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Dinner came and went… actually, I think all of us were pretty psyched about seeing the Veyron running full out. The food was GREAT – just as we had heard – and the service as well as the pricing was second to no one. We all agreed that we would definitely add Jed’s to our restaurant rotation.
But, even though the girls tried to steer the conversations away from work, the Clash, or racing in general, it seemed like all we talked about was whether the GN had a ghost of a chance against the Veyron.
None of us had any doubt about Sally’s abilities behind the wheel of a high-horsepower machine; she had proven long ago that she could drive just as well as anyone else (male or female) and could drive better than most. So, given that I knew that I was going to have my hands full with the Bug, no doubt about it.
Sure, the Veyron is a heavy car – around 4400+ lbs. But with over a thousand horsepower, all wheel drive, and aerodynamics that let the car move through air like a shark in water, the weight wasn’t as much an issue.
Most magazines and tests put the Bug at a low-mid ten’s car with a couple showing it in low-tens. Regardless, it was fast. Expensive, yes… but damned fast.
Honestly? I was not sure I could even hang with the beast because I had not had the GN back to the track since I had upgraded the intercooler to a front mount. But even with that, I didn’t doubt that I would see the tail lights of the Veyron by the finish line.
I knew it would launch hard, fast and straight, given the AWD. I have run several AWD cars, including the Evo and STI and with a banzai launch they could knock down some very impressive 60 foot times. Knowing that the Veyron had a big enough can of whoop-ass in the 8.0 liter engine, I knew that for me to stay with Sally on the launch was going to be crucial if I was to have ANY chance at all of winning the race. We would know soon…
We all left the restaurant one behind the other. Well, that was after we FINALLY got to leave the restaurant…
When we walked outside, there were several people looking over Sally’s ride and they had a million questions. However, after Sally explained that she was taking the car out to Tri-County, several enthusiasts decided to blow off dinner at Jed’s (Sorry!) and follow us out to the track to watch!
Interestingly enough, not one person thought I had a chance against the Veyron and a few thought Stacy should run the Camaro against it because they thought IT had a better chance! (Yeah – we laughed too…)
So, from Jed’s parking lot our ‘caravan’ snaked back out the highway and in about 30 minutes we were at the entrance to T-C.
The owners had already started on some parking improvements for the Clash. Construction and paving equipment were parked off to the side with a lot of dirt having been moved and stone laid down for a base. That was nice to see because all indications we had at that point were saying that Tri-County would probably have its largest crowd ever.
Sally led the way in. The stares and gawks were never-ending! At the tech area, yet another huge crowd developed and most of them were trying to see inside the monster or ask Sally questions. I even joked that perhaps Sally should have charged the track rather than the track charge her since she brought a crowd!
And even before we had left the tech inspection (and yes, Sally had her helmet – hmmm…..) we could hear the announcer’s excitement:
“Race fans, you are one of the privileged few tonight! Why? Because you are going to see a car actually do battle on the track here at Tri-County Raceway Park that most of us have not even heard about, much less seen outside of a magazine. Tonight – you are going to witness a VERY, VERY expensive car with all that modern technology can offer go head to head with a competitor that is twenty-one years older! Ladies and gentlemen – tonight you will watch a one point seven million dollar Bugatti – yes, folks, a BUGATTI! – Veyron battle an ’87 Buick Grand National in an impromptu grudge-match if you will!”
He continued as we headed over to the pit area to get parked together…
“Race fans – if you have a camera, a camcorder, or even a cheesy cell phone that takes pictures, you will want to get them ready! Why? Because I am told that this car – this demon on four wheels – is not only worth more than this drag strip, it is going to be driven by a WOMAN! Yes, ladies – this one is for you! We are told that our very own Steve Morton is going to run one of his Turbo Buicks against his friend’s Bugatti 16.4 Veyron. So tell me race fans… who do YOU think is going to win this? Huh?”
We could hear the roar of crowd even over the sounds of the cars in the lanes or the two running down the track. As we stepped out of our cars, everyone who was not already IN the stands was either now walking briskly towards the stands or headed over to gather around our area. Fortunately, track security noticed the crowds and came over to get them back.
