loved that episode! Watching "Captain Slow" become the fastest driver alive... for a few minutes... and just tearing up in the eyes and his voice breaking a little.. for a petrol head that had to be a fairly life changing moment.
@@Mike23443 sir as a dumbass American I only know freedom units.. please translate to miles as I'm to lazy to Google the conversation table.. murica! What are your thoughts on the NASCAR spreading invasion of le mons? ruclips.net/video/5pb8-vmamnk/видео.htmlfeature=shared
Few cars have the impact of the F1 or the Veyron. The late 1990's produced many of my favourite cars, mostly GT1 Le Man prototype road cars, before the restrictions.
Changing superlatives is pointless. Super, hyper, ultra, etc.. They are all wonderfully engineered creations. Some are just prettier than others, especially since the people that buy them aren't really qualified to drive them at those high speeds.
It's not just a V-16 Engine. It uses a conglomeration 2 of the Volkswagen W-8 engines, each of which is a pair of 15° VR4 engines merged into one engine. So, yeah, it's a W configuration but with only 2 cylinder heads (as the VR4 engines only have 1 cylinder head for a double-bank of cylinders). I was watching some "How It's Made" type video talking about the Veyron. My mind was blown when I saw the engine block. Four banks of cylinders but only two heads.
Correct. The VR layout with its staggered cylinders is great when it comes to packaging. I remember when the mk.4 Golf came out, specifically the R32 variant. Was thinking, how did they fit a V6 in there? Dug deeper and found out it was actually a VR6, which made a lot of sense. Six staggered cylinders in a 15 degree V (as opposed to a mire conventional 60 or 90 degree V), and all sharing one very wide head.
If you have a couple of million spare for a Veyron, the other charges will not matter anymore. I have met a Bugatti owner and he literally employs someone to take care of his car. As Volkswagen planned, these cars are truly only for the super rich, not just those who think they have made big money. When these cars are used to their maximum, potential the bills for each track day can easily top 100k. Bugatti insists their technicians are on location, and for example the tires have to be replaced after only a couple of top speed runs. Not to mention how many liters of good fuel it drinks per km, or for example how often you have to get into the car to replace parts which come in at a premium Bugatti price of course.
@@marcosolo6491 Thats the Joy of being rich you have money to enjoy plenty of new hobbies, 1 day its yachting, 1 day is buying a house in Santorrini the next its racing a Veyron down the Nurhberg ring.
I remember watching Top Gear at the time and hearing something along the lines that a Veyron's tyres would only last 20 minutes at top speed. It's not too dissimilar from an F1 car in that respect. It's the ultimate custom built car, and the inevitable costs that go with that are mind boggling.
@@vehicles_n_stuff no it's not unimpressive, but going from a claimed 331 to 287 is a joke and they should never be spoken of again when it comes to top speed records.
The current record holder is Koenigsegg. Bugatti may have hit 300 but they only did it in one direction downhill with an engineering sample vehicle that never made production. The chiron 300s never got all the mechanical bits that car had.
@@Kahless00 pretty sure if Bugatti stripped achiron down to be as basic as a Jesko that the Chiron 300 wouldn’t be far off. Difference with Bugatti is it feels like an S-class merc whereas jesko is more like a boosted Honda, not the same level of luxury.
I remember when Top Gear did an episode with the Veyron and VW allowed James May to drive it on a sloped track at full speed. He took it to a very scary somewhere near 400 kph. When he stopped and got out the whole emotional load hit him and he burst into tears.
The first production model still is my favorite by far. The color that was used in the first Top Gear piece about it also was as close to perfect for me as it gets. Compared to the other faster cars mentioned the styling is so much more appealing both inside and out.
The story of the Dauer 962 is actually pretty interesting in its own right. Porsche still wanted to compete at the 1994 24 Hours Of Le Mans but they didn't have anything that worked withing the new for '94 le mans rule set which had finally abolished the use of the old Group C cars in their entirety in favour of the new LMGT1 class. It just so happened that their old factory partner Dauer Racing was working on the Dauer 962 Le Mans street car, having modified it for street use eliminated most of the elements that violated the new rules for the WEC so porsche proposed that dauer would race the car at le mans on their behalf (with appropriate modifications to make it competitive on track). The catch was that they had to build enough street versions to homologate it for racing use and at the time they only had 4 orders so they showed the FiA/ACO the finished cars and pinkie promised that they'd build the rest at a later date (they never did) which was enough for them to be granted a racing license for the car.
Sadly no mention (even though I believe the clip was used) that Captain Slowly himself Mr. James May set a world speed record in the Veryon (the Super Sport if memory serves) and was (briefly) the fastest man in the world.
Fun Fact: The most valuable car on earth is Ettore's personal custom built all black Type 57 (The Black Car), it went missing in 1940 and if its ever recovered it could sell for as much as $750.000.000 at auction.
Can't exactly(or even roughly) estimate the hypothetical value of a car unknown to still exist at over 5x the already outrageously high and inflated value of the world's most expensive car to ever trade hands, at a secret auction, from a museum by one of the biggest and longest running auto companies to ever exist.
Simon, i don’t want to gate keep car enthusiasm from you in any way, but some research to go along with the script reading would do a lot for your videos. A Mclaren F1 Car and THE Mclaren F1 are two completely different vehicles with completely different performance metrics, the SSC Tuatara never hit the speed quoted, but probably more importantly is this. The explanation of why the Veyron NEEDED to hit such a high top speed and achieve such high performance targets is an very interesting aspect, and one that goes delves into different aspects of Ferdinand Piech, his leadership style within Volkswagen, and his desire to be #1 in every cookie jar they have their hands in. Piech is so ingrained into the development of the Veyron that not mentioning him or his engineering requirements does a major disservice to the legacy of this vehicle. The Bugatti Veyron is 100% a megaproject, but for more reasons than are outlined in the video. Deeper research into this kind of topic goes a long way into giving the listener/watcher a better understanding and appreciation of why this was so important in the automotive landscape.
