I Used To Idolize The Bugatti Veyron

By Jonathan Mellberg

 

Really, I still do. Everything about the Bugatti oozes power. And not just power, but excessive, ridiculous power. It’s the kinda of car that non-enthusiasts simply shake their heads and say “Why?” To which I emphatically counter “Why not?!?!”

Bugatti Veyron (Super Sport)

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bugatti_MG_3955.JPG

Reading stats on the Veyron is one of my favorite things to do. Aside from the contradiction that Bugatti is an Italian marque, engineered and built by Germans in France, the Veyron produces 1001 horsepower, has a top speed of 253mph (in base model trim), uses ten radiators, and has a special key just for top-speed runs. The Veyron’s 16 cylinders and four turbo's gulp more air in one minute than a human does in four days. Yup. The Veyron also drinks fuel eight times faster than a normal car and at full throttle achieves an environmentally destructive 3 miles per gallon. Need a new set of tires for your Veyron? That’ll be $17K, please.  And by the way, those will only last you 6,000 miles. But my favorite stat has always been: 0-60 in 2.7 seconds. Correction, it used to be my favorite stat. Until a hybrid came along and ruined everything.

 

In a bold declaration I’ll freely admit I care very little for the modern gasoline/electric hybrids, most frequently represented by their unofficial mascot, the Toyota Prius. I’m just not a fan. I don’t like hybrids (Toyota Prius), full electrics (any Tesla, Nissan Leaf), plug-in hybrids (Chevy Volt, Ford Fusion), or even hydrogen fuel cell cars. Correction, I don’t like what they represent, which is of course, the end of spirited driving, the beginning of a more fully realized global efficiency (so they hope), and in a not too distant future, autonomy. Essentially, they are a threat to the modern car guy's way of life: big power, big speed, big smog. That being said, the Prius has sold over 6 million examples; you gotta respect that, or conversely, concede that 6 million people have made the mistake of buying it. But of course the latter isn’t true. On the fully electric side, the Tesla model S is admittedly very impressive, from its laptop-sized infotainment screen (17 inches!), to its door handles that automatically project outward, to its instantaneous torque (thank you electric motors) that propels the porker from 0-60 faster than many sports cars on the road. And the Tesla isn’t even a sports car. I’ll even admit that the Volt is brilliant, though I don't fully understand it yet (stay tuned, dear readers). But I’m not here to talk about these cars, though in some ironic way I’m sure I owe them a debt of gratitude (lookin' at you, Prius), because the same reason that I mourn the death of the Veyron’s King-of-the-Hill status is the same reason I should praise the birth and subsequent success of the Prius: the McLaren P1, the Ferrari LaFerrari, and the Porsche 918. Unrelated, you say? Not so fast…

Toyota Prius

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2012_Toyota_Prius_(ZVW30R_MY12)_i-Tech_liftback_(2012-10-26)_01.jpg

True, a comparison between the Toyota Prius ($24K) and the Porsche 918 ($850K) is like comparing an apple to an apple pie. A delicious, caramel apple pie with lattice crust that’s been freshly baked. Yeah, that’s more accurate. But where would this glorious Porsche 918 be without the groundwork laid by the incredibly pedestrian, oft ridiculed Toyota Prius? It’s hard to say. Maybe we owe it all to CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy), government regulations that (since 1975) have pushed and shoved every auto manufacturer into producing cleaner, fuel-sipping cars and trucks. I think it’s a bit of each. Are these reasons evil? As much as I want to believe it, no, they’re not. Don’t think so? Well, then I hope we can agree that at the very least it’s made auto engineers exponentially more creative, which brings us back to the Porsche 918.

 

Porsche 918

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Porsche_918_Spyder_(8750220488).jpg

I’ve been hearing about the Porsche 918 for some time, but never gave it much thought.  The 918 went from a concept, to a design, to a fully realized car, and, somewhere along the way it managed to evolve into one of the most relevant Porsches ever, not to mention one of its fastest. Again, it’s a hybrid. What the hell?! I figured it was just a publicity stunt, or a way to cater to Richey Rich eco-nauts who wanted the satisfaction of owning a Porsche without the guilt. But the 918 goes way beyond my limited suppositions. The 918 is race ready; it’s a fully capable track machine with not only 608 gasoline-derived horsepower but another 285 battery-sourced ponies. The two power plants work in concert, fully maximizing any and all ways of making the car as fast as possible. And fast it is. My god is it fast. Try 0-60mph in 2.4 seconds and a quarter mile at 10.0 seconds flat; I call that crazy. And, at the end of the day, if one is so inclined (and provided the batteries are charged) a 918 owner can cruise home in full electric mode, for up to 22 miles or so. Now that is insane!

Not bad at all, considering the 918 dethroned the mighty Veyron with one fell swoop, and it did it with the word “e-hybrid” scripted on its body. What does this mean? It means that not only is the big, bad Bugatti Veyron is no longer the answer to ultimate power, but more importantly, the answer itself is nothing like the Veyron. It’s a smarter car, with less power, more electronics, utilizing complex partnerships between polar-opposite power sources to achieve what some, maybe most (me!) would’ve thought impossible.  

So maybe the world is coming to an end. Or maybe it’s only the present that’s ending; because the future is here, and it’s called the Porsche 918. And if said future is the justification of the Toyota Prius’ existence, then consider justice served.

-Thank you for reading The Wheelspin Journal-

photo by the author