Top Gear - Bugatti Veyron...

Dent the bodywork for sure...

And if the switches are costing 4500 UKPounds, then a wing or bonnet must be made from solid Unobtanium.

Tom De Moor

They didn't take it around the track. WTF?

Fraser

If they are losing 4 million quid on each one I don't think they are worried about the money.

Fraser

You really have no idea do you?

Fraser

I've seen two - they're on of the bargains of the big engine world.

Is that the previous S class? There's a new shape one...

Sounds normal to me.

Maybe: but in mainland Europe big engines are heavily taxed.

The German buyer has been tilted by high fuel prices, unemployment and the fact that the Passat W-types have as much status as the Passat cabbies that drive around.

Yes, it's the "old shape". Brand new, full ops and depriciating by the day. There were about 60 of them, normal version and long version. From memory, glanced at them but wasn't interested: S-class 320 cdi long version, full ops

Looks more as competing and undercutting its own dealernetwork on which automakers imposed heavy quality norms (equipement, staff, showroom and stuff). Where they "dump" the cars now, there is 1 salesperson, no workshop, nada.

But the enduser is in the win .. for the time being that is.

Tom De Moor

Aye - I was thinking of the engines being stuck together next to each other, not end on end. Thinking about it, a W16 is either 2 V8s stuck together side by side, or 2 W8s end to end.

True story.

We could all e-mail them about it but I doubt we'd get far. Would be better to see the stig take it round Silverstone with Mansell in his Masters car.

Either take off or, conversely, generate so much downforce that its tyres would explode!

I.

I don't know about savage, or a legend, but he's got all the charisma of, well, a Mitsubishi Carisma...

Was it me, or did the car go WOOOOSH when he stopped, like a bus does? I thought that sounded well cool, like some sort of brake air release.

I don't think it was a dump valve, it was as if someone had put the noise on top of the recording :)

Nice one, cheers. Didn't think of that (too tired to think last night).

It's a bit of a worry that Stig - who you never hear speak or indeed see his face - comes over as having more personality than Mansell...

Um, I think they do.

I'm pretty sure the Germans were going for an engineering superlative rather than a bespoke 'design' idea and all the terrible wankiness that entails.

(But then again, what do I know, given the choice between and F40 and a

Heretic!

Quite a dismal point of view really, Steve. Just 'cos something's been done before doesn't mean that something else shouldn't be attempted again. You big blasphemous bastard, you. And there's no such thing as over-engineering. What are you? Like a secret accountant or something?!

Anyroad, I always thought an F1 was a racer whilst the Veyron was more of a GT.

To be fair there is just one Mansell and several Stigs.

You don't think the F1 was over-engineered considering the 70mph speed limit? The Bugatti is just so far beyond what we consider supercars that it needs a new category just for it. 0-200 faster than the pansy slow F1 dose 120-200.