Veyron evo10 Dream Drives: Bugatti Veyron to the French Riviera

[Bartek S.]

A Bugatti Veyron, the mountain roads of the French Riviera, and the ghost of a racing driver. Peter Tomalin finds driving heaven

Reckon you could pass the 15 second test? Reckon you could pin a Veyron’s accelerator pedal against its backplate and hold it there for a full 15? Doesn’t sound much, does it, until you remember that this car gets to 100mph in something under 6 seconds. After 15 – assuming you’ve held your nerve – it’s well past 150mph and hurtling towards 200. Still sure you could do it?
‘So what’s the fastest car you’ve driven so far, Mr T?’ It’s the week before I’m due to drive the Bugatti, and I’m chatting with motoring ed Barker, who, unlike me, has already driven a Veyron. ‘Erm, Zonda, I suppose. Or the new GT2. That’s pretty bloody quick.’

‘Nah,’ says JB. ‘Veyron’s in a different league.’ And then he chuckles quietly to himself. ‘Bet you won’t be able to keep the throttle pinned for 15 seconds.’ I return his chuckle, with interest, but it’s a timely reminder of the enormity of what I’m about to experience. We’ve become almost blasé about the Veyron’s astonishing stats – 16 cylinders, four turbochargers, 1000bhp, 253mph, 1.2 million euros, plus taxes. I can tell you that when you’re standing next to it and about to climb in, those numbers suddenly loom very large indeed.

Welcome, then, to three of the most mind-altering days of my life. I would just like to reassure you that no drugs were consumed during the making of this feature, so if things start to get a little weird, you can blame it on a madly ambitious itinerary, sleep deprivation, an eccentric German with an Austin Powers fixation – and, of course, the world’s most incredible car.

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