# Bugatti Veyron - I Still Don't Quite Get It



## Malersh (May 19, 2005)

So, just watched Top Gear - ever excellent, but the piece on the Veyron got me thinking.

I've been following the car since the old VW chairman Ferdinand PiÃ«ch came up with idea. Now, PiÃ«ch was a bit of an oddball, who also built a W12 VW supercar, with a VW badge, ("come and see my Ferrari, my Lamborgini and my... Volkswagen") and at the other end a many-many-miles to the gallon single seater bubble car. My guess is the man didn't have a long attention span.

So then came problems...

a.) You couldn't drive the car unless you were experienced in seriously quick cars.

b.) The car had cooling problems.

c.) It was all a bit pointless in a way.

New chairman comes along and _doesn't _cancel the project. Weird, because I would have thought problem c.) would pretty much stop you worrying about problems a.) and b.)









Anyway so now Clarkson says they 'did it for the engineering experience' or somesuch. Did they? My guess is that they realised they were in so deep that they might as well finish the damn thing, and that they probably realised this was the wrong decision a year later...and the year after that as well!

So we're left with what to do with it. I'm not a huge fan, as I would be more at the Ariel Atom end of the market if I could afford daft cars. It's not particularly a track car, as a Enzo would I imagine mince it around a track, and it's not a GT, really, as the engine is where the boot should be.

It is just as Clarkson says, an amazing bit of engineering. But I'd rather have a real car...like a DB9. Anyone feel the same way?


----------



## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

I would love to have a go in it







but I agree what is the point? Is it really to gain engineering knowledge? Or was it just PiÃ«ch's ego trip? Apparently he didn't consult anybody when he said thet the next Bugatti will have a 1000hp and be able to do 400km/h









It is a remarkable piece of engineering but I have to agree with Clarkson "a triumph of lunacy over common sense".

If I had the money I would love to have an Aston Martin DB9 despite its shortcomings, I wouldn't mind a Bristol Fighter either


----------



## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Fantastic bit of tv I thought - and a fantatstic, but fairly pointless, car. Undoubtedly the car is an impressive technological marvel - and should be applauded for that - but is all this technological gimcrackery going to filter down into lesser cars? I certainly can't see the next Golf or Passat having a W16 engine (it'd be cool if they did though







). I thought it was interesting that Clarkson said he was sad that he'd never get the opportunity to own one and experience the performance again - he should be glad that he got the opportunity to drive it all - never mind all the way from Italy - and, no doubt, get paid a lot for the privilege.

I'd rather have the Marcos they tested on the same programme - fast, pretty & simple (with a great looking interior too). Unreliable apparently but so what - just adds to the driver involvement


----------



## oldfogey (Nov 29, 2005)

Surely the point is excess, and who has provided it? It's a speciality of car manufacturers as well as watchmakers! The people who can afford one probably have several exotics (and several expensive watches).


----------



## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

To pinch a line from _Jurassic Park_, of all places, I imagine they built it simply because they could, regardless of whether they _should_ and whether the end product is actually useable in the real world or not. It's just typical corporate one-upmanship. They'll probably earn a few extra sales of their mainstream product and I expect they did learn some valuable engineering lessons during the exercise which will eventually filter down.

Another manufacturer will probably go one "better" in a few months or so.


----------



## TimD (Feb 7, 2004)

It's probably money better spent than chucking it at Formular 1. At least it's a road car. All technology filters down, now even a basic hatch back has more driver aids than a F1 car. I wonder how much money they spent on Audi winning Le Mans, nobody moaned about that.

Cheers,

Tim.


----------



## bluejay (Apr 12, 2005)

Malersh said:


> It is just as Clarkson says, an amazing bit of engineering. But I'd rather have a real car...like a DB9. Anyone feel the same way?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It may have 1000hp but the headlamps look like they're from an Octavia or a Passat.


----------



## dapper (Jun 18, 2004)

Malersh said:


> It is just as Clarkson says, an amazing bit of engineering. But I'd rather have a real car...like a .........


......Citroen 2CV.

Nothing comes close in terms of driver involvement and sensation of speed. You also get a rag top, boot & a door for each of four occupants.

And, of course, genuine 40's period styling


----------



## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

dapper said:


> Malersh said:
> 
> 
> > It is just as Clarkson says, an amazing bit of engineering.Â But I'd rather have a real car...like a .........
> ...


Errr, no thanks, I`d rather have a Fiat 500


----------



## Malersh (May 19, 2005)

The Fiat 500 is a solid gold classic and deserves recognition.









And as for supercars being hard to drive...my wife's Panda (old model, mind) was the most challenging car I've ever driven. If you didn't change gear exactly right and keep the engine on song you were going nowhere. Going round corners quickly was a blast. Plus you could _see out_ which is always nice.

At roundabouts in a modern car you have to wave your head around to see all the angles. Not cool.


----------



## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

I remember seeing a TV program about the`500` where it mentioned that the designers of the Mclaren F1 owned a couple


----------



## ianboydsnr (Dec 12, 2005)

Malersh said:


> The Fiat 500 is a solid gold classic and deserves recognition.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I had a fiat 500, before they were trendy, very slow, but went like stink around corners









there was only one decent panda that was the 4x4 version, awsome cheap mud plugger.


----------



## in_denial (Aug 3, 2005)

Malersh said:


> The Fiat 500 is a solid gold classic and deserves recognition.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I never had a Panda, but my old 1990s Ducati 900SS used Panda wing mirrors!


----------



## hakim (Sep 13, 2004)

Its an astonishing piece of kit no matter how you look at it especially if you consider the the age and history of the motor car!









If I was some filthy rich dude with my own private oil well somewhere, I'd definetly go for one and probably die a happier man.....if the car didn't kill me first!


----------



## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

does anyone have the Top gear episode on tape that featured the Vyron?

Im kicking myself for missing it


----------



## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

FIAT 500







,my sis had one years ago,the first time four of us got in (sis+hubby, me+g/friend),the bloody floor fell out,it had rubber mats and when the inner cill gave way,you could see the corsey edge through the gap







.

also, the threads in the spark plug hole(on one cylinder head) were almost none existant and when the car was taken upto 40mph,it shot the plug out and came to a standstill







,you then had to run back down the road to retrieve it









john


----------

