Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Mad, utterly, stunningly, jaw droppingly bonkers...

This car is faster than a Formula One racer. One just like it was smashed up on Sunday - on an ordinary 40-mph section of a Surrey road.

A pregnant woman who was in an Astra van it collided with was taken to hospital after the smash but later went home.

You can see the result HERE.

Two blokes were in the handcrafted Bugatti Veyron: Police have booked the driver for driving without due care and attention.

I have no idea what speed the eight-litre Bugatti Veyron - or the Astra van - were being driven at the time of the collision.

It is highly unlikely that it was anything near its top speed of over 250mph (that's the Bugatti, not the Astra van).

Just imagine travelling in a car that can do 250 mph: The Bugatti produces an astonishing 1,000 horsepower and can roar from 0-to-60mph in 2.5 seconds.

It also has a price-tag of £800,000.

Anyone in any doubt whether such an incredible machine should be allowed on British roads (in the hands of anyone except a professional racing driver at least) should read Jeremy Clarkson's review of the Bugatti Veyron.

Here's an extract:

At 200mph you can feel the front of the car getting light as it starts to lift. As a result you start to lose your steering, so you aren’t even able to steer round whatever it is you can’t see because of the vibrations.

Make no mistake, 200mph is at the limit of what man can do right now. Which is why the new Bugatti Veyron is worthy of some industrial strength genuflection. Because it can do 252mph.

And that’s just mad — 252mph means that in straight and level flight this car is as near as makes no difference as fast as a Hawker Hurricane.

You might point out at this juncture that the McLaren F1 could top 240mph, but at that speed it was pretty much out of control. And anyway it really isn’t in the same league as the Bugatti.

In a drag race you could let the McLaren get to 120mph before setting off in the Veyron. And you’d still get to 200mph first. The Bugatti is way, way faster than anything else the roads have seen.

Utterly, stunningly, jaw droppingly brilliant...


Really!

No comments: