Application of high-performance plastics in the Bugatti Veyron

摘要

When the decision was made to develop the Bugatti Veyron, the essential vehicle specifications were also defined: more than 1000 PS, a top speed of over 400 km/h and an acceleration of 0 - 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds. From these exceptional specifications arose the need for uncompromising light-weight design, while the fourth explicit specification ("build a car you can drive up to the opera house") dictated that the Veyron be designed not only an uncompromising sports car, but also as a thoroughly luxurious GT (Fig. 1). Thus its owners can enjoy an interior appointed entirely in leather with aluminum decor, high-performance air-conditioning and an out-of-the-ordinary sound system. Right from the start, such a frame of reference made it necessary to grant light-weight design the highest priority. This goal was reached by conceptual light-weight design (e.g. carbon-fiber monocoque), structural light-weight design (e.g. system integration) and the use of the most suitable materials in each case. Regarding the use plastics, this meant for one thing that the plastics selected for use must have especially high-performance mechanical properties and, for another, that those properties be appropriately and optimally exploited.