Keef
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I've been putting off an english "compare and contrast" paper for a week now, and I decided to do it, err, last night for me. It's 1:35 AM here. Anyway, it's due at noon or so and I've been writing since about 10:30. I missed out on turning in a rough draft, so some parts are long-winded and the teach doesn't really like that, but that's my style. If anyone can tell me how to effectively cut about 400 words from this I'll think about sending you 10 bucks. I'll just lay it here for you, tell me what you think:
Would you like to drive 250 miles per hour? I can say with confidence that Id be pretty nervous, especially after the recent high-speed accidents getting attention in the automotive community. Lately there have been many people and companies aspiring to beat a few legendary supercars from recent history in terms of shear speed, but some do it better than others. You also might think that the methods used to push such an envelope would be very limited and even be down to a particular formula for speed. Thats just not so.
There are a couple different strategies that have gotten much attention for the last three or so years. One of these strategies, or rather cars, is called the Veyron 16.4. Its built by a small, historic, and very exclusive automobile company called Bugatti, which was recently purchased and revived from a long-standing coma by everyones favorite car company, Volkswagen. The other engineering marvel comes from a company called Saleen and carries the name S7 Twin Turbo. Saleen began producing their $395,000 supercar in 2000, just because they could. It just so happened that they did a very good job, and the S7 became a modern legend, performing similarly to the best ever offered by Lamborghini, Porsche, and Ferrari.
Bugatti was founded by an Italian, Ettore Bugatti, but made its home in pre-war France. The first designs were created in 1898, and the first prototypes were built in 1900. Bugatti really hit the scene with its winning Grand Prix race cars of the 1920s and the voluptuous coupes of the 1930s. On the rare occasions a Bugatti goes to auction a multi-million dollar price is nearly garuanteed, the main reason for being World War 2, which crippled the company. Bugatti came back to life in the 1980s with a couple rare and obscure supercars, but that was shortlived, and the company once again fell until Volkswagen picked it up in 1998 and began an ambitious project. That long and glorious history contrasts greatly with the company created by Steve Saleen in America. Saleen made a name for itself in 1983 by tuning Ford Mustangs into high-performance street machines and race cars. Business was business, but while everyone else was getting ahead and taking advantage of some exclusive niche markets Saleen was stuck. The S7 was Saleens ticket into the supercar scene, packing more than enough amunition to get the job done. The S7 quickly became a feared opponent on international Grand Prix circuits, and received a slight upgrade in 2004, spurred on by new competition.
Youd be surprised if you saw the Bugatti Veyron. Its ugly. Its small. It has giant air intakes on the sides to cool the engine, big polished aluminum scoops on top to feed the engine, and a bejeweled interior that makes a Rolls-Royce look like a Ford Fiesta. Even weirder is the fact that it weighs just over 4000 pounds. Can you say Cadillac DeVille? How the hell is that thing supposed to go 250 mph!? Very carefully, and thats not a joke. The cars engine is massive. It has sixteen cylinders, four turbochargers, and makes 987 horsepower. A new Honda Accord has 240 horsepower, and a Corvette has 400. The massive power was the first step to maximum velocity, but it might seem a little overkill when you observe the S7 Twin Turbo and its comparatively puny 750 horsepower. This vehicle breaks 250 mph just as effectively, but it does so in a much less luxurious and much more conservative, race-inspired way. The engine is a large but familiar V8 adorned with only two turbochargers. The car weighs about 2800 pounds, which nearly equals a Honda Civic. Its as low as your waist, as wide as a parking slot, and as long as the proverbial Cadillac. The secret to this light weight is a material called carbon fiber that makes up the body panels of only the most expensive boys toys. But wait, the Veyron is also carbon fiber, so whats the deal? The Veyron is all-wheel drive. The complex system, including the seven-speed transmission, has to be very durable and heavy to withstand the tremendous power. And as stated, the luxury of the car is beyond ridiculous and completely unnecessary. The S7 is far more conventionalremember, its Americanand therefore is more akin to Heidi Klum than Queen Latifah.
Power is one thing when going fast, but being aerodynamic is a completely different and more important challenge. The Bugatti had a disadvantage from the get-go. The designer, Hartmut Warkuss, laid down his drawing and said, quite literally, that he wanted this car to have 1000 horsepower, go 250 miles per hour, and look exactly like what hed drawn on the paper. Most ultra exotic sports cars have intensive aerodynamic testing done throughout the design process, and some have been designed pretty much in the wind tunnel, with every aspect of the shape done to maximize function. Thats similar to how the S7 was designed. It was designed to be a race car for the street and therefore had to be light and make adequate downforcethe force that sticks racers to the road. There are tunnels under the body that play with air pressure to create this force. The Bugatti also has these tunnels, called Venturi tunnels, but the engineers had to be careful with how much downforce they made. The car weighed 4000 pounds, but still wanted to take flight at about 150, thanks to a beautiful shape the resembles a cross-section of an airplane wing. That would obviously be fatal, but downforce creates drag, and that slows the car down. Failure was just as unacceptable as danger. Speaking of failure, the tires of the Veyron are custom made for the purpose of going 250 mph. They are massive, with 20 inch diameter wheels ad a width of one and a half feet. A tire that could withstand the tremendous force at speed while holding up nearly 4500 poundsremember the added downforcedidnt exist, so Michelin spent years developing a tire. The S7 didnt have that problem because of the smaller tires and light weight. The engineering difficulties were finally overcome for both cars, especially the $1.5 million Veyron, and the numbers have finally been tallied. The Bugatti makes exactly 1001 PS (a European power standard), goes 253 mph, and looks almost just like the initial drawing. I wish more people understood how amazing that achievement really is. The S7 also breaks 250, thought hard numbers havent been confirmed.
