Bugatti Veyron is Italian for Bad-A$$

Posted on March 13th, 2009 11:37am by Elizabeth Lavin
Filed under Super Heroes, Transportation

Within the next few months, Bugatti is looking to establish a dealership in Dallas. Yesterday I had the opportunity to drive a Bugatti Veyron, the fastest, most expensive, most-sought-after car in the world. My co-pilot, racecar driver Butch Letzinger, met me and other media at Mercedes Benz Park Place Motorcars. He gave me a quick tour of the $1.6 million machine, and then it was my turn.

We pulled into a parking lot off Northwest Highway, and Letzinger handed me the keys to the Bugatti Veyron. The fastest production car in the world — topping out at 253 mph — its acceleration is unmatched: 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds; a quarter-mile in 10 seconds. (It almost beat this jet in a race.) It is such a rare opportunity to get to drive the Bugatti that even national auto writers can’t always have this access. I am lucky enough to work with Tim, Eric, and Zac, who are, lets face it, wimps. Each of them bowed out at the last minute.

The driver’s seat felt like more like a cockpit. I reached for the gearshift, and Letzinger explained to me that the 7-speed dsg-gearbox has a two-clutch transmission, with the performance of a manual and the ease of an automatic. It also has paddles if you wanted to manually change gears. Channeling my inner Danica Patrick, I pulled out onto Northwest Highway and (gently) accelerated. Surprisingly I didn’t feel intimidated. Time to let the cougar loose.

I turned onto the toll road and accelerated. We sounded like a jet taking off. I decided that I wanna go fast! The car hugged the road as my speed increased. I went 0 to 120 mph in 3rd gear, in seconds, while Letzinger stiffened up a bit. Even at 120 mph it was easy to control. Roar.

We exited Mockingbird and drove down Douglas. After effortlessly doing 120 on the toll road it was hard not to speed through Highland Park. Driving by, we got plenty of looks from Highland Park Village-goers, who clearly noticed us. Somehow, the car isn’t as ostentatious as you would expect a $1.6 million car would be. I mean, I would take it to grocery store, no problem.

We pulled up to the dealership, and I reluctantly got out of the car. Letzinger told me that I had done well. But all that matters is that he told me I drove faster then the Dallas Morning News guy.

28 comments

  1. I need a moment to compose myself… hot chick and sports car always get me. I need a cigarette.

    @ 11:48 am on March 13, 2009

  2. I think that I saw you; I was looking out my window at the Tollway & Keller Springs when I saw that same Bugatti headed northbound. I nearly fainted just seeing it.

    Tim, Eric, and Zac: you each have no gonads if you couldn’t drop whatever paltry excuses you had for not driving this car when given the opportunity. And that’s being polite. Very polite. Short of “I had to donate a liver to my sick daughter,” you have no valid excuse.

    @ 11:59 am on March 13, 2009

  3. I had to donate a liver to my sick daughter.

    @ 12:06 pm on March 13, 2009

  4. wow, Butch is a great racer…Im jealous that you got to meet Letz…….the car, meh nice

    @ 12:10 pm on March 13, 2009

  5. I’m not much of a man. If at all.

    @ 12:18 pm on March 13, 2009

  6. SM: How does one operate a two-clutch? And what was the highest gear you got it into?

    Zac: Did the doctor not mention that you only have one? You have thirty seconds to live.

    @ 12:19 pm on March 13, 2009

  7. Please tell me she is fibbing and all three of you did not “chicken out.” Except for Zac, since he had that liver donation thing to deal with.

    @ 12:19 pm on March 13, 2009

  8. Just watched the video of the jet race. I am now a eunuch.

    @ 12:26 pm on March 13, 2009

  9. I want pictures. I am picturing Spider Mnokey spread out on the hood like Tawney Kitaen in the Whitesnake video.

    @ 12:29 pm on March 13, 2009

  10. This almost makes up for the date with Erick Dampier.

    @ 12:46 pm on March 13, 2009

  11. @ Daniel, the super sophisticated computer-controlled system is similar to a Formula 1 car. Everything is computer controlled. The computer shifts gears in 0.2 seconds.

    Check out: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/bugatti.htm/printable

    The highest gear I was driving in was about 5th gear, just cruising on Northwest Highway. I switched to the paddles when I reached the Toll Road.

    @ Davie Dave, believe me I tried to get on the hood. When I asked they just looked at me and said no!

    @ 1:00 pm on March 13, 2009

  12. Flappy paddles are less manly too. But since SM isn’t a man, that’s not a problem.

    Even James May can drive a Bugatti at speed, for heaven’s sake. So it’s now fair to say that Celeste and Rogers are less manly than Captain Slow. Crain is exempted due to the fact that now he will have to forswear alcohol.

    @ 1:23 pm on March 13, 2009

  13. Zac, Tim and Eric donate any internal organ?

    Only to the Body Worlds exhibit to show the effects of alcohol consumption.

    ~giggle~

    @ 1:30 pm on March 13, 2009

  14. He’ll not only have to forswear alcohol, but all toxin ingestion and lipids (dietary fat). Mistah Crain he dead.

    Speaking of Zac, known for Friday questions, and gastric distress, which he will surely suffer until he succumbs to a pockmarked-&-puffy, yellow-eyeballed death:

    What would happen if you ate a coupla-three mint Mentos, then slammed a can of Diet Coke real fast? Would a fountain spew out of your mouth? If so, would you still be able to breathe?

    @ 1:58 pm on March 13, 2009

  15. @ Daniel: Not sure, I hope so, and maybe.

    @ 2:10 pm on March 13, 2009

  16. Do I lose my man card if I complain about the two tone paint job in the video?

    Probably.

    @ 2:10 pm on March 13, 2009

  17. @Daniel:

    A fountain of Diet Coke spewing from his mouth would be the least of Zac’s problems, as his stomach would explode. We discussed this on a “viewer’s myths” episode of Mythbusters awhile back.

    @ 3:00 pm on March 13, 2009

  18. admitting 120 on the tollway may not be such a good idea

    and it almost beat a RAF jet not a USAF jet, so…

    stil looks like a nice whip and i’d love to spin around HP in it with SM riding shotgun

    @ 3:22 pm on March 13, 2009

  19. My excuse: They kept moving the time on us, and I had to interview a Dutch model for the “print product.”

    @ 3:42 pm on March 13, 2009

  20. So jealous. Now if I can win the lottery tonight, maybe Letz will talk to me when I walk into the dealership…

    @ 4:03 pm on March 13, 2009

  21. Tim, I hope for your sake the Dutch model you interviewed wasn’t one of the very tall ones from Wind Energy Solutions.

    @ 4:07 pm on March 13, 2009

  22. A. Savage,

    It might be the least of his worries, but it would certainly be the most entertaining one.

    It would be so funny probably we’d try to make it happen again, but it wouldn’t work ’cause his stomach would be like all exploded?

    @ 4:20 pm on March 13, 2009

  23. More Spider Monkey!

    @ 5:43 pm on March 13, 2009

  24. Hot. I’m jelly

    @ 4:23 pm on March 14, 2009

  25. Okay, car novices, Bugatti is not Italian. It was a French car company founded by an Italian. These days it’s owned by Volkswagen and designed by their Czech division which is really not Italian.

    But it’s still super fast and ridiculously cool.

    @ 9:53 pm on March 14, 2009

  26. girls that drive 120 = super freakin’ hot

    @ 12:39 pm on March 17, 2009

  27. http://veyronbugatti.com

    @ 7:41 am on March 30, 2009

  28. Hey, nice tips. I’ll buy a glass of beer to the man from that forum who told me to visit your site :)

    @ 10:28 am on April 15, 2009