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Adrian PatonBugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport Breaks Landspeed World Record
July 7th 2010 18:00
The ultimate version of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, the "Super Sport" is officially the world's fastest car with an average top speed of 431 km/h set on the proving grounds of the Volkswagen Group at Ehra-Lessien (nearby its headquarters at Wolfsburg).
In the presence of the German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) and a representative of Guinness Book of Records, the Super Sport smashed the previous landspeed world record for a production car held by the SSC Ultimate Aero TT.
The Super Sport is a consequent of the further development of the classic exclusive 736 kW Bugatti Veyron 16.4, launched in 2005. Developing 882 kW of power with a maximum torque of 1,500 Nm and a limited top speed of 415 km/h (to protect the tyres), the hike in performance comes courtesy of four enlarged turbochargers and bigger intercoolers. The chassis has been extensively redesigned to maintain safety at extreme speed – thanks to slightly raised main-spring travel, stronger stabilisers, and new shock absorbers with a complex architecture originally developed for racing cars. This gives noticeably more precise control of the wheels and the car as a whole. The Bugatti Veyron 16.5 Super Sport achieves and incredible lateral acceleration of up to 1.4 G!
The body has been fine-tuned to improve aerodynamic efficiency and maintain perfect balance in every situation, while the new fibre structure of the all-carbon monocoque ensures maximum torsion rigidity and passive safety – at reduced weight. The skin is made entirely of carbon-fibre composites, and the new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is available in 100 per-cent clear- lacquered exposed carbon on request.
The Super Sport's flat, elongated silhouette is immediately recognisable. The 16-cylinder engine gets its air from two NACA ducts integrated into the roof, rather than from scoops above the engine. The front air intakes have been expanded and reshaped, with the lower one extending elegantly around the sides to the wheel arch. The revised back looks sportier due to the double diffuser and a centrally arranged exhaust system.
Bugatti has a tradition of making super-sport versions of successful models, usually with racing chassis and supercharged engines. These cars were considered as true racing machines for diehard Bugatti devotees. The most successful were the type 55 and type 57S; only around forty of each were built.
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. has sold 260 Veyrons and 35 Grand Sports by now, of which 249 Veyrons and 22 Grand Sports had been delivered. The Super Sport will begin production this autumn at Molsheim along with the Veyron and the Grand Sport. The first five cars – known as the World Record Edition – are in a special black exposed carbon and orange finish and have already been sold.
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport will appear for the first time in public in California at the Pebble Beach Concours weekend in mid-August and will be featured at The Quail, Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca and on the concept lawn of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
[Source: Bugatti]
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