings, doors, engine block, water cooling pipes, crash frames front and
rear, interior trim, gearbox housing (shown)
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