Latest news with #AndyWallace
Top Gear
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
How to do a 300mph+ top speed run: Bugatti's Andy Wallace reveals his secrets
Supercars Andy Wallace has many Bugatti accolades to his name, here's what the king of speed has taught us Skip 4 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Only one man has blasted past the magical 300mph barrier in a production car, lived to tell the tale and kept his lunch down. Andy Wallace is a titan of top speed runs, a vanquisher of vmax and one of the nicest blokes you'll ever meet. Here's everything he's taught us. 1. Jump to it Suppose you could call this bit 'expect the unexpected' because Ehra-Lessien (the venue for the Chiron Super Sport's 304.8mph record run) was 'repaved halfway round the bit where you do vmax, and there's a join between the new surface and the old bit', Andy explains. 'I was coming back and saying to the engineers 'Oh, the car's quite stable over the jump' and they were getting quite annoyed, saying 'What jump are you on about? It can't be off the ground'. They looked at the data and came back saying 'Oh, you're right – it's a jump'. That was at about 270mph.' Advertisement - Page continues below At 304mph the tearing force acting on the tyre is 7,000kg – three and a half Chirons. The gyroscopic mayhem caused by 4,100rpm wheels locks out the front steering geometry and scrambles the steering's ability to self-centre. Apply too much lock and you might not be able to pull it back straight. To be fair, aeroplanes normally fly at this kind of speed, so you'd expect some unusual handling traits. 3. Fit for purpose The record car was no ordinary Chiron. The Super Sport 300+ Prototype was 250mm longer with a significantly lower ride height to reduce drag. At the rear, the longtail had a reduced cross section (to aid aero and minimise drag), while the rear wing and air brake were removed, replaced with a static unit. You might like The Guinness speed record rules are as follows. The car must achieve the speed in two directions on the same road within 60 minutes, with the average of the two speeds the result. Andy only ran the speed in one direction. Bugatti says the main reason for this is that, after decades of cars pounding over its surface in the clockwise direction, the tarmac structure has rolled that way. Run it in the opposite direction, and you're working against the grain, causing huge heat build up in the tyres. 5. Balance is everything While you want to keep the car on the ground, you can't just throw downforce at it. Downforce means drag, which requires more power, and greater heat through the tyres. What you want is a balance between two tonnes of lift and two tonnes of negative lift (downforce); in essence, four tonnes of force trying to rip the chassis in two. However, if balanced properly, vmax sees merely the static weight of the car keeping it on the ground, reducing tyre load, tyre heat and the chances of a crash. Advertisement - Page continues below Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Bugatti Prepares Bolide Owners With Porsche GT3 RS Track Sessions
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector Owning one of the world's fastest cars doesn't mean you're instantly ready to drive it at speed. That's why Bugatti required Bolide customers to warm up in a Porsche 911 GT3 RS before unleashing their multimillion-dollar hypercars at Circuit Paul Ricard. With a claimed top speed of 311 mph, the track-only Bugatti Bolide is in a league of its own. Equipped with a quad-turbocharged W-16 engine producing 1,578 horsepower, the Bolide offers a level of performance that even experienced drivers must approach with caution. To ensure that owners were prepared, Bugatti first put them behind the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a 518-horsepower supercar renowned for its precision and balance on the track. Bugatti's event, held at the former French Grand Prix circuit, aimed to ease owners into the Bolide's extreme performance. Before piloting their own vehicles, participants received guidance from professional instructors, including endurance racing veterans Andy Wallace and Bruno Spengler. Bugatti structured the training to help drivers refine their technique in the GT3 RS before transitioning to the Bolide. 'The morning session saw them on track in Porsche 911 GT3 RS models, sharpening their skills in preparation for the afternoon, where they transitioned to their own Bolide,' Bugatti stated. Only four customer-owned Bolides participated, each finished in bespoke liveries, ranging from deep carbon black to striking combinations of ruby, blue, and argent. Bugatti did not disclose lap times but noted that each driver pushed closer to the limit with every lap. While the 911 GT3 RS is a formidable machine, the Bolide exists in a different stratosphere, making even the Porsche feel tame by comparison. Some owners may have left the event questioning whether the Bolide is too much car—but that's a thought few would admit out loud. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
McLaren F1 XP5: The Prototype That Shattered Speed Records
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector In the early 1990s, McLaren set out to build the ultimate road car—not necessarily the fastest. But the McLaren F1 XP5, a prototype for what would become the most legendary supercar of its era, went on to annihilate speed records and redefine performance forever. XP5 was the last of five McLaren F1 prototypes, finished in Dark Metallic Green with a Grey interior and a Black driver's seat with Green inserts. Originally built as a test and promotional vehicle, XP5 was driven by automotive journalists worldwide, gaining a reputation for its unmatched performance, engineering, and exclusivity. McLaren first tested the F1's potential in 1993 when XP3 hit 231 mph at Nardò, but the track's circular layout limited its true top speed. On March 31, 1998, McLaren took XP5 to Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien Proving Ground. With Le Mans-winning driver Andy Wallace behind the wheel, XP5 set the official Guinness World Record for the fastest production car at 240.1 mph (386.4 km/h)—destroying the Jaguar XJ220's previous 217 mph record. Though the Bugatti Veyron and others eventually surpassed the F1's top speed, XP5 remains the fastest naturally aspirated production car ever built. Even today, no modern supercar with a naturally aspirated engine has matched its performance. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Bugatti Bolide Owners Have to Learn the Track in Something More Tame: a 911 GT3 RS
Recently, Bugatti hosted the first official track event for the Bolide hypercar at Circuit Paul Ricard in France — an event which marked the first opportunity for owners to drive their multi-million-dollar, track-only machines. (Except, of course, the owner who previously rented out Circuit of the Americas for himself,) However, Bugatti didn't let the owners jump into their 1,500-plus horsepower, W-16 track weapons right away. They thought it would be best to start the drivers out with something a bit more tame. That tamer car? A Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Granted, it makes sense that a Porsche would be used, as Porsche does have a stake in Bugatti via the Bugatti-Rimac joint venture. And the 518-hp GT3 RS is clearly made for attacking road courses, as it comes fitted with a F1-esque drag reduction system, a central radiator sitting in the front luggage compartment, and a suspension that has individual compression and rebound adjustments for each axle. It's the sort of car that requires a steep learning curve to master... yet it was the car used as a set of training wheels for the Bolide. For the event, each driver was paired with an expert instructor during their morning driving the GT3 RS, before finally being allowed to climb behind the wheel of their Bolide. (Bugatti "Pilote Officiels" Bruno Spengler and Andy Wallace, who've racked up a ridiculous amount of professional racing wins between them, were on hand to assist as well.) With only four Bolides sharing the 3.63-mile course, suffice it to say, the event sounds like yet another refutation of Christopher Wallace's famous maxim; that day, at least, more money didn't certainly equal more problems. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
