Channel Button

There are 14 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #12 by Helium's members.

Autos   >

Cars

Guide to the fastest production cars

The Fastest production car is not theKoenigsegg CCR AT 241 mph, or the McLaren F1 at 231 mph. Fastest production car is .............
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is currently the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive street-legal production car in the world,

It has proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407.5 km/h or 253.2 mph).[1] It reached full production in September 2005. The car is built by Volkswagen AG subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS in its Molsheim (Alsace, France) factory and is sold under the legendary French Bugatti marque. It is named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm. It is also the world's second supercar with 16 cylinders, after the Cizeta Moroder V16T.The Veyron features a W16 engine16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders, or the equivalent of two narrow-angle V8 engines mated in a "W" configuration. Each cylinder has 4 valves, for a total of 64, but the narrow V8 configuration allows two camshafts to drive two banks of cylinders so only 4 camshafts are needed. The engine is fed by four turbochargers, and it displaces 8.0 L (7,993 cc/488 in) with a square 86 by 86 mm bore and stroke.Putting this power to the ground is a dual-clutch DSG computer-controlled manual transmission with 7 gear ratios via shifter paddles behind the steering wheel boasting an 8 ms shift time. The Veyron can be driven by full automatic transmission. The Veyron also features full-time all-wheel drive developed by UK based Ricardo helping to transfer power to the road. It uses special Michelin run-flat tires designed specifically for the Veyron to accommodate the vehicle's top speed.

According to Volkswagen, the final production Veyron engine produces between 1020 and 1040 metric hp (1006 to 1026 SAE net hp), so the car will be advertised as producing "1001 horsepower" in both the US and European markets. This makes it the most powerful production road-car engine in history. Peak torque is 1250 Nm (922 ftlbf).

Top speed was initially promised to be 252 mph (406 km/h), but test versions were unstable at that speed, forcing a redesign of the aerodynamics. In May 2005, a prototype Veyron tested at a Volkswagen track near Wolfsburg, Germany, and recorded an electronically limited top speed of 400 km/h (249 mph). In October, 2005, Car and Driver magazine's editor Csaba Csere test drove the final production version of the Veyron for the November 2005 issue. This test, at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track, reached a top speed of 253.2 mph (407.5 km/h). The top speed was verified once again by James May on Top Gear, again at Volkswagen's private test track. When getting close to the top speed during the test he said that "the tires will only last for about fifteen minutes, but it's okay because the fuel runs out in twelve." He also gave an indication of the power requirements, at 155 mph (249 km/h) the Veyron was using approximately 270 BHP (201 kW), but to get to its rated 253 mph (407 km/h) top speed required far more from the engine (the power required to overcome aerodynamic drag increases as the cube of the speed.)

Learn more about this author, Jason Sewell.
Contact this writer Click here to send author comments or questions.


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Guide to the fastest production cars

  • 1 of 14

    by Daryl Dudley

    Fast cars rule America. A steadily growing interest in fast and super fast cars has gripped the nation. Instead of wa... read more

  • 2 of 14

    by Nathan Hook

    Amongst the world's most prestigious automakers, there are currently perhaps a half dozen manufacturers whose vehicle... read more

  • 3 of 14

    by Shaan S

    It comes a point where even the fastest may not survive for very long. The well known McLaren F1 supercar, a car that... read more

  • 4 of 14

    by Philip Stromg

    Over the years we have been blessed with some truly astonishing fast cars. from the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO to the prese... read more

  • 5 of 14

    by Vincent Tramontana

    Horsepower Wars! We are in the middle of a horsepower war, and the players are very surprising. Even more surprisin... read more

View All Articles on:
Guide to the fastest production cars

Add your voice

Know something about Guide to the fastest production cars?
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

What is Helium? | User Guide | Community | Link to Helium | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA