Life At The LimitThe Most Vicious Of CirclesNews has reached my desk that the first Bugatti Veyron will finally be delivered in "mid '05." The monstrous hypercar, which is already at least 2 years late, has become such an embarrassment to the VAG cause that even company insiders now greet the latest proclamations with a grin and an enigmatic shrug. One suspects that even if it proves to be the greatest feat of engineering since the lunar landing, history will still come to regard the Veyron as a badly conceived white elephant.
The project has been dogged from day one by PR waffle. In order to justify its mighty pricetag, the world's muttering rotters were told that it would boast 1,000 bhp and a 250-mph top speed. This was no more than glorified bar-speak, but its effect was to overcomplicate an already ambitious project. It wasn't long before rumors about cooling problems began to circulate and the company's fierce denials were belied by the introduction of new ducts behind the front wheels. One CEO later, the company may yet be forced to launch the car with readjusted targets.
The Veyron debacle is not just bad news for the once-hallowed Bugatti name, it also raises serious questions about the direction and motivations of contemporary manufacturers. In recent years, the apparently endless quest for headline grabbing outputs has run counter to the interests of enthusiasts.
Take the Volkswagen Golf, for example. The 1976 genre-defining original was 19.7 in. shorter and 1,100 lb lighter than the new model. It was therefore only 1.1 sec. slower from 0 to 60 mph, despite giving away 88 bhp to the new model. And because it's lighter and smaller, it's still more agile than its great-great-grandson.
Some of this increase in girth is due to (welcome) improvements in safety provisions and consumer demands for more space and toys, but blame must also be placed on the manufacturers. In almost every instance, adding power means adding weight, which means adding yet more power in the future. We end up in the most vicious circle that serves no one bar the OPEC countries who feed these machines.
To make matters worse, the dramatic increase in power has also led to a greater reliance on electronic gizmos. Conventional wisdom dictates that Joe Average is incapable of handling more than 150 bhp, so Europe's performance cars are now saddled with traction and stability programs, adding yet greater complexity and undermining driver enjoyment. A measured right foot used to be a perquisite of successful progress-now all you need is a decent ECU.
Audi has traditionally been one of the worst perpetrators. In recent years, the company has been publicly committed to developing RS models with more power than the equivalent car from {{{BMW M}}} Power. This commitment dictated that if the new M5 has 500 bhp, then the next RS6 must have at least 501 bhp. For a company that is still playing brand catch-up, it was an understandable policy, but there are signs that it is about to be abandoned.
At this year's Paris motor show, I fell into discussion with Stephan Reil, who's in charge of product development at Quattro Gmbh, Audi's equivalent of M Power. Reil is masterminding the next generation of RS models and his thoughts on the power struggle between Audi, Mercedes (AMG) and BMW (M Power) were fascinating.
"Continuing to increase the power outputs is not the right way forward," he said. "With more power you increase the weight and we think that is silly. If things continue as they are, you'll end up with a 1,000-bhp A4." Blunt and engaging, Reil was happy to take a sideswipe at some of his rivals. "With a rear-wheel-drive car, all you succeed in doing is lighting up the yellow ASR [traction control] sign," he explained, making a thinly veiled criticism of AMG, which now markets a 603-bhp limousine.
The Quattro chief was not only trying to make a case for the benefits of four-wheel drive; he was also urging a change of focus. According to Reil, the Quattro Gmbh brand will "continue to support the exclusive and sporty image of Audi by developing cars that combine high-power outputs with outstanding driving dynamics and road handling. You have to change the emphasis to suspension and tires," he said.
It's an eminently sensible strategy that applies equally to independent tuners, but Reil will need to convince more than his Ingolstadt bosses. If the strategy is to work, then there must also be a change in attitudes among both the press and the buying public. Lightweight and bump-absorption characteristics needs to become sexy again.
Reil will have an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of this change of focus when the new RS4 is introduced later this year (2005). It should make its debut at roughly the same time as VW-owned Bugatti finally delivers its first production car. Perhaps we'll end 2005 talking about their wonderful chassis dynamics, rather than headlining the RS4's 420 bhp or the fact that the Veyron doesn't quite have 1,000 bhp. But somehow I doubt it.
CorrectionIn the "E30 M3SIGFest" article in our December 2004 issue (page 14), we inadvertently listed an old area code for S14 guru Don Field's ////MrMCar Shop. The correct phone number for the Farmingdale, N.J.-located facility is (732) 919-2299. european car regrets the error.