“That’s what I thought too, ladies and gentlemen! It’s going to be a great race, isn’t it? On one hand, we’ve got a car that is pretty simple and yet brutal; Steve’s Grand National. We’ve all seen it run here and we know it’s a killer. And by the way, don’t forget the upcoming Clash of Titans here at Tri-County – get your informational flier down at the gate as you leave or there is also a stack of them at the concession area.
But also, you can not dismiss the Veyron as a poseur either! This animal has over a thousand horsepower stock – STOCK mind you! – is all wheel drive, and has FOUR turbos! It’s capable of over 250 mile per hour and you are about to see one of these awesome machines give it all it’s got! So, stay in your seats race fans and watch for a black Buick in one lane lining up against what looks like a red and black squashed bug on hyper-steroids in the other! Now, let’s get back to the racing, ok? Just don’t go anyplace in the mean time!”
Wow! With hype like that from Dan (the new resident announcer), even WE were excited. Sally was beaming with pride as she was trying to answer a few questions. And there were almost as many people hounding Stacy and Brandon about the new Camaro. Tech had asked them if they were going to run it but Stacy decided to get a few miles on it first. I didn’t blame her at all, either even though a lot of people were trying to goad her into taking it down the track. She stood her ground though and promised to run it the next time she had it at the track.
Finally, Sally waved over at me and gave me a “Ready?” look. Kelly saw it too and handed me my helmet.
I had already adjusted the air pressure in the Nitto’s and checked to make sure the alcohol tank was full – it was. The electric cutout was open on the dump tube and tank was about half full of 93 octane Shell. This would be a good test for the GN, regardless whether I won or lost. I was excited to see if the FM added anything – it sure LOOKED like it should! The car was as ready as it was ever going to be for this one.
“Good luck, baby!” Kelly said as she leaned up and kissed my cheek. Brandon and Stacy smiled and gave me a thumbs up just as they did for Sally. I’m sure they were as excited about what was about to go down, no matter who won, as anyone!
Sally slid into the Veyron and fired it up.
Like I said before, it’s hard to describe how this car sounds – there are so many noises from all the fans, the exhaust, the 64 valves (!), and the turbos that to try and describe it is impossible. The exhaust burbles and rumbles fairly sedately but couple that with everything else, it’s just surreal. And when Sally revs it? A completely different sound – almost like something you would hear at a fighter base – erupts.
It’s just like nothing else you’ve ever heard before.
And the looks… the long, wide and sloping nose of the Veyron looks deceptively tame, almost like a flat-faced pug. Yet, there is the gaping hole in the center of the grille-like area that looks like some sort of alien mouth – or lips on a carp? But other than that, the car is flat, squat and all business. The view of the side and rear are even more beautiful. And when you look at the enormous Michelin PAX tires (again over $23,000 for a set of four!) you just know that you could use a spare to start your own lawn rolling business.
Out at the rear of the car is a hydraulically operated wing that is deployed as needed based upon data to the car’s computer. It can be used to provide down force as well as braking!
Also, the ride height is adjustable. The lowest position is for flat out runs, the middle position is for handling and the highest (a whole 4.9 inches of clearance!) is for day-to-day use and also retracts the wing completely. (Can you tell how captivating this car IS in person?!)
I opened the door on the Buick and slid into the seat. Pulling the heavy door shut reminded me just how far apart the Veyron is compared to what I was sitting in. I slid the key into the ignition, never tiring of the feel of that and hearing the key clear the tumblers.
I rotated the key forward to the ‘Run’ position and instantly heard the huge fuel pumps bring up the pressure in the system, then kick back. At the same time, the Autometer gauges (GNX style panel now!) danced to life and assumed their appropriate reading for an unfired engine…
I sat there for a few seconds, marveling at how incredible this 1987 Buick Grand National really is… Here is a car that is nearly three decades old, has TEN LESS cylinders than the Veyron, THREE LESS turbos, and God only knows how many less fans and heat exchangers but that YET was going to face off on a track against it! I knew I did not have over a thousand horsepower at my disposal – but I also knew my car did not weigh as much.
While there would never be any debate of the outcome if I were to run the GN against the Bug on a road course, on the quarter mile strip? Hey, who knows?
I reached over and rolled up the windows. To this day, I always marvel at how unbelievably S-L-O-W they roll up or down! Yet, it’s part of the character of the car. As the windows closed, the noise pretty much died down but I could still hear some of the announcer’s words. I could barely hear the Veyron but now, it did not matter.
I was in the zone. It was go-time…
I cinched up the full face helmet and buckled the harness tightly. I then reached forward and rotated the key against the spring loading, taking the switch assembly on into the “Start” position…
That’s when the near-silence ended.
A built V6 Turbo Buick is not quiet. Especially when the exhaust is uncorked… As the switch contacts closed, the current flowed through the system and via the starter solenoid engaged the big starter at the base of the engine. Immediately, the gear engaged the flywheel and began to rotate it along with all the interconnected rotating mass.
The crank spun, connecting rods jammed pistons up and down, the cam turned and push rods fought against the valve springs to force valves open in the proper sequence… fuel shot through the pressure regulator into the rail and out the assigned injectors on the SFI system into the gaping maw of each cylinder just as thousands of volts of spark lit off to slam the pistons back down… completing the starting sequence in less than a second and allowing me to release the key back to the ‘Run’ position.
Now, it was alive once more.
The motor was still warm from the drive over so no warm up time was necessary. I depressed the brake pedal and pulled the shifter back to the Drive position. Immediately, I was once more rewarded with the car’s shifting stance; the back end just sort of hunches up like you see a panther get ready to jump onto some unsuspecting prey… The torque that the V6 makes is actually much higher per cylinder than the Veyron could ever dream of.
And the horsepower to displacement contest was no contest either. But still, this wasn’t a battle of statistics – it was all out quarter mile war and no matter what amount of money was spent on either vehicle, no matter which car stacked up the best in the bench racing category, it was all down to horsepower and torque transfer to the pavement. We would find out soon enough which car had enough to get the job done…
I followed Sally up the lane as Brandon, Stacy, and Kelly headed on up to the stands. Several fans walked behind us as we entered the pre-staging area. I even noticed several wagers being made! Funny isn’t it? No matter what the ‘contest’, people will bet as to who THEY think will win. Human nature never changes – we all want to have a hero…
As we approached the staging lanes we were greeted by two track officials who had opened up the two inside lanes just for us. They motioned for us to come on forward and had us at the front of the line immediately. I could hear the announcer’s voice but could not make out what he was saying but whatever it was (I think it was the introduction of us onto the track?), it had the crowd roaring with approval.
In seconds, the officials waved us on forward and now it was for real…
Scanning the gauges as I rounded the curve onto the track’s staging area, I saw all was normal. I was to Sally’s left and I saw her drive around the water box – no need for it with AWD – and then I stopped to back into the watered area. The guys at the burnout area motioned me when to stop and then pull ahead to begin the burnout…
Snicking the shifter from “R” back to “D”, I felt the car shift again under the massive transfer of torque. I engaged the line-lock and began the burnout… first a whirring, hissing sound began with the exhaust note and then plumes of white smoke billowed out from beneath the rear wheel wells... the crowd was yelling and howling and the track attendant were smiling their approval… I released the line-lock and shot forward, braking as I crossed the beams to roll to a stop… I backed up back across the beams, watching the rear view mirror to ensure I was lined up… I noticed the crowd was on its feet and I could faintly hear the announcer driving them into a frenzy…
Yet, to my right sat the Veyron… patient and smug… no need for a burnout given the enormous amount of traction the huge tires and AWD were handing to Sally. Tire sizes? How about these specs? Fronts, 265-680 ZR’s, and Rears: 365-710 ZR’s! Plenty of traction there indeed…
As I rolled to a stop, once again I shifted from Reverse back to drive and then let off the brake pedal enough to pull up even to Sally… I could hear her rev the huge 8 liter engine… she still had not prestaged yet, I guess waiting for me to pull up with her…
I was glad to oblige…
I then rolled into the lights in slowly, creeping almost until I see the “Prestage” light come on… I stopped, watching and waiting for Sally to do the same which she did almost at the same time…
Knowing that we both had turbo’d cars, I wondered if her launch would be like mine – if she would try to build some boost first?
