Autocar this week reports that the long, long-delayed Bugatti Veyron is to launch, definitely, positively, and really this time honest, in September 2005.
The car, designed to be the world's fastest road car with a top speed of 252mph and a 1,000bhp engine to make it so, has undergone a seriously troublesome development process. Much of the problem has revolved around squaring the circle of huge amounts of power generating huge amounts of heat -- and how to get rid of it while not adding too much to the drag co-efficient, which then demands more power to overcome it.
Other issues the company has had to overcome include the unavailability of road tyres to suit such a high top speed, and stability and durability problems. And that's before anyone asks non-technical questions such as "Why?".
According to the report, Bugatti president Thomas Bscher said that some 300 Veyrons will be built at the company's showcase factory in Molsheim in France. Apparently, 50 are already accounted for by paid-up deposits. That leaves just 250 of the limited run to go, then.
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