Deep hole drilling and honing company Premier has recently completed a contract to supply transmission components for the 253 mph Bugatti Veyron super sports car. The St Albans -based company supplied a total of 120 complex shaft components used in the gearbox of this exceptional vehicle.
With its four-wheel drive system, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 (W16-cyclinder configuration with four turbochargers) may well be the most sophisticated production car of all time.It offers a total of 1001 hp, and its power reserves even at high speeds are staggering. For a constant speed of 155 mph, the Veyron uses only 270-280 hp of its power.
Getting the power from that engine to the road is a fully automatic seven-gear direct-shift double clutch (DSG) gearbox capable of transmitting the engine’s torque of up to 1250 Nm. Changing up or down a gear with this technology takes less than 150 milliseconds.
One of the components for this high performance gearbox relies upon the expertise of Premier as managing director, Stuart Grant, explains: “At 1100 mm long and 75 mm diameter, the gearbox component required aerospace grade stainless steel which we sourced and purchased for the customer. A 35 mm diameter hole was ejector drilled through the shaft before it was heat treated. We also carried out a finish turning operation of the outside surface as well as the honing of the final internal surface which has a stepped bore.”
The Veyron reaches velocities that would literally lift the car off the ground – if it weren’t for its ingenious aerodynamics, which keep it firmly on the road even at full speed. Adjusting the back spoiler, reducing ground clearance, opening and closing the lids – it all creates the perfect balance between forward motion and downforce.
What could stop such a super sports car? Well the Veyron’s ceramic brakes are able to slow the car down faster than it can accelerate. This exceptional car takes only 2.5 seconds to go from 0 to 62 mph, but it needs even less time – a mere 2.3 seconds – to come to a standstill from 62 mph.