Representing Alsace
With two Le Mans wins, dozens of grand prix victories, five Targa Florios, a Manufacturers’ Championship, and the build of some of the pre-war period’s most celebrated sports and luxury automobiles to its credit, it is no wonder that the Bugatti marque is regularly honored at world-class concours d’elegance and museums. The Molsheim, France-based brand is so esteemed that a commemoration of its 100th anniversary was never in doubt. So when the occasion arrived in 2009, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance duly pronounced Bugatti’s centenary as one of the event’s guiding themes.
This opportunity was not lost on Bugatti Automobiles SaS, the modern successor to Ettore Bugatti’s original Alsatian concern. The company’s signature product, the 1,001-horsepower Veyron 16.4, had spent years in careful development by the VW Group’s specialized engineers, and was received with justifiable acclaim by journalists and enthusiasts alike upon its 2005 introduction, redefining the benchmark for the modern hypercar in the process.
The Veyron was capable of accelerating from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.46 seconds, en route to a top speed just over 408 km/h (nearly 254 mph). Built around a magnificent mid-mounted, quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W-16 engine with four valves per cylinder and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, it astonished the world with its surefootedness even at the most extreme speeds, enabled by a full-time Haldex all-wheel-drive system. The stopping power was stunning, as the Veyron was anchored by massive carbon-ceramic disc brakes with 15.7-inch discs and eight-piston, four-pad calipers up front, while 15-inch discs with six-piston, two-pad calipers were mounted at the rear. The alloy wheels, respectively 20 and 21 inches at the front and rear, were shod with special Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 PAX run-flat tires engineered specifically for the Veyron.
Three different drive modes governed the dizzying array of technology: a Normal mode, at which the ride height was 4.9 inches; a Handling mode that deployed the rear spoiler and lowered ride height to 3.15 inches; and a special, key-activated High-Speed mode that dropped ride height to 2.56 inches in front and 2.75 at the rear, while changing the spoiler position. Even the car’s ancillary systems, including no fewer than 10 radiators, were marvels of automotive engineering conceived to perform under the most demanding circumstances.
All of this was encased within an intricately hand-crafted structure, actually shorter in overall length than a modern Porsche 911, though riding on a longer 106.7-inch wheelbase, while being noticeably lower and wider than the benchmark German sports car of the day. It was instantly and definitively recognizable as the pinnacle product that it aspired to be—the modern Bugatti, a sporting speed machine that looked and performed like absolutely nothing else on the road.
Representing Alsace
With two Le Mans wins, dozens of grand prix victories, five Targa Florios, a Manufacturers’ Championship, and the build of some of the pre-war period’s most celebrated sports and luxury automobiles to its credit, it is no wonder that the Bugatti marque is regularly honored at world-class concours d’elegance and museums. The Molsheim, France-based brand is so esteemed that a commemoration of its 100th anniversary was never in doubt. So when the occasion arrived in 2009, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance duly pronounced Bugatti’s centenary as one of the event’s guiding themes.
This opportunity was not lost on Bugatti Automobiles SaS, the modern successor to Ettore Bugatti’s original Alsatian concern. The company’s signature product, the 1,001-horsepower Veyron 16.4, had spent years in careful development by the VW Group’s specialized engineers, and was received with justifiable acclaim by journalists and enthusiasts alike upon its 2005 introduction, redefining the benchmark for the modern hypercar in the process.
The Veyron was capable of accelerating from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.46 seconds, en route to a top speed just over 408 km/h (nearly 254 mph). Built around a magnificent mid-mounted, quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W-16 engine with four valves per cylinder and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, it astonished the world with its surefootedness even at the most extreme speeds, enabled by a full-time Haldex all-wheel-drive system. The stopping power was stunning, as the Veyron was anchored by massive carbon-ceramic disc brakes with 15.7-inch discs and eight-piston, four-pad calipers up front, while 15-inch discs with six-piston, two-pad calipers were mounted at the rear. The alloy wheels, respectively 20 and 21 inches at the front and rear, were shod with special Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 PAX run-flat tires engineered specifically for the Veyron.
Three different drive modes governed the dizzying array of technology: a Normal mode, at which the ride height was 4.9 inches; a Handling mode that deployed the rear spoiler and lowered ride height to 3.15 inches; and a special, key-activated High-Speed mode that dropped ride height to 2.56 inches in front and 2.75 at the rear, while changing the spoiler position. Even the car’s ancillary systems, including no fewer than 10 radiators, were marvels of automotive engineering conceived to perform under the most demanding circumstances.
All of this was encased within an intricately hand-crafted structure, actually shorter in overall length than a modern Porsche 911, though riding on a longer 106.7-inch wheelbase, while being noticeably lower and wider than the benchmark German sports car of the day. It was instantly and definitively recognizable as the pinnacle product that it aspired to be—the modern Bugatti, a sporting speed machine that looked and performed like absolutely nothing else on the road.