Yes thank you I was looking for this comment you are 100% correct! this is the reason that the goal top speed during development was 407 kph the same as the record
Pretty sure it wasn't a track and that's why they couldn't go both ways. Military or nasa runway and they were told they could only do one pass in one direction
Meh. Who even cares? On real roads in the real world, there are very few places on Earth where you could get anywhere near the top speed, and if you did, you'd be out of fuel befoe the next gas station. Anyone can make a car that can do over 300mph in a straight line. In fact, people were making piston engined cars that did over 400mph, way back before most of us here were born. What's way more impessive about the Veyron than the Venom or any Koeniggseggseggabbaviking or any of the other straight line record chasers, is that you can drive it in the real world, all day long, and not have bits falling off it, or keep breaking down, and you'll be comfortable and not deafened or roasted alive.
@@ashscott6068anyone can make a 300mph car? There are thousands of people that go to the Bonneville salt flats every event that can't, and they're building purpose built vehicles for it. The 200mph club is still relatively hard to get in for the absolute vast majority of people on earth. Where's your home built 300mph car? And who cares? The manufacturers fighting for the right to call their car the fastest, speed enthusiasts, etc. And it's not about being the fastest on city/public streets necessarily, and if you've got the money for a Veyron of any kind, you've got the money for a guy to follow you around with extra gas cans 😂
@@smnkm4ehfer As in any car company. I figured that would be obvious. As to take it literally, means you have to assume that I'm saying a blind 2 year old, born with no limbs, can make one by themselves.
When it built 1000 HP was considered unimaginable. Now with a couple turbos, some biofuel and a decent amount of displacement 1000 HP is easy. It's amazing how times have changed.
I'd say the koenigsegg regera is more advanced as they made a CVT go over 200 miles per hour, either way i'm pretty sure this is an april fools video since the buggati veyron is BY FAR not the most advanced car ever made
heres a list of more advanced cars, and this is just a very few on the top of my head, Buggati Chiron, Koenigsegg Agera, Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita, Porsche 918 spyder, Mclaren p1, Ferarri LaFerrari, and so many more i cant think of rn
@@Jeremiah-r3q No? The Koenigsegg Regera does not have a CVT, it has a single speed fixed gear transmission, also known as direct drive. Which is completely different to a CVT.
@@bmstylee😂very true. One of my fav sports cars, the Audi R8, when it came out had 400hp from a V8. At the time the mustang v8 had around 300hp if I’m not mistaken. These are all now figures you can get from a stock Audi A3. well on the S3/ RS3 versions. But still.
“This is so much more than any car you’ve ever seen, I mean it’s as easy to drive as a normal car, but it goes like a bullet, & then when you’re going down a mountain road, it handles like a Lotus Elise.” ~ Jeremy Clarkson
That 3.3 v6 they showed as reference for the F150 is really the one that was in old dodge caravans lol, like 2010 and older Most of the V8 options in F150s since the 90s have made at least 250hp, and the newer coyote 5.0 V8s put out a healthy 300+! American pickup trucks tend to be pretty well endowed as far as driveline options, quicker than most would realize
when this thing hit the streets..the numbers were unheard of....it really was a "tour de force" by VW...they didn't move the goalposts....they rewrote the book on mind bending car performace.the 1st hyper car indeed.as for the ssc tuatara...the speed quoted is to my knowledge still yet to be offically ratified.
11:08 I own a McLaren. I was recently at their dealership to get some work done, and I happened to be looking through the cars on display. They had a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport 😚🤌 Pure chef’s kiss-levels of beauty.
According to comedy television writer/television and podcast host, Conan O'Brien, the Bugatti requires a special fuel to actually run, that special fuel being, "liquid arrogance."
It’s literally engineering perfection. The sad thing is it will never happen again. It was a moment in time that could only have happened in that small window when it did, all thanks to VW’s ambitions over profit. What a remarkable thing that we all got to witness it
your comment about the engine being two v8's joined at the crank is wholly wrong. It was two vr6 engines, each with an additional two cylinders joined to a common crank through an overly complicated gear setup.,
@@OdyTypeR in the UK I guess so, in the land of fast food and NASCAR we use a yard stick. Meters is a non standard measurement here besides in flight and military applications
@@tokyosmash I meant in France. Where they're... Ahem, French. (Yes, I know this is a VW product, I'm just being ironic-ish in a failed attempt at humor. But all their targets were in km/h, just the same.)
Jason Camisa has great videos about both the veryon and eb110 that also mention the lambo connection to the eb110. These together make a great complete story!
That top speed of the Tuatara was found to be false. There are many videos that proved the actual top speed and SSC finally made it public that their claimed top speed of over 300 was not true.
Fact is, the veyron's 253mph top speed was limited due to the tire technology at the time. Had there been a more better tire, its top speed could go faster, some say it can go past 300mph
@Megaprojects Could you maybe consider doing an episode on the unbuilt Concorde replacement from the 1990s? The BAC/Aeropostale Alliance AST. Comparable in size to the 2707 but flying at Mach 2 as opposed to Mach 3.
Love your content as usual Simon but if I'm correct Bugatti actually started the endless need for speed by making aircraft not cars....the Bugatti P-100 which is an aviation jewel and worthy if a video itself
While it wouldn't have been my pick, I sure as hell can't fault the choice. The Veyron was, and is, spectacular. The noises that car makes are absolute bliss.
2 years ago I work at the hotel Bel Air in Bel Air California. And Bugatti before the concourse the elegance up in Monterey all met up at the hotel. And there was 40 of them in the parking lot from first edition. All the way to the Devo. Pretty excellent. They all started up together to take off to Monterey while I was there.
