An astonishing car, although the Veyron next to you at the light will be .3 sec ahead and your girlfriend/wife will probably leave you at that point.
I agree they look MUCH better in person. Saw one in London and it was really breath taking like nothing else around it. I could not beleive someone had it in down town London traffic. Black & Red...
Thanks to Miller in Greenwich, CT, I've seen three of Veyrons so far, one being a Grand Sport. It is an incredibly well drawn, well executed car with unbelievable specs (even Captain Slow can break records in the thing.) But given the weight and handling of the Veyron, I'd go for a gated Zonda F even though the Bugatti's styling is far more to my liking. It's not even close.
I'm not a fan of the interior or exterior styling. I realize it's full of amazing engineering, but it's not a car i'd ever buy myself. I honestly believe most of its fans are only fans because of the numbers on paper, not because of its appearance. If it had 458 Italia performance levels there would be a lot more people saying that it looks like a heavily bloated VW Bug.
I've always thought the Veyron was a big "egg shaped" car, compared all the exotic cars that got me interested in this hobby over the years. The"Italian Art" aspect is missing... its a fast car, but more of a pin-up model for engineering by wind tunnel. And I understand that it has to be big to stuff all those extra radiators in. So it was built as function over form... to get amazing performance. I like to photograph it next to other cars, it gives a better sense of its size, and Easter Egg shaped profile. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
waaaaayyyyyyy TOO heavy! beauty is in the eye of the beholder . . . my eyes see no beauty in the veyron.
"Love" it? No. Appreciate it for some of the technical and engineering design that is involved? Yes, absolutely.
When I saw the car it struck me as far smaller than I thought it would be given its mission. -- Cayman's length of either 172.1in or 172.3in, to 458's 178.2in, to 599's 183.7in, to Enzo's 185.1in, to Veyron's 175.7in. -- Cayman's wheelbase of 95.1, to 458's 104.3, to 599's 108.3in, to Enzo's 104in, to Veyron's 106.7in. -- Cayman's width of 70.9in, to 458's 76.3in, to 599's 77.2.in, to Enzo's 80.1in, to Veyron's 78.7in. -- Cayman's front track of 58.7in, to 458's 65.8in, to 599's 66.5in, to Enzo's 65.4in, to Veyron's 67.5in. -- Cayman's rear track of 60.4in, to 458's 63.2in, to 599's 63.7in, to Enzo's 65.0in, to Veyron's 63.7in. -- Cayman's height of 51.4in, to 458's 47.8in, to 599's 52.6in, to Enzo's 45.2in, , to Veyron's 45.6in. The Veyron v Enzo numbers are interesting given the pics Mark(study) has shared. I look at the above and conclude that while the Veyron is no Elise dimensionally, it's not out of control huge, either. Now where's that Zonda F Roadster . . . aaah . . . http://www.instablogsimages.com/1/2011/06/09/2011_pagani_zonda_f_roadster_oyavc.jpg
I thought the same thing when I saw this red one in person, in LA, back in 2007. *I almost scored a ride in one also while I was there, but circumstances changed and I missed out. * Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's a good article, Gordon Murray commenting on the Veyron: http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/data/technical-analysis-anatomy-of-a-supercar
Gordon Murray will find faults on any supercar you show him... To him, the McLaren F1 is the best of the best and that's it! Love the Veyron - mainly because I saw a couple of shows on how it's made and was mindblown by the technology and craftsmanship that goes in to making one. Don't lust after one, but respect it.
I agree, he has good points, but they are still two very different cars for different markets. His approach on the Veyron is too technical. Much like the new McLaren vs. the 458 Italia discussions, where they made the Mc' brilliant technically but forgot the variables called lust, passion, emotion etc. Volkswagen Audi Group went out to make the Veyron because they wanted to showcase their muscles, not build an all out street racing machine like the McLaren F1. I have the same feelings for the McLaren F1 too - don't lust after it, but respect it a lot for what it is.
Veyron has no equal. it is the ultimate road going car. you can spend all day in it and be comfortable. and you can blow away anything on the road, obviously!! i dont even see how you can compare it to all these other cars. they all feel like kit cars compared to Bugatti. the quality of fit and finish alone is in a totally different league. you have to spend time with the car to get to know it, and unfortunately there are very few who will ever have that privilege. a turbo s p-car doing 2.8 to 60mph vs. a Bugatti, funny.
The McLaren is nowhere near an all out street racing machine -- not in basic form, anyway. It was designed to run 500 mile days, delivering its passengers in good shape, luggage included. And while the two cars were designed for radically different missions, many of Murray's criticisms apply to they Veyron, in the sense that he's arguing for more disciplined design. The F1 I'd want if I woke up with the appropriate budget tomorrow would be an LM or an LM clone made from one of the "other" F1s, for the sheer thrill of running it for an hour or two a month, all out, alone in that central position.
What if you're more into the thrills that only a lighter, more involving car can provide, though? And from all reports, the basic car delivers passengers in comfort so it's not like the base car is an attempt at an F50 variant.
I thought the real purpose was to drive around town and be seen in one? Image Unavailable, Please Login
I dont agree what high end exotic (Bar Ferrari) has sold out? Hell even the Mclaren F1 only sold 64 out of a proposed 300 production run.
there is nothing more thrilling than doing 0-100mph in 5 secs! the Veyron has a power to weight of roughly 4:1, a scud, what?, about 6:1. that's a massive difference. the veyron carries its weight very well. you know, mechanical grip is actually helped by more weight. anyway, part of the bugatti design brief was that the car had to be civilized enough to take your wife to dinner in....
I don't love the Veyron: 1. Beauty - through my subjective eyes, not at all. Neither is it universally regarded as a beautiful car, IMHO 2. Provenance - no race credibility, but a technological achievement 3. Rarity - yes, relatively.
Count me in as a worshipper . on the other hand I am UNABLE to understand how some dare to compare the Zonda and even mentioned in the same sentence , when Pagani didn't invest one dollar or one hour in developing an own engine to power their expensive car
Look, Pagani built their FIRST car. Do you expect someone building their first model to have a bespoke engine? Secondly, Mr. Pagani had close ties to Fangio - who had close ties to Mercedes/AMG. It's a no brainer. Besides, the Veyron engine is made of several VW engines/parts... The Zonda has a proper engine. End of discussion.