I didn’t have long to wait… I saw her car squat even lower (oh yeah, the adjustable ride height) but then sort of hunch up as I heard the engine build some rpms…
I did the same thing, rolling into the pedal enough to bring up the rpms… I watched the boost gauge as it began to build boost and rpms… the 3600 rpm stall converter was patiently waiting to be loosed…
2psi…
3psi… 4psi…
I could hear the Veyron’s engine and turbos as Sally did the same, drifting slowly into the lights. Her “Prestage” lamp was now lit…
I engaged the transbrake and continued to build boost…
6psi… 7psi… and more…
The V6 was screaming defiantly against the enormous 8 liter’s ominous note…
David versus Goliath…
Some would say, Good versus Evil… America versus the world… Muscle and hard work against technology and computerization…
After the race was over, many would forever say it was the most incredible thing they had ever seen… even years later, most who were there would say the same thing still… better yet, many more people even claimed to have seen the race than the actual number who were there… most likely, due to YouTube…
Now, both “Staged” lamps were lit and the starter began the light sequence…
I matted the pedal as soon as both lamps were lit, my finger on the transbrake release… I knew this would be a HARD launch… it would have to be if I was going to have a chance…
Amber…
Amber…
Third amber… TRANSBRAKE RELEASED! BAM!
It seemed – at the time – that everything happened in slow motion. I knew that Sally had a “Launch mode” selector in the Veyron but I wasn’t sure what it did exactly. Regardless, I had no time to think about it… why?
Because the moment I released the transbrake and all that torque, the GN lifted the nose off the track and nearly dragged the bumper before it quickly settled back down to terra firma…
I saw two birds flying high in the sky for the briefest of times as my view over the hood was briefly yanked skyward… freakish…
To my right, I only saw a red/black blur shoot forward as if from a cannon… to my horror - and before the wheel stand was even over, the Veyron had me by nearly three-fourths of a car…
And THAT was the good news…
The bad news?
The Veyron’s lead seemed to be s-l-o-w-l-y widening… I could see that even as the nose of the GN dropped back to the pavement... Even though the Buick has just destroyed my previous best 60 foot time, it was not enough – the Veyron, with its 7 speed DSG $123,000 transmission, four turbos and 1000+ horsepower was hell bent for leather and in the process of leaving me behind…
Never, EVER have I run against a car that could accelerate that fast… It was as if the Bug was on rails and had rocket propulsion… The Bugatti engineers have every right to be proud of the car… it is jaw dropping…
Sally told me later that the launch is unlike any other car she had ever driven, turbo or not… she said that when you mat the pedal, for the first moment all seems normal, almost ‘civil’; acceleration is fast but no wheel spin no attitude, just powerful acceleration. But then - the turbos are ramped up and all hell breaks loose with a deafening roar… the car feels like it is trying to rip off your face and it does not care if or how much it hurts… your vision almost blurs and even with a helmet on, the engine’s scream is frightening… it is all you can do to hang on according to her… and I believe every word of it.
At half track, things began to slowly turn… the nose of the Buick was now just at the front of Sally’s door….
At the 990 foot mark, the Veyron was still maybe a half a fender ahead but by now, the GN was coming on strong… the shifts were brutal, unlike what Sally was feeling… the computer in the Veyron made sure that one clutch engages before the other disengages which is much smoother… the bullet-proof Janis-built tranny in the GN did not care about finesse or delicate shifts – when one gear left into another one, it was sudden and harsh… but Vince assured me it would take everything I could dish out and that it was good for at least 1200 horsepower…
He was right… I still drive that transmission today and it has never gone back to Akron for anything… and it will STILL nearly break your neck when shifted under power…
The finish line was coming at us fast… it was a blur but at the same time, it was almost as if it was a series of still photographs… beams of sunlight… a blue cloudless sky…
A red and black Veyron trying to hold onto a lead of maybe inches…
A black car from another generation with a little V6 and huge turbo and intercooler trying to once again prove that everything is not always as it seems… that sometimes, it truly is NOT over until it is over…
And just that quick, Sally and I drove through the last beam, too close for us to call… we could hear the announcer’s voice yelling something exciting…
We could hear the turbos whistling back down…
We could imagine the reddish glow that had to be on the exhaust manifolds, even in broad daylight…
I rolled my window down as I neared the turnoff area, enjoying the sounds of a summer’s Friday night at the drag strip…
Sally turned in just ahead of me, the wing on the Veyron still up in the braking position… what a beautiful car, I thought to myself…
She reached the time slip shack and I watched as the guy handed her a white slip… I wondered what it said as I looked at the glow of the Bug’s brake lights did the Buick have enough?