"We are gathered here today to pay respects to @TheycallmeDebris, but before we begin, have you ever needed to create a website? YOU CAN WITH SQUARESPACE!"
Towards the end of the video, you mentioned the ssc tutara hitting 300 mph that run was not counted as they used the wrong measurements and are yet to try go again you also seemed to not mention Bugattis main competitor Koenigsegg who have also been challenging the bugatti run it's also wierd how you mentions the tutara but nothing of thr chiron by the time the tutara was out the chiron had already set its 300+ run
8:51 "See if you can find a single bit of plastic" well Simon, the key for the car came straight out of VW's parts bin. It was just a plastic fob with the Bugatti emblem on the back. So the first thing you did with the car was plastic. Oh and so were the turn indicator stock, also VW's parts bin.
This is an interesting little tidbit of information "During combustion, some 2,400 PS of additional heat is generated for 1,200 PS of drive power. To cope with this, the Bugatti engine has two water circuits. The larger circuit contains 40 liters of coolant water in three radiators in the front section of the vehicle to keep the engine at operating temperature." That equates to 3600PS or 3550 BHP or 2647KW of total energy produced. This is absolutely insane. Imagine if they could somehow harness and then use that extra heat energy
Theres some distinction to make. The W18 motor was actually designed with 3 rows of 6 cylinders in a roughly v shape. But it turned out that it was not feasible because of thermal problems. The W16 was built with two VR8 engines which are extremely narrow (15 degrees) V engines which combined again loosely resemble a W shape. This concept was far superior to the W18 in almost any way and it could easily be fitted with turbo chargers, which they did, 4 of them. Hence its name 16-4. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/W18_engine en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/W16_engine
There are only 3 cars in my lifetime which have risen above the rest. The Countach because it looked next level, the F1 because it's performance was next level but the Veyron was everything next level. It is the ultimate expression of ICE cars and the way things are moving away from fossil fuels it will never be surpassed.
What I think of these days when I see these is how much changes they did to the versions after the original Veyron, I did not now they needed to change it so much, the super sport and grand sport and what not was MUCH improved over the original car... I love these tho, many think it looks ugly but I think its a lovely car, the Chiron is much better looking but also much more aggressive!
As of 2021 Bugatti is jointly owned by two companies, and has since been rebranded as Bugatti Rimac. Croatian electric supercar company Rimac has the majority share and Porsche (which is still majority owned by VW) picking up the rest. A new hybrid supercar will be announced later in the year.
My SW20 turbo Toyota MR2 is arguably just as fun and could keep up with the Bugatti on a tight track. Plus i can find most replacement parts at any autozone.
The Mercedes c111 was already fast enough to set multiple records, but Mercedes wasn't done yet. A later version employed a 4.8-liter twin-turbo V8 good for 500 hp that propelled the prototype to more than 250 mph - decades before the Bugatti Veyron, and with roughly half the power.
I was overtaken by quite a number of different car models in my life, but nothing feels like being overtaken by an accelerating Veyron. You feel it more than you hear it.
The Veyron Super Sport realiy isnt just a more powerful Veyron. They basically had to re-engineer the entire car. They tried just adding more power but the accessories (like the AC motor) couldn't cope.
The car was really epic. I wish you talked about the legacy of the car including driving across europe than Jeremy could fly in a plane, it could accelerate faster than a car that was being dropped from a plane. and Conan Obrien, when he lost his show on NBC boasted that he still had access to the bank account, so he bought a bugatti veyron with the money.
I had the chance to drive a Veyron about 15 years ago. My godfather is a car nut and always wants to show and share whatever new car he's got, just so with the Veyron. It's a little underwhelming. You can sense the size and weight of it and get a feel for the engine which is right behind the cockpit. I'm sure the sound is precisely engineered so. When moving it's quiet and comfortable, the brakes are forgiving and the power comes in incredibly smoothly as drive by wire throttle engines tend to be. It's like a Golf GTI with the DSG box. On the motorway, it starts to get misleading. Passing a car doing 100 kph, punching the throttle brings it up to 200 kph in only a second or two, but it shrugs off that so easily when you brake you hardly notice the ludricous surge. We went to get lunch 30km up a motorway (and got there unfesably quickly) and I drove back, passing quite a few cars on the way. Nearly home, I noticed my Godfather looking over at me, and I noticed he was a bit worried until I looked down.... we, I, was doing over 230kph! (that's a buck-forty in freedom units) And had no idea! A Veyron has so much excess performance in hand that it is hard to feel how fast it is. I suspect that the only way to experience a Veyron is to get it over 300kph to actually feel it get its second wind. My S2000 at 200kph feels like the speed of bad news by comparison! My Godfather mentioned the price of the tyres only after we parked up! The only experience that mere mortals like us can afford are Hyperbikes like the Suzuki Hyabusa or Honda Super Blackbird. My own VFR1200F is in similar league and has the same kind of crazy acceleration/deceleration feel. A regular occurrence has me take a quick look down to the speedo and saying "oh shit" and slowing down real fast. As for the reason that VW built and paid for the Veyron? Ferdinand Piech said so.
James May spoke about this when he did his top speed runs. He said it was so smooth and uneventful even at 250mph that he pulled into pits afterwards and was slowing down and thought he'll open the door while rolling to talk to the crew and staff stood on the pit all... Only to look down and still realise he was going 70mph 🤣
Wired magazine’s review of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport is still the best car review, dare I say review of anything, of all time. Please look it up, it’s godly
It amazing me that the land speed record was at 300mph and getting there was a challenge. And now that's a road car speed. And if you know the right garage, it's possible on quite a few cars.
I can appreciate the Veyron for what it is-they are a marvel and became a symbol of the super rich. I’m hurt that the F-150 version chosen as a “comparison” was the V6…that’s the thing now, but jeez at least use the Coyote motor for comparison instead of the V6.
I respect the Bugatti Veyron for going over the magical barrier of 400kph. But for me the Mclaren F1 will remain as the best car of all time. The peak of automotive achievement. THE car.
I remember seeing a Bugatti Veyron up close, and I think the only non-specialised piece that Bugatti put is the ignition key, which is standard Volkswagen item.
When this car came out i litteraly remember it when i was a kid. It litteraly stuck with me. And the ssc ultimate aero. But this car always stuck with me. Reading about it in the 2010 world record book litteraly blew my mind as a kid i was like WTF?!?! It literally messed my mind my up😂 i loved it all through its life cycle and the chrion's release and i still prefer the veyron. I literally have a model of the world record car. It gives me chills. I didnt understand car loving but this car definitely was my first. Whenever i got older i released the hype was ACTUALLY REAL with this car, yes its expensive to maintain, but other than that its a legendary car, ive heard insane stories from reputable sources. And all i can say is just a RIDE in a veyron or seeing one would mess me up for a couple days. Apparently 1 exists in my area so maybe ill cross its path one day. Legendary car i could make this 3 pages. This car really changed cars and made it more interesting and cool for me. Like alot of people. The veyron is litteraly my favorite car. Only car i have many models of. Thr veyron will forever live in my heart. Maybe ill see one cause i been looking to see one soon.
1 did 176 or 177 for about half a second on a motorcycle. Scared myself enough to never do it again. Cannot imagine how wild 253 is. I would go for a ride one time though!😂
Unlocking and playing with this in Gran Turismo was amazing. I don't remember if it was GT3 or GT4. But it's the closest I'll ever get to the real thing. Man was it fun to race with though. Although, still not as fun as the formula one cars. Those things can stop on a dime. Make a hairpin turn. And be right back to 200mph faster than you can say Simon Whistler.😂
When the McLaren F1 did the 240 mph it was already 5 years old, and let’s be clear it put 20mph on the record, had it been allowed to go for the top speed immediately in 1992 it would have held the record for some 14 years, something the Bugatti never did, and this was from a naturally aspirated car. And let’s not forget the F1 was a proven race winner, something that the Bugatti Veyron has never done
To quote James may " at top speed the tires will only last 14 minutes, which is fine because it will run out of fuel in 11"
loved that episode! Watching "Captain Slow" become the fastest driver alive... for a few minutes... and just tearing up in the eyes and his voice breaking a little.. for a petrol head that had to be a fairly life changing moment.
runs out of fuel in 12, literally just watched a clip of clarkson talking about it about 2 hours ago haha
@@ashleygoggs5679 what's a minute between lovers 😂
@@jammer2isme and in those 11 minutes it will do about 70km
@@Mike23443 sir as a dumbass American I only know freedom units.. please translate to miles as I'm to lazy to Google the conversation table.. murica! What are your thoughts on the NASCAR spreading invasion of le mons?
ruclips.net/video/5pb8-vmamnk/видео.htmlfeature=shared
It could definitely be argued that the McLaren F1 was the best production super car and the Veyron ushered us into the world of hyper cars.
Few cars have the impact of the F1 or the Veyron. The late 1990's produced many of my favourite cars, mostly GT1 Le Man prototype road cars, before the restrictions.
Make no mistake, McLaren F1 is the greatest car.
Totally agree. The McLaren F1 was the best drivers car. The Veyron just used brute force to do what it did.
Exactly all I could think about from the title to the end credits ✊🏻
Changing superlatives is pointless. Super, hyper, ultra, etc.. They are all wonderfully engineered creations. Some are just prettier than others, especially since the people that buy them aren't really qualified to drive them at those high speeds.
It's not just a V-16 Engine. It uses a conglomeration 2 of the Volkswagen W-8 engines, each of which is a pair of 15° VR4 engines merged into one engine. So, yeah, it's a W configuration but with only 2 cylinder heads (as the VR4 engines only have 1 cylinder head for a double-bank of cylinders).
I was watching some "How It's Made" type video talking about the Veyron. My mind was blown when I saw the engine block. Four banks of cylinders but only two heads.
Correct.
The VR layout with its staggered cylinders is great when it comes to packaging. I remember when the mk.4 Golf came out, specifically the R32 variant. Was thinking, how did they fit a V6 in there? Dug deeper and found out it was actually a VR6, which made a lot of sense. Six staggered cylinders in a 15 degree V (as opposed to a mire conventional 60 or 90 degree V), and all sharing one very wide head.
If you have a couple of million spare for a Veyron, the other charges will not matter anymore. I have met a Bugatti owner and he literally employs someone to take care of his car. As Volkswagen planned, these cars are truly only for the super rich, not just those who think they have made big money.
When these cars are used to their maximum, potential the bills for each track day can easily top 100k. Bugatti insists their technicians are on location, and for example the tires have to be replaced after only a couple of top speed runs. Not to mention how many liters of good fuel it drinks per km, or for example how often you have to get into the car to replace parts which come in at a premium Bugatti price of course.
Did anyone ever suggest owning a Veyron was cheap? I'm at a loss as to your beyond obvious point.. :P
Running flat out i believe Clarkson said it would drink 100l tank in 12 minutes.
@@marcosolo6491 Thats the Joy of being rich you have money to enjoy plenty of new hobbies, 1 day its yachting, 1 day is buying a house in Santorrini the next its racing a Veyron down the Nurhberg ring.
@@dc4825I was thinking of getting a new economy venyron and this guy saved me from a financial mistake
Funny thing is you can get a lot of parts from vw at a tenth of the Bugatti price
"Jeremy Clarkson, patron saint of internal combustion".
so true
If ut wasn't for that one incident he'd have a knighthood
🤣
At 200 mph, you’re
Traveling 300 ft per
Second…
A football field
EVERY SECOND!!😳
Truly an astronomical
Effort of technology
And passion…
I remember James May being moved to tears after taking the regular version to its top speed. A car that can make grown men cry. What a machine.
