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304 Mph

800px-Henry_Ford_Museum_August_2012_25_%281965_Goldenrod_streamliner_car%29.jpg


409 mph back in 1965. (wheel driven).
 
That's not a production model

How many Bugattis will be produced?
VAG are spending millions on these cars of which a mere handful will be made while we all wonder what we'll be driving in ten years - if we are driving at all. Waste of resources - in every sense.
 
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Bet it still has a white transit in the rear view mirror on the M6...…..
 
That's not a production model

Neither is the Bugatti - the engine's been tweaked for more power, the gear ratios have been altered and there are aerodynamic mods, so not exactly 'production' in the accepted sense of the word. To qualify for the top speed record for a production car, I think they have to produce 50 examples (I maybe wrong though!)
 
Andy Wallace is exceptionally good as a test driver (he won Le Mans for me in '88 and we did much work together on the Jaguar XJ220) but I have driven at Ehra and it narrow and tree lined, so he is also exceptionally brave! At 300mph it must be like threading a needle.
The Chiron is the result of an almost 'cost no object' exercise by VAG engineering over the last 2 decades. Those cars themselves ( despite the selling price!) will never make money, but the technical lessons learnt trickle down to all VAG road cars.
 
How many Bugattis will be produced?
VAG are spending millions on these cars of which a mere handful will be made while we all wonder what we'll be driving in ten years - if we are driving at all. Waste of resources - in every sense.

Strange your on a car forum with that chain of thought. It's exercises like this which push forward the boundaries. Without achievements like this we would still be on horseback.

The tech used and the lessons learned will ultimately filter down.

It's technological progress and fascinating what can be done.
 
Strange your on a car forum with that chain of thought. It's exercises like this which push forward the boundaries. Without achievements like this we would still be on horseback.

The tech used and the lessons learned will ultimately filter down.

It's technological progress and fascinating what can be done.

We're not going to agree on this....
But, it's precisely because I enjoy driving that I criticise this. I want VAG and the likes to be devoting their resources to cars available to us to drive at a time when our entire motoring (certainly ICE powered) could disappear for the want of suitable cars in the near future. VAG however think that committing huge resources to a millionaire's plaything is more appropriate. They can't get normal cars to the road without cheating but chasing 300mph with a car that, as has been mentioned, is unlikely to be an actual road car is a priority never mind that it is an insignificant achievement in overall terms of speed.
It's exercises like this that will put us back on horseback. There really isn't any place for this. Wake up VAG. The world is seeing Greta Thunburg sail the Atlantic while VAG crow going 110mph slower than was achieved in 1965.
 
We're not going to agree on this....
But, it's precisely because I enjoy driving that I criticise this. I want VAG and the likes to be devoting their resources to cars available to us to drive at a time when our entire motoring (certainly ICE powered) could disappear for the want of suitable cars in the near future. VAG however think that committing huge resources to a millionaire's plaything is more appropriate. They can't get normal cars to the road without cheating but chasing 300mph with a car that, as has been mentioned, is unlikely to be an actual road car is a priority never mind that it is an insignificant achievement in overall terms of speed.
It's exercises like this that will put us back on horseback. There really isn't any place for this. Wake up VAG. The world is seeing Greta Thunburg sail the Atlantic while VAG crow going 110mph slower than was achieved in 1965.

You miss the point -
but the technical lessons learnt trickle down to all VAG road cars.
Same with F1, BTCC, WRC ...
One needs these extreme, no cost developments to explore potential advancements
 
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It's exercises like this that will put us back on horseback. There really isn't any place for this. Wake up VAG. The world is seeing Greta Thunburg sail the Atlantic while VAG crow going 110mph slower than was achieved in 1965.

Greta Thunburg, the public face of the elite with their privileged upbringing, who rally behind her so they can sleep at night thinking 'they are making a difference' you mean? What about the additional support crews required to fly out to ensure her trip goes smoothly? Using a forum and refreshing a page is a waste of resources. Downloading a single .jpg amounts to around 100g of CO2. But no point in taking this off topic. Rant over.
 
You miss the point -

Same with F1, BTCC, WRC ...
One needs these extreme, no cost developments to explore potential advancements

Not so. Road car development is so singularly focused now that an accidental drop out from a 300mph project becoming the future of the every day passenger car is remote. Much better is to pursue exactly the development avenues that will liberate solutions applicable to real world needs.
The only tech coming down from F1 is the hybrid tech - chosen solely for its relevance to road cars and the method by which the major manufacturers would participate.
Tech can be proven in motorsport, but not much is invented there that has much use elsewhere.
 
It really is not all about the cars or parts which are produced in these 'wasteful' projects. Engineers learn new perspectives, new reverence for deadlines, processes for learning are stretched, staff are inspired and go on to have a much more 'can do' attitude in the real world of production cars for you and I.
Just ask Honda what their racing success have meant to them, and why they are now back 'wasting' millions in F1.
IIRC, Honda said their engineers were on average 40% more productive after exposure to race programmes for a set term.
I've certainly done enough crossover road/racing projects to find that totally believable.
 
mission300.jpg



Target 300mph: Bugatti Chiron vs Hennessey Venom F5

Some interesting technical problems emerged on earlier cars such as finding a suitable testbed for the specially developed tyres- an aircraft one was finally found in the states . Another wrinkle was the heat from the exhaust was melting the surrounding bodywork till they worked out how duct it away. I guessed tyres might be a limiting factor at these speeds. It would be interesting to know the time constraints on running tyres at these speeds even specially developed ones. I imagine its measured in minutes/hours at top speed?? Something at the back of my mind about James May only allowed to run for a certain time at high speed before the tyres had to be changed when he tested a Bugatti Veyron a while back??
 
They had to X-RAY the tyres to look for defects, tyres are generally the weakest link.
 

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