The goal was the samego 250 mph. It was met by both teams, but in entirely different ways, each being fraught with challenges never met by a person before. All the big problems were overcome with genious and hard work, but I still have a question for both companies. Where do I put my Joe?
Would you like to drive 250 miles per hour? I can say with confidence that Id be pretty nervous, especially after the recent high-speed accidents getting attention in the automotive community. Lately there have been many people and companies aspiring to beat a few legendary supercars from recent history in terms of shear speed, but some do it better than others. You also might think that the methods used to push such an envelope would be very limited and even be down to a particular formula for speed. Thats just not so.
There are a couple different strategies that have gotten much attention for the last three or so years. One of these strategies, or rather cars, is called the Veyron 16.4. Its built by a small, historic, and very exclusive automobile company called Bugatti, which was recently purchased and revived from a long-standing coma by everyones favorite car company, Volkswagen. The other engineering marvel comes from a company called Saleen and carries the name S7 Twin Turbo. Saleen began producing their $395,000 supercar in 2000, just because they could. It just so happened that they did a very good job, and the S7 became a modern legend, performing similarly to the best ever offered by Lamborghini, Porsche, and Ferrari.
Bugatti was founded by an Italian, Ettore Bugatti, but made its home in pre-war France. The first designs were created in 1898, and the first prototypes were built in 1900. Bugatti really hit the scene with its winning Grand Prix race cars of the 1920s and the voluptuous coupes of the 1930s. On the rare occasions a Bugatti goes to auction a multi-million dollar price is nearly garuanteed, the main reason for being World War 2, which crippled the company. Bugatti came back to life in the 1980s with a couple rare and obscure supercars, but that was shortlived, and the company once again fell until Volkswagen picked it up in 1998 and began an ambitious project. That long and glorious history contrasts greatly with the company created by Steve Saleen in America. Saleen made a name for itself in 1983 by tuning Ford Mustangs into high-performance street machines and race cars. Business was business, but while everyone else was getting ahead and taking advantage of some exclusive niche markets Saleen was stuck. The S7 was Saleens ticket into the supercar scene, packing more than enough amunition to get the job done. The S7 quickly became a feared opponent on international Grand Prix circuits, and received a slight upgrade in 2004, spurred on by new competition.
Youd be surprised if you saw the Bugatti Veyron. Its ugly. Its small. It has giant air intakes on the sides to cool the engine, big polished aluminum scoops on top to feed the engine, and a bejeweled interior that makes a Rolls-Royce look like a Ford Fiesta. Even weirder is the fact that it weighs just over 4000 pounds. Can you say Cadillac DeVille? How the hell is that thing supposed to go 250 mph!? Very carefully, and thats not a joke. The cars engine is massive. It has sixteen cylinders, four turbochargers, and makes 987 horsepower. A new Honda Accord has 240 horsepower, and a Corvette has 400. The massive power was the first step to maximum velocity, but it might seem a little overkill when you observe the S7 Twin Turbo and its comparatively puny 750 horsepower. This vehicle breaks 250 mph just as effectively, but it does so in a much less luxurious and much more conservative, race-inspired way. The engine is a large but familiar V8 adorned with only two turbochargers. The car weighs about 2800 pounds, which nearly equals a Honda Civic. Its as low as your waist, as wide as a parking slot, and as long as the proverbial Cadillac. The secret to this light weight is a material called carbon fiber that makes up the body panels of only the most expensive boys toys. But wait, the Veyron is also carbon fiber, so whats the deal? The Veyron is all-wheel drive. The complex system, including the seven-speed transmission, has to be very durable and heavy to withstand the tremendous power. And as stated, the luxury of the car is beyond ridiculous and completely unnecessary. The S7 is far more conventionalremember, its Americanand therefore is more akin to Heidi Klum than Queen Latifah.
Power is one thing when going fast, but being aerodynamic is a completely different and more important challenge. The Bugatti had a disadvantage from the get-go. The designer, Hartmut Warkuss, laid down his drawing and said, quite literally, that he wanted this car to have 1000 horsepower, go 250 miles per hour, and look exactly like what hed drawn on the paper. Most ultra exotic sports cars have intensive aerodynamic testing done throughout the design process, and some have been designed pretty much in the wind tunnel, with every aspect of the shape done to maximize function. Thats similar to how the S7 was designed. It was designed to be a race car for the street and therefore had to be light and make adequate downforcethe force that sticks racers to the road. There are tunnels under the body that play with air pressure to create this force. The Bugatti also has these tunnels, called Venturi tunnels, but the engineers had to be careful with how much downforce they made. The car weighed 4000 pounds, but still wanted to take flight at about 150, thanks to a beautiful shape the resembles a cross-section of an airplane wing. That would obviously be fatal, but downforce creates drag, and that slows the car down. Failure was just as unacceptable as danger. Speaking of failure, the tires of the Veyron are custom made for the purpose of going 250 mph. They are massive, with 20 inch diameter wheels ad a width of one and a half feet. A tire that could withstand the tremendous force at speed while holding up nearly 4500 poundsremember the added downforcedidnt exist, so Michelin spent years developing a tire. The S7 didnt have that problem because of the smaller tires and light weight. The engineering difficulties were finally overcome for both cars, especially the $1.5 million Veyron, and the numbers have finally been tallied. The Bugatti makes exactly 1001 PS (a European power standard), goes 253 mph, and looks almost just like the initial drawing. I wish more people understood how amazing that achievement really is. The S7 also breaks 250, thought hard numbers havent been confirmed.
The goal was the samego 250 mph. It was met by both teams, but in entirely different ways, each being fraught with challenges never met by a person before. All the big problems were overcome with genious and hard work, but I still have a question for both companies. Where do I put my Joe?