I remember watching Top Gear at the time and hearing something along the lines that a Veyron's tyres would only last 20 minutes at top speed. It's not too dissimilar from an F1 car in that respect. It's the ultimate custom built car, and the inevitable costs that go with that are mind boggling.
I believe that was may who said that only for Clarkson to state it doesn't matter as it will run out of fuel in 13 minutes haha, sweet memories
@@camerongooch9606 12 minutes
10 mins
That type 57 was freaking beautiful
It’s Ettoré damnit, and the Tuatara didn’t hit that top speed, it fell on its face
The Tuatara never hit 316mph, they had to hang their heads in shame when Shmee150 and Misha called them out on it and proved it falsified
I think it still hit 287 or something, which isn’t unimpressive
strange thing is that the Tuatara lizard is not a fast animal
@@vehicles_n_stuff no it's not unimpressive, but going from a claimed 331 to 287 is a joke and they should never be spoken of again when it comes to top speed records.
The current record holder is Koenigsegg. Bugatti may have hit 300 but they only did it in one direction downhill with an engineering sample vehicle that never made production. The chiron 300s never got all the mechanical bits that car had.
@@Kahless00 pretty sure if Bugatti stripped achiron down to be as basic as a Jesko that the Chiron 300 wouldn’t be far off.
Difference with Bugatti is it feels like an S-class merc whereas jesko is more like a boosted Honda, not the same level of luxury.
My son got a ride in Veyron Super Sport a few years ago. He loved it! Was an amazing experience.
I remember when Top Gear did an episode with the Veyron and VW allowed James May to drive it on a sloped track at full speed. He took it to a very scary somewhere near 400 kph. When he stopped and got out the whole emotional load hit him and he burst into tears.
That was an awesome April 1st video!
I know right lol
1:15 - Chapter 1 - Bugatti's beleagured backstory
4:20 - Chapter 2 - Acquisition & development
7:55 - Chapter 3 - Design & performance
12:20 - Chapter 4 - Sales & impact
The first production model still is my favorite by far. The color that was used in the first Top Gear piece about it also was as close to perfect for me as it gets. Compared to the other faster cars mentioned the styling is so much more appealing both inside and out.
"... And across the line.".
Yes!!!
I have no idea why the Porsche 959 has not yet had a Megaprojects video.
The squid did a good vid of the 959
The story of the Dauer 962 is actually pretty interesting in its own right.
Porsche still wanted to compete at the 1994 24 Hours Of Le Mans but they didn't have anything that worked withing the new for '94 le mans rule set which had finally abolished the use of the old Group C cars in their entirety in favour of the new LMGT1 class.
It just so happened that their old factory partner Dauer Racing was working on the Dauer 962 Le Mans street car, having modified it for street use eliminated most of the elements that violated the new rules for the WEC so porsche proposed that dauer would race the car at le mans on their behalf (with appropriate modifications to make it competitive on track).
The catch was that they had to build enough street versions to homologate it for racing use and at the time they only had 4 orders so they showed the FiA/ACO the finished cars and pinkie promised that they'd build the rest at a later date (they never did) which was enough for them to be granted a racing license for the car.
The Dauer 962 road car would be the first car I’d buy if I won the big jackpot, followed very closely by a black BMW 507 convertible
Sadly no mention (even though I believe the clip was used) that Captain Slowly himself Mr. James May set a world speed record in the Veryon (the Super Sport if memory serves) and was (briefly) the fastest man in the world.
"I build my cars to go, not to stop."
-- Ettore Bugatti
Fun fact - the new Buggati ethos is to stop faster than goes.
0:43 The Stig!
Some say he cameos in YT videos, and that he hears in Technicolor. All we know is he's called The STIG.
Fun Fact:
The most valuable car on earth is Ettore's personal custom built all black Type 57 (The Black Car), it went missing in 1940 and if its ever recovered it could sell for as much as $750.000.000 at auction.
Can't exactly(or even roughly) estimate the hypothetical value of a car unknown to still exist at over 5x the already outrageously high and inflated value of the world's most expensive car to ever trade hands, at a secret auction, from a museum by one of the biggest and longest running auto companies to ever exist.
Simon, i don’t want to gate keep car enthusiasm from you in any way, but some research to go along with the script reading would do a lot for your videos.
A Mclaren F1 Car and THE Mclaren F1 are two completely different vehicles with completely different performance metrics, the SSC Tuatara never hit the speed quoted, but probably more importantly is this. The explanation of why the Veyron NEEDED to hit such a high top speed and achieve such high performance targets is an very interesting aspect, and one that goes delves into different aspects of Ferdinand Piech, his leadership style within Volkswagen, and his desire to be #1 in every cookie jar they have their hands in. Piech is so ingrained into the development of the Veyron that not mentioning him or his engineering requirements does a major disservice to the legacy of this vehicle.
The Bugatti Veyron is 100% a megaproject, but for more reasons than are outlined in the video. Deeper research into this kind of topic goes a long way into giving the listener/watcher a better understanding and appreciation of why this was so important in the automotive landscape.
That and saying at 16:45 that Ferrari is part of the VW group.
Yes thank you I was looking for this comment you are 100% correct! this is the reason that the goal top speed during development was 407 kph the same as the record
Just adding that the Hennessey Venom never officially broke the Veyron's speed record as they never drove both directions of the track.
Just like Bugatti never broke the Agera RS record.
