2013 Tesla Model S on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Fast doesn't begin to describe it | 2017 Bugatti Chiron First Drive

Long after the heat of the moment, I pull off the highway in rural Portugal and glance at the Bugatti Chiron's center console. As the engine cools and the carbon silicon carbide brake rotors start to dissipate heat, the onboard computer's telemetry reveals some staggering figures: A peak speed of 377 km/h (do the math, and that's 234 mph), with the quad-turbocharged W16 squeezing a max of 1,466 horsepower at 6,691 rpm. Did I just drive a car or fly a plane? The mind-boggling brain shuffle of Bugatti's latest land rocket cannot be understated, even when placed in context against the now-defunct Veyron. In ultimate Super Sport trim, the Veyron produced a stunning 1,200 (metric) horsepower. The Chiron's leap to 1,500 ponies required considerable development, testing, and re-engineering. That exhaustive process saw significant challenges, even late in the game. Consider the high-speed testing incident in South Africa: despite extensive test-bench work, real-world driving revealed that the immense exhaust heat was melting the rear bumper and nearly igniting the car. The solution, it turns out, was to add a duct so airflow from the underbody could channel through and diffuse the heat. Hashtag: #1500HorsepowerProblems. For the 500 wealthy souls who will take delivery, the $2,998,000 Chiron is most certainly an emotional purchase. But it's backed by a battery of left-brain thinking aimed at making it a quicker, smoother, more involving car than its famously controversial predecessor. For starters, only five percent of the engine's parts are retained from the Veyron, the bulk of the new parts getting strengthened, lightened, and re-engineered to better cope with the thermal demands of the heightened output. The four turbochargers are 68 percent larger and now work sequentially so the first set can facilitate a torque plateau between 2,000 and 4,000 rpm. The larger, second set of turbos extend the flat line to 6,600 rpm. The seven-speed gearbox manufactured by Ricardo, which is essentially the only dry-sump dual-clutch on the production car market, has been strengthened and reinforced to withstand the engine's thumping 1,180 pound-feet of torque. The immense drivetrain is housed by a carbon-fiber chassis by Dallara that requires 1,500 hours to build. The Chiron also gains an adaptive chassis that uses five drive modes to set ride height, steering effort, damping, and power distribution.

Audi CEO's Dieselgate arrest threatens fragile truce among VW stakeholders

FRANKFURT — The arrest and detention of Audi's chief executive forces Volkswagen Group's competing stakeholders to renegotiate the delicate balance of power that has helped keep Audi CEO Rupert Stadler in office. Volkswagen's directors are discussing how to run Audi, its most profitable division, following the arrest of the brand's long-time boss on Monday as part of Germany's investigations into the carmaker's emissions cheating scandal. The supervisory board of Audi, meanwhile, has suspended Stadler and appointed Dutchman Bram Schot as an interim replacement, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Schot joined the Volkswagen Group in 2011 after having worked as president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Italia. He has been Audi's board member for sales and marketing since last September. The discussions risk reigniting tensions among VW's controlling Piech and Porsche families, its powerful labor representatives and its home region of Lower Saxony. VW has insisted the development of illegal software, also known as "defeat devices," installed in millions of cars was the work of low-level employees, and that no management board members were involved. U.S. prosecutors have challenged this by indicting VW's former chief executive Martin Winterkorn. Stadler's arrest raises further questions. Audi and VW said on Monday that Stadler was presumed innocent unless proved otherwise. Munich prosecutors detained Stadler to prevent him from obstructing a probe into Audi's emissions cheating, they said on Monday. Stadler is being investigated for suspected fraud and false advertising. Here are the main factors deciding the fate of Audi. Background: Audi's role in Dieselgate Volkswagen Group was plunged into crisis in 2015 after U.S. regulators found Europe's biggest carmaker had equipped cars with software to cheat emissions tests on diesel engines. The technique of using software to detect a pollution test procedure, and to increase the effectiveness of emissions filters to mask pollution levels only during tests, was first developed at Audi. "In designing the defeat device, VW engineers borrowed the original concept of the dual-mode, emissions cycle-beating software from Audi," VW said in its plea agreement with U.S. authorities in January 2017, in which the company agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine to reach a settlement with U.S. regulators.

Bugatti to build composite, carbon fiber, and aluminum versions of Baby II

At the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, Bugatti announced the revival of one of the most unique cars in the company's storied history: the Baby. At the time of the announcement, the project was still in its infant stages, and the only available example was a 3D-printed model. Still, that didn't stop buyers from reserving all 500 examples of the Baby II within three weeks. Months later at its 110th anniversary celebration in Molsheim, France, Bugatti showed the first functioning prototype, which special VIPs were allowed to test drive. Dubbed "XP1", this prototype is the result of a collaboration between Bugatti and The Little Car Company. Bugatti wanted to make a modern and more accessible version of the Baby, which itself is modeled after a different legend, the 1924 Type 35 Lyon Grand Prix car. Although the original Baby was half scale, Bugatti set out to build a three-quarter-size model that could fit not only kids but certain adults, as well.  In building the Baby II, Bugatti tried to replicate as much as it possibly could to bring the Type 35's essence back to life. Some of the coolest features include a hollow front axle, eight-spoke wheels (which now have Michelin tires), the four-spoke steering wheel, a turned aluminum dashboard with a clock "used for measuring race performance," and a digital recreation of the fuel pressure gauge. Although French Racing Blue was used for the prototype, Bugatti says the Baby II can be painted in modern colors from the Chiron range or from vintage colors that are tied to specific racers or events from the company's history. The Baby II, which is rear-wheel drive and has a limited-slip differential, can be ordered with either a 1.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack or a 2.8-kWh pack, which is expected to have a range close to 20 miles. Those packs will feed an electric powertrain that can be set to 1-kW Child Mode that can reach about 12 mph or or 4-kW Adult Mode, which can reach up to 28 mph.  Possibly the most interesting news at the launch is detailing about three different available versions of the Baby II. The base Baby II will be crafted with a composite body, the Baby II Vitesse will have a carbon fiber body, and the Baby II Pur Sang will wear a hand-built aluminum body.