2023-05-30 15:34:22
At speeds above 400 km/h, phenomenal forces are exerted on every area of a car and the human body must learn to quickly adapt to a speed it was never designed to be subjected to.
The tires alone must withstand around five tons of outward pressure, with a 44g sensor weighing the equivalent of 132kg. It is, in every way, an engineering marvel and a once-in-a-lifetime experience that Bugatti makes possible for a few close customers.
As Bugatti conducted straight-line aerodynamic testing with JBPG at the Space Florida Launch and Landing Facility, located at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, a selection of Bugatti models awaited their drivers.
They are prepared to travel to a 3-mile stretch of historic asphalt, once used as the landing facility for the Space Shuttle. Markers on the ground to this day reveal exactly where each of the shuttle’s missions stopped on its return.
There is a palpable sense of history and achievement here, and each of the drivers is eager to write their own page in this decades-long history.
Convection currents rise up from the asphalt, making the air pockets appear to glow far in the distance.
Today, the selected drivers will navigate through a magical milestone, the 400 km/h barrier, in one of the most technically innovative and intricately designed hyper sports cars of the 21st century: the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport1.
The experience is inspired by Ferdinand Piëch’s vision for the original Bugatti Veyron, who challenged engineers to build a car that could drive 400 km/h in the morning and accompany its owner to the opera at night.
Since then, the ability to seamlessly blend unparalleled speed with unparalleled luxury and elegance has been a central part of Bugatti’s identity, and today, drivers will feel that identity in its most visceral form. Bugatti customers and partners line the track, and among them is Evan Cygler, Bugatti Greenwich brand manager.
In recognition of his remarkable performance in the 2022 Bugatti Sales Excellence Program, Evan was given this opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime experience where man and machine are challenged to travel at speeds that very few Bugatti owners have ever traveled before. Your hyper sports cars – beyond 400 km/h.
Christophe Piochon, President of Bugatti Automobiles, who attended the 400 Drive, said: “Just a few years ago, reaching 400km/h required months of careful preparation, the best motorsport drivers and the most favorable conditions.
For a long time, no production car could come close to that speed, even for a moment.
But today, in the world of our meticulously engineered and engineered Bugatti hyper sports cars, we open up this performance to our customers in absolute safety and allow them something very few people will have, and most have even had the chance to experience. this with his own car.
This kind of moment is part of the incomparable Bugatti magic.”
Before their first races, the drivers underwent an intensive briefing with a Bugatti Pilote Officiel, to prepare for the physical and mental stresses they will go through.
At 400 km/h, they’ll cover the distance of 1.25 football fields every second, their bodies will experience more than 1 G of longitudinal force during full throttle, and their eyes will have a hard time locating the brake pads in the haze of heat that rises from the runway.
But, with a background in elite motorsport, the Pilote Officiel offered them valuable guidance on staying focused and on the unusual feeling of letting the car meander at high speeds rather than trying to drive it at about a third of the speed of sound.
Then the time had come for the drivers to put in their first exciting races of the day, but not before the cars were equipped with their top speed wrench.
The top speed key, which can only be used if the car’s automated systems sense conditions are safe, will move the car into the low drag position, with lower ride height and rear wing, and lower downforce. Reduced front axle drag through the repositioning of two hydraulically actuated flaps in front of the front wheels.
Now the Chiron Super Sport is aerodynamically prepared to reach its unrivaled top speed. As the first driver hits the track, left foot on the brake and full throttle, the Chiron Super Sport’s 1600PS W16 quad-turbo engine automatically finds the ideal revs for the perfect take-off.
And with the brake pedal released, he leaps forward with ferocious intent. Strapped back in the seat, the driver must grip the steering wheel tightly as the four massive wheels transfer the car’s prodigious power to the track.
The Chiron Super Sport climbs through the gears of its bespoke seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and just 11 seconds later is traveling to 300 km/h.
Howling wind begins to engulf the cabin as the Chiron’s aerodynamically perfected body slices through the air, but the driver’s focus remains straight ahead, looking out at the horizon as he accelerates towards them.
And yet the Chiron continues to pick up speed, clinging to sixth gear just after the 400km/h mark and only finding its final ratio at 403km/h. With the driver’s heart beating fast, eyes wide as the scenery flashes by, the accelerator remains rooted to the floor.
Although the Super Sport has more to give, the 3-mile runway is winding down fast, and the driver hits the brake pedal to activate the big carbon ceramic brakes, pressed hard against the seatbelt.
The roar of tires on the asphalt, the howling of the wind and the noise of the mighty W16 begin to fade, and breathing heavily, the driver’s perception of speed has changed forever.
With that, a once historic milestone is easily broken.
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