Pretty sure it wasn't a track and that's why they couldn't go both ways. Military or nasa runway and they were told they could only do one pass in one direction
Meh. Who even cares? On real roads in the real world, there are very few places on Earth where you could get anywhere near the top speed, and if you did, you'd be out of fuel befoe the next gas station. Anyone can make a car that can do over 300mph in a straight line. In fact, people were making piston engined cars that did over 400mph, way back before most of us here were born. What's way more impessive about the Veyron than the Venom or any Koeniggseggseggabbaviking or any of the other straight line record chasers, is that you can drive it in the real world, all day long, and not have bits falling off it, or keep breaking down, and you'll be comfortable and not deafened or roasted alive.
@@ashscott6068anyone can make a 300mph car? There are thousands of people that go to the Bonneville salt flats every event that can't, and they're building purpose built vehicles for it. The 200mph club is still relatively hard to get in for the absolute vast majority of people on earth. Where's your home built 300mph car?
And who cares? The manufacturers fighting for the right to call their car the fastest, speed enthusiasts, etc. And it's not about being the fastest on city/public streets necessarily, and if you've got the money for a Veyron of any kind, you've got the money for a guy to follow you around with extra gas cans 😂
@@smnkm4ehfer As in any car company. I figured that would be obvious. As to take it literally, means you have to assume that I'm saying a blind 2 year old, born with no limbs, can make one by themselves.
Bugatti Chiron is obviously more advanced. But the Veyron was the first 1,000 HP luxury sport offering
When it built 1000 HP was considered unimaginable. Now with a couple turbos, some biofuel and a decent amount of displacement 1000 HP is easy. It's amazing how times have changed.
I'd say the koenigsegg regera is more advanced as they made a CVT go over 200 miles per hour, either way i'm pretty sure this is an april fools video since the buggati veyron is BY FAR not the most advanced car ever made
heres a list of more advanced cars, and this is just a very few on the top of my head, Buggati Chiron, Koenigsegg Agera, Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita, Porsche 918 spyder, Mclaren p1, Ferarri LaFerrari, and so many more i cant think of rn
@@Jeremiah-r3q No? The Koenigsegg Regera does not have a CVT, it has a single speed fixed gear transmission, also known as direct drive. Which is completely different to a CVT.
@@bmstylee😂very true. One of my fav sports cars, the Audi R8, when it came out had 400hp from a V8. At the time the mustang v8 had around 300hp if I’m not mistaken. These are all now figures you can get from a stock Audi A3. well on the S3/ RS3 versions. But still.
“This is so much more than any car you’ve ever seen, I mean it’s as easy to drive as a normal car, but it goes like a bullet, & then when you’re going down a mountain road, it handles like a Lotus Elise.” ~ Jeremy Clarkson
Indeed. When it comes to its level of engineering, ability and refinement in a road car, it absolutely is the greatest car ever made
Lotus Elise*
A 4000lb 15ft wide Lotus Elise
@@crunks420 with 1kHP ;)
Been waiting for this channel to cover cars
That 3.3 v6 they showed as reference for the F150 is really the one that was in old dodge caravans lol, like 2010 and older
Most of the V8 options in F150s since the 90s have made at least 250hp, and the newer coyote 5.0 V8s put out a healthy 300+! American pickup trucks tend to be pretty well endowed as far as driveline options, quicker than most would realize
when this thing hit the streets..the numbers were unheard of....it really was a "tour de force" by VW...they didn't move the goalposts....they rewrote the book on mind bending car performace.the 1st hyper car indeed.as for the ssc tuatara...the speed quoted is to my knowledge still yet to be offically ratified.
10:17 I had most definitely had heard of the 962 before this video. It’s one of the most LEGENDARY endurance racing prototypes ever.
So much Top Gear footage.
It's great!
All of Top Gear is first class footage. The camera crews and editors don't get enough credit.
Finally! An episode of Megaprojects that commands my full attention, not just background noise. Please do more car episodes!
3:35 His name is Romano ARTIOLI, not whatever that was
11:08 I own a McLaren. I was recently at their dealership to get some work done, and I happened to be looking through the cars on display. They had a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport 😚🤌 Pure chef’s kiss-levels of beauty.
According to comedy television writer/television and podcast host, Conan O'Brien, the Bugatti requires a special fuel to actually run, that special fuel being, "liquid arrogance."
It’s literally engineering perfection. The sad thing is it will never happen again. It was a moment in time that could only have happened in that small window when it did, all thanks to VW’s ambitions over profit. What a remarkable thing that we all got to witness it
Great video as always mate,
Just 1 correction it’s 1001 hp to the crank not the wheel (about 890 wheel hp)
your comment about the engine being two v8's joined at the crank is wholly wrong. It was two vr6 engines, each with an additional two cylinders joined to a common crank through an overly complicated gear setup.,
More like 2 VR8 lengthwise
W8
Do you feel any better now?
@@petermuller161yup 2 x VR8 is the best description.
😂@@dc4825
Immediately on opening this,
“if you don’t mention the EB110 and it being a yardstick I’m going to scream”
3:53 "a simply monstrous figure for the time" - is that close enough? Idk.
Not to get caught up in semantics, but wouldn't it be a meterstick?
@@OdyTypeR in the UK I guess so, in the land of fast food and NASCAR we use a yard stick. Meters is a non standard measurement here besides in flight and military applications
@@tokyosmash
I meant in France. Where they're... Ahem, French.
(Yes, I know this is a VW product, I'm just being ironic-ish in a failed attempt at humor. But all their targets were in km/h, just the same.)
@@OdyTypeR all the “early Bugatti’s” that VW built were styled by ItalDesign and tested in Germany
YES!!! Best of both worlds. Simon and cars. lol AM I RIGHT PETER!?!
this is a surprise now i would love to see one of the mclaren f1 road car
Which is, actually the greatest car ever made, not this naff top trumps Dubai trinket.
@@keithposter5543well, Gordon Murray’s T.50 has surpassed it but otherwise I absolutely agree . The Bugatti is just too heavy.
@@nickclarkuk Absolutely, but the problem with the T50 is you have to look at it as you get in ;-)
Jason Camisa has great videos about both the veryon and eb110 that also mention the lambo connection to the eb110. These together make a great complete story!
Lol the F-150 V6 "b-roll" is actually a dodge 3.3l V6 in a grand caravan. That made me smile thanks.
7:05 One of the few production cars that look better than their final prototypes!
A complete history of any car company would be cool kinda like Simon Whistlers version of up to speed.
Simon talking cars is my sweetspot
That top speed of the Tuatara was found to be false. There are many videos that proved the actual top speed and SSC finally made it public that their claimed top speed of over 300 was not true.
Fact is, the veyron's 253mph top speed was limited due to the tire technology at the time. Had there been a more better tire, its top speed could go faster, some say it can go past 300mph
@Megaprojects Could you maybe consider doing an episode on the unbuilt Concorde replacement from the 1990s? The BAC/Aeropostale Alliance AST. Comparable in size to the 2707 but flying at Mach 2 as opposed to Mach 3.
Great idea, The 1980s British Aerospace HOTOL would also be most welcome.
Love your content as usual Simon but if I'm correct Bugatti actually started the endless need for speed by making aircraft not cars....the Bugatti P-100 which is an aviation jewel and worthy if a video itself
While it wouldn't have been my pick, I sure as hell can't fault the choice. The Veyron was, and is, spectacular. The noises that car makes are absolute bliss.
2 years ago I work at the hotel Bel Air in Bel Air California. And Bugatti before the concourse the elegance up in Monterey all met up at the hotel. And there was 40 of them in the parking lot from first edition. All the way to the Devo. Pretty excellent. They all started up together to take off to Monterey while I was there.
Your voice is so soothing. I want you to read at my funeral lol
"We are gathered here today to pay respects to @TheycallmeDebris, but before we begin, have you ever needed to create a website? YOU CAN WITH SQUARESPACE!"
Towards the end of the video, you mentioned the ssc tutara hitting 300 mph that run was not counted as they used the wrong measurements and are yet to try go again you also seemed to not mention Bugattis main competitor Koenigsegg who have also been challenging the bugatti run it's also wierd how you mentions the tutara but nothing of thr chiron by the time the tutara was out the chiron had already set its 300+ run
8:51 "See if you can find a single bit of plastic" well Simon, the key for the car came straight out of VW's parts bin. It was just a plastic fob with the Bugatti emblem on the back. So the first thing you did with the car was plastic. Oh and so were the turn indicator stock, also VW's parts bin.
Gruelling remarks.
Give them some credit, the key was wrapped in leather
This is an interesting little tidbit of information
"During combustion, some 2,400 PS of additional heat is generated for 1,200 PS of drive power. To cope with this, the Bugatti engine has two water circuits. The larger circuit contains 40 liters of coolant water in three radiators in the front section of the vehicle to keep the engine at operating temperature." That equates to 3600PS or 3550 BHP or 2647KW of total energy produced.
This is absolutely insane. Imagine if they could somehow harness and then use that extra heat energy
"$uperCar?" Guess you've never rode in a '94 GEO METRO!
Theres some distinction to make. The W18 motor was actually designed with 3 rows of 6 cylinders in a roughly v shape. But it turned out that it was not feasible because of thermal problems.
The W16 was built with two VR8 engines which are extremely narrow (15 degrees) V engines which combined again loosely resemble a W shape. This concept was far superior to the W18 in almost any way and it could easily be fitted with turbo chargers, which they did, 4 of them. Hence its name 16-4.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/W18_engine
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/W16_engine
There are only 3 cars in my lifetime which have risen above the rest. The Countach because it looked next level, the F1 because it's performance was next level but the Veyron was everything next level. It is the ultimate expression of ICE cars and the way things are moving away from fossil fuels it will never be surpassed.
Omg 😮 Those performance numbers
Didn't expect to see car content here. Hopefully we'll get more!
This, brought back Top Gear - James May memories; God Speed, Captain Slow !!
The title of the world's greatest car ever made changes like the weather.
How so?
Well done Simon.😎
😮thank you
What I think of these days when I see these is how much changes they did to the versions after the original Veyron, I did not now they needed to change it so much, the super sport and grand sport and what not was MUCH improved over the original car... I love these tho, many think it looks ugly but I think its a lovely car, the Chiron is much better looking but also much more aggressive!
Ugh, Scirocco forbidden fruit💔My first car was an 08 Jetta, loved it!(the Scirocco was the same platform but not brought to the states😕)
Excellent stuff bro
please bring back bloopers in the end, for all channels
They'd be longer than the videos themselves...
@@nightwishlover8913 perfect
As of 2021 Bugatti is jointly owned by two companies, and has since been rebranded as Bugatti Rimac.
Croatian electric supercar company Rimac has the majority share and Porsche (which is still majority owned by VW) picking up the rest. A new hybrid supercar will be announced later in the year.
Praise Saint Clarkson! Praise Saint May! Praise Saint Hamster!
Petrol Holy Trinity ;)
My SW20 turbo Toyota MR2 is arguably just as fun and could keep up with the Bugatti on a tight track. Plus i can find most replacement parts at any autozone.
Nice to see The Stig make an appearance
Pretty laid back episode of up to speed man
The Mercedes c111 was already fast enough to set multiple records, but Mercedes wasn't done yet. A later version employed a 4.8-liter twin-turbo V8 good for 500 hp that propelled the prototype to more than 250 mph - decades before the Bugatti Veyron, and with roughly half the power.
I was overtaken by quite a number of different car models in my life, but nothing feels like being overtaken by an accelerating Veyron. You feel it more than you hear it.
