I saw this first in an antique medium, printed on clay-coated paper, in a doctor's office. (I think it used to be called a magazine, species Automobile.) But this description of what happens when the writer puts his foot down on the gas in the 1001 horsepower Bugatti Veyron had me laughing to the point where I suspect the office staff was wondering if I was having some dangerous reaction to the blood draw:
The most incredible thing about the all-wheel-drive Veyron is not its engine but its drivetrain. A Veyron just digs in and goes. I try not to indulge in hyperbole, but when I floor the Veyron, we pass a tribe of Morlocks and the Wicked Witch of the West, and the sky turns green and commuters fly past on personal dirigibles, and then I hit the brakes and we return to our dimension.I confess: on the few occasions when I have put my foot all the way to the floor in the Corvette for more than a second, I can at least vaguely understand what he is talking about.
Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/features/columns/1201_dyer_consequences_has_rear_wheel_drive_reached_its_limit/index.html#ixzz1m0ctvUPr
I had the opportunity to work with a Veyron back in 2006. What impressed me more than the "jump to light speed" acceleration was the utter civility of the car. It sat and idled happily in 100°+ weather for an hour with no sign of overheating. I got in, mashed the accelerator to the floor and the engine never hiccuped, it didn't load the plugs, did nothing but launch the car in great and brutal hurry.
ReplyDeleteMy first car was a 1968 Dodge Superbee, with a 383 CI engine, and a 727 automatic transmission.
ReplyDeleteThe power of that car was intoxicating. I can still hear my girlfriend screaming at me to slow down as we flew down a country road at over 100 miles per hour. One wandering dairy cow and it would have been the end for both of us.
The tires that were on the car when I bought it used were not new, and only lasted me a few months. The cost of replacing the tires, moreso than the cost of refilling the ever-thirsty gas tank, lightened my right foot considerably.
And hell yes, if I could do it over again, I most certainly would!
I worked with a young kid, once, who was just starting his first real job. First thing he did was go out to a dealership out on the highway, and buy a new Camaro. And first thing he did with it, as he pulled out of the parking lot onto the frontage road, was to put his foot down.
ReplyDeleteTo immediately spin out, and smash up against the concrete dividers that separated the frontage road from the highway, proper.
In other words, he totaled his new Camaro, less than 50 feet after he left the parking lot.