She pulled away, waving out her open window at me… what did that mean? Did she wave in victory?
Did she wave in congratulations? I didn’t know…
And just as quickly, I was at the doorway of the shack… the old, tall man handed me the slip as he was saying, “Man, that is SOME kind of car of hers, isn’t it? What a monster…”
I nodded yes. Yes. It IS some kind of car she has there…
He looked at me, I guess expecting a reaction… I had not looked at the times yet…
“Well?” he asked. “What do you think?” I looked up into his weathered face, imagining in his lifetime that he must have seen a LOT of unbelievable cars… he was not smiling…
I still held my foot on the brake… dare I look? As long as I didn’t, I could imagine that all is well. Looking might bring, well, disappointment…
But, I looked anyways. Losing to a car like the Veyron was nothing to be ashamed of…
The slip had two rows of numbers, with the top numbers representing a car number followed by all the times and MPH’s for each distance… My eyes quickly jumped over to see what Sally and Veyron had ran.
The right lane’s final numbers were staggering…. 9.91 seconds at 143.7 mph. OMG… I thought the Veyron was a low 10 second car at best! But this proved it wasn’t… at least in Sally’s capable hands.
And then, I looked at my numbers… Surely, someone had made a mistake… right?
I looked again. And again… but they still read the same thing…
Left lane: 1320 feet, 9.87 seconds at 142.8 mph.
It was impossible to believe – David had just slain Goliath…
That was when I looked up at the tall, old man and saw him smiling.
“You did it, son. You beat that foreign sum’bitch…” He then reached down and patted my arm.
“God bless the USA, son…” was all he said….”God bless the USA - and General Motors…”
He was still smiling as I drove away, back to the crowd...
To be continued…
Dinner came and went… actually, I think all of us were pretty psyched about seeing the Veyron running full out. The food was GREAT – just as we had heard – and the service as well as the pricing was second to no one. We all agreed that we would definitely add Jed’s to our restaurant rotation.
But, even though the girls tried to steer the conversations away from work, the Clash, or racing in general, it seemed like all we talked about was whether the GN had a ghost of a chance against the Veyron.
None of us had any doubt about Sally’s abilities behind the wheel of a high-horsepower machine; she had proven long ago that she could drive just as well as anyone else (male or female) and could drive better than most. So, given that I knew that I was going to have my hands full with the Bug, no doubt about it.
Sure, the Veyron is a heavy car – around 4400+ lbs. But with over a thousand horsepower, all wheel drive, and aerodynamics that let the car move through air like a shark in water, the weight wasn’t as much an issue.
Most magazines and tests put the Bug at a low-mid ten’s car with a couple showing it in low-tens. Regardless, it was fast. Expensive, yes… but damned fast.
Honestly? I was not sure I could even hang with the beast because I had not had the GN back to the track since I had upgraded the intercooler to a front mount. But even with that, I didn’t doubt that I would see the tail lights of the Veyron by the finish line.
I knew it would launch hard, fast and straight, given the AWD. I have run several AWD cars, including the Evo and STI and with a banzai launch they could knock down some very impressive 60 foot times. Knowing that the Veyron had a big enough can of whoop-ass in the 8.0 liter engine, I knew that for me to stay with Sally on the launch was going to be crucial if I was to have ANY chance at all of winning the race. We would know soon…
We all left the restaurant one behind the other. Well, that was after we FINALLY got to leave the restaurant…
When we walked outside, there were several people looking over Sally’s ride and they had a million questions. However, after Sally explained that she was taking the car out to Tri-County, several enthusiasts decided to blow off dinner at Jed’s (Sorry!) and follow us out to the track to watch!
Interestingly enough, not one person thought I had a chance against the Veyron and a few thought Stacy should run the Camaro against it because they thought IT had a better chance! (Yeah – we laughed too…)
So, from Jed’s parking lot our ‘caravan’ snaked back out the highway and in about 30 minutes we were at the entrance to T-C.
The owners had already started on some parking improvements for the Clash. Construction and paving equipment were parked off to the side with a lot of dirt having been moved and stone laid down for a base. That was nice to see because all indications we had at that point were saying that Tri-County would probably have its largest crowd ever.
Sally led the way in. The stares and gawks were never-ending! At the tech area, yet another huge crowd developed and most of them were trying to see inside the monster or ask Sally questions. I even joked that perhaps Sally should have charged the track rather than the track charge her since she brought a crowd!
And even before we had left the tech inspection (and yes, Sally had her helmet – hmmm…..) we could hear the announcer’s excitement:
“Race fans, you are one of the privileged few tonight! Why? Because you are going to see a car actually do battle on the track here at Tri-County Raceway Park that most of us have not even heard about, much less seen outside of a magazine. Tonight – you are going to witness a VERY, VERY expensive car with all that modern technology can offer go head to head with a competitor that is twenty-one years older! Ladies and gentlemen – tonight you will watch a one point seven million dollar Bugatti – yes, folks, a BUGATTI! – Veyron battle an ’87 Buick Grand National in an impromptu grudge-match if you will!”
He continued as we headed over to the pit area to get parked together…
“Race fans – if you have a camera, a camcorder, or even a cheesy cell phone that takes pictures, you will want to get them ready! Why? Because I am told that this car – this demon on four wheels – is not only worth more than this drag strip, it is going to be driven by a WOMAN! Yes, ladies – this one is for you! We are told that our very own Steve Morton is going to run one of his Turbo Buicks against his friend’s Bugatti 16.4 Veyron. So tell me race fans… who do YOU think is going to win this? Huh?”
We could hear the roar of crowd even over the sounds of the cars in the lanes or the two running down the track. As we stepped out of our cars, everyone who was not already IN the stands was either now walking briskly towards the stands or headed over to gather around our area. Fortunately, track security noticed the crowds and came over to get them back.
“That’s what I thought too, ladies and gentlemen! It’s going to be a great race, isn’t it? On one hand, we’ve got a car that is pretty simple and yet brutal; Steve’s Grand National. We’ve all seen it run here and we know it’s a killer. And by the way, don’t forget the upcoming Clash of Titans here at Tri-County – get your informational flier down at the gate as you leave or there is also a stack of them at the concession area.
But also, you can not dismiss the Veyron as a poseur either! This animal has over a thousand horsepower stock – STOCK mind you! – is all wheel drive, and has FOUR turbos! It’s capable of over 250 mile per hour and you are about to see one of these awesome machines give it all it’s got! So, stay in your seats race fans and watch for a black Buick in one lane lining up against what looks like a red and black squashed bug on hyper-steroids in the other! Now, let’s get back to the racing, ok? Just don’t go anyplace in the mean time!”
Wow! With hype like that from Dan (the new resident announcer), even WE were excited. Sally was beaming with pride as she was trying to answer a few questions. And there were almost as many people hounding Stacy and Brandon about the new Camaro. Tech had asked them if they were going to run it but Stacy decided to get a few miles on it first. I didn’t blame her at all, either even though a lot of people were trying to goad her into taking it down the track. She stood her ground though and promised to run it the next time she had it at the track.
Finally, Sally waved over at me and gave me a “Ready?” look. Kelly saw it too and handed me my helmet.
I had already adjusted the air pressure in the Nitto’s and checked to make sure the alcohol tank was full – it was. The electric cutout was open on the dump tube and tank was about half full of 93 octane Shell. This would be a good test for the GN, regardless whether I won or lost. I was excited to see if the FM added anything – it sure LOOKED like it should! The car was as ready as it was ever going to be for this one.
“Good luck, baby!” Kelly said as she leaned up and kissed my cheek. Brandon and Stacy smiled and gave me a thumbs up just as they did for Sally. I’m sure they were as excited about what was about to go down, no matter who won, as anyone!
Sally slid into the Veyron and fired it up.
Like I said before, it’s hard to describe how this car sounds – there are so many noises from all the fans, the exhaust, the 64 valves (!), and the turbos that to try and describe it is impossible. The exhaust burbles and rumbles fairly sedately but couple that with everything else, it’s just surreal. And when Sally revs it? A completely different sound – almost like something you would hear at a fighter base – erupts.
It’s just like nothing else you’ve ever heard before.
And the looks… the long, wide and sloping nose of the Veyron looks deceptively tame, almost like a flat-faced pug. Yet, there is the gaping hole in the center of the grille-like area that looks like some sort of alien mouth – or lips on a carp? But other than that, the car is flat, squat and all business. The view of the side and rear are even more beautiful. And when you look at the enormous Michelin PAX tires (again over $23,000 for a set of four!) you just know that you could use a spare to start your own lawn rolling business.
Out at the rear of the car is a hydraulically operated wing that is deployed as needed based upon data to the car’s computer. It can be used to provide down force as well as braking!
Also, the ride height is adjustable. The lowest position is for flat out runs, the middle position is for handling and the highest (a whole 4.9 inches of clearance!) is for day-to-day use and also retracts the wing completely. (Can you tell how captivating this car IS in person?!)
I opened the door on the Buick and slid into the seat. Pulling the heavy door shut reminded me just how far apart the Veyron is compared to what I was sitting in. I slid the key into the ignition, never tiring of the feel of that and hearing the key clear the tumblers.
I rotated the key forward to the ‘Run’ position and instantly heard the huge fuel pumps bring up the pressure in the system, then kick back. At the same time, the Autometer gauges (GNX style panel now!) danced to life and assumed their appropriate reading for an unfired engine…
I sat there for a few seconds, marveling at how incredible this 1987 Buick Grand National really is… Here is a car that is nearly three decades old, has TEN LESS cylinders than the Veyron, THREE LESS turbos, and God only knows how many less fans and heat exchangers but that YET was going to face off on a track against it! I knew I did not have over a thousand horsepower at my disposal – but I also knew my car did not weigh as much.
While there would never be any debate of the outcome if I were to run the GN against the Bug on a road course, on the quarter mile strip? Hey, who knows?
I reached over and rolled up the windows. To this day, I always marvel at how unbelievably S-L-O-W they roll up or down! Yet, it’s part of the character of the car. As the windows closed, the noise pretty much died down but I could still hear some of the announcer’s words. I could barely hear the Veyron but now, it did not matter.
I was in the zone. It was go-time…
I cinched up the full face helmet and buckled the harness tightly. I then reached forward and rotated the key against the spring loading, taking the switch assembly on into the “Start” position…
That’s when the near-silence ended.
A built V6 Turbo Buick is not quiet. Especially when the exhaust is uncorked… As the switch contacts closed, the current flowed through the system and via the starter solenoid engaged the big starter at the base of the engine. Immediately, the gear engaged the flywheel and began to rotate it along with all the interconnected rotating mass.
The crank spun, connecting rods jammed pistons up and down, the cam turned and push rods fought against the valve springs to force valves open in the proper sequence… fuel shot through the pressure regulator into the rail and out the assigned injectors on the SFI system into the gaping maw of each cylinder just as thousands of volts of spark lit off to slam the pistons back down… completing the starting sequence in less than a second and allowing me to release the key back to the ‘Run’ position.
Now, it was alive once more.
The motor was still warm from the drive over so no warm up time was necessary. I depressed the brake pedal and pulled the shifter back to the Drive position. Immediately, I was once more rewarded with the car’s shifting stance; the back end just sort of hunches up like you see a panther get ready to jump onto some unsuspecting prey… The torque that the V6 makes is actually much higher per cylinder than the Veyron could ever dream of.
And the horsepower to displacement contest was no contest either. But still, this wasn’t a battle of statistics – it was all out quarter mile war and no matter what amount of money was spent on either vehicle, no matter which car stacked up the best in the bench racing category, it was all down to horsepower and torque transfer to the pavement. We would find out soon enough which car had enough to get the job done…
I followed Sally up the lane as Brandon, Stacy, and Kelly headed on up to the stands. Several fans walked behind us as we entered the pre-staging area. I even noticed several wagers being made! Funny isn’t it? No matter what the ‘contest’, people will bet as to who