The Veyron Super Sport realiy isnt just a more powerful Veyron. They basically had to re-engineer the entire car. They tried just adding more power but the accessories (like the AC motor) couldn't cope.
The car was really epic. I wish you talked about the legacy of the car including driving across europe than Jeremy could fly in a plane, it could accelerate faster than a car that was being dropped from a plane. and Conan Obrien, when he lost his show on NBC boasted that he still had access to the bank account, so he bought a bugatti veyron with the money.
Very nice!
I had the chance to drive a Veyron about 15 years ago. My godfather is a car nut and always wants to show and share whatever new car he's got, just so with the Veyron. It's a little underwhelming. You can sense the size and weight of it and get a feel for the engine which is right behind the cockpit. I'm sure the sound is precisely engineered so. When moving it's quiet and comfortable, the brakes are forgiving and the power comes in incredibly smoothly as drive by wire throttle engines tend to be. It's like a Golf GTI with the DSG box. On the motorway, it starts to get misleading. Passing a car doing 100 kph, punching the throttle brings it up to 200 kph in only a second or two, but it shrugs off that so easily when you brake you hardly notice the ludricous surge. We went to get lunch 30km up a motorway (and got there unfesably quickly) and I drove back, passing quite a few cars on the way. Nearly home, I noticed my Godfather looking over at me, and I noticed he was a bit worried until I looked down.... we, I, was doing over 230kph! (that's a buck-forty in freedom units) And had no idea! A Veyron has so much excess performance in hand that it is hard to feel how fast it is. I suspect that the only way to experience a Veyron is to get it over 300kph to actually feel it get its second wind. My S2000 at 200kph feels like the speed of bad news by comparison! My Godfather mentioned the price of the tyres only after we parked up!
The only experience that mere mortals like us can afford are Hyperbikes like the Suzuki Hyabusa or Honda Super Blackbird. My own VFR1200F is in similar league and has the same kind of crazy acceleration/deceleration feel. A regular occurrence has me take a quick look down to the speedo and saying "oh shit" and slowing down real fast.
As for the reason that VW built and paid for the Veyron? Ferdinand Piech said so.
James May spoke about this when he did his top speed runs.
He said it was so smooth and uneventful even at 250mph that he pulled into pits afterwards and was slowing down and thought he'll open the door while rolling to talk to the crew and staff stood on the pit all...
Only to look down and still realise he was going 70mph 🤣
Wired magazine’s review of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport is still the best car review, dare I say review of anything, of all time. Please look it up, it’s godly
Hypercar*
Same with F1. Simon better hope Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t see as he will go mental if he did.
Good stuff! Now do one for Top Fuel and for the Lambo Egoista.
It amazing me that the land speed record was at 300mph and getting there was a challenge. And now that's a road car speed. And if you know the right garage, it's possible on quite a few cars.
I can appreciate the Veyron for what it is-they are a marvel and became a symbol of the super rich. I’m hurt that the F-150 version chosen as a “comparison” was the V6…that’s the thing now, but jeez at least use the Coyote motor for comparison instead of the V6.
I respect the Bugatti Veyron for going over the magical barrier of 400kph. But for me the Mclaren F1 will remain as the best car of all time. The peak of automotive achievement. THE car.
I remember seeing a Bugatti Veyron up close, and I think the only non-specialised piece that Bugatti put is the ignition key, which is standard Volkswagen item.
When this car came out i litteraly remember it when i was a kid. It litteraly stuck with me. And the ssc ultimate aero. But this car always stuck with me. Reading about it in the 2010 world record book litteraly blew my mind as a kid i was like WTF?!?! It literally messed my mind my up😂 i loved it all through its life cycle and the chrion's release and i still prefer the veyron. I literally have a model of the world record car. It gives me chills. I didnt understand car loving but this car definitely was my first. Whenever i got older i released the hype was ACTUALLY REAL with this car, yes its expensive to maintain, but other than that its a legendary car, ive heard insane stories from reputable sources. And all i can say is just a RIDE in a veyron or seeing one would mess me up for a couple days. Apparently 1 exists in my area so maybe ill cross its path one day. Legendary car i could make this 3 pages. This car really changed cars and made it more interesting and cool for me. Like alot of people. The veyron is litteraly my favorite car. Only car i have many models of. Thr veyron will forever live in my heart. Maybe ill see one cause i been looking to see one soon.
Literally?
@@hoverleash1117 litteraly.
Really excited to see what bugatti will be doing this year as they move away from v12.
I think the best thing about the Veyron was that it's meant to feel as comfortable as a sedan doing 60MPH, while the Veyron itself is doing 200~MPH
This may be your best video!
Remember how Jeremey James and Richard laughed that it would never happen?
Or that the brakes and steering would be ready at the last minute ?
1 did 176 or 177 for about half a second on a motorcycle. Scared myself enough to never do it again. Cannot imagine how wild 253 is. I would go for a ride one time though!😂
Well done.
Unlocking and playing with this in Gran Turismo was amazing. I don't remember if it was GT3 or GT4. But it's the closest I'll ever get to the real thing.
Man was it fun to race with though. Although, still not as fun as the formula one cars.
Those things can stop on a dime. Make a hairpin turn. And be right back to 200mph faster than you can say Simon Whistler.😂
I love sports cars. Bugatti is one of my favorites.
Would like to see more cars!
When the McLaren F1 did the 240 mph it was already 5 years old, and let’s be clear it put 20mph on the record, had it been allowed to go for the top speed immediately in 1992 it would have held the record for some 14 years, something the Bugatti never did, and this was from a naturally aspirated car.
And let’s not forget the F1 was a proven race winner, something that the Bugatti Veyron has never done
Ain't no F-150 pickup doing 180 mph. You forgot to convert from kph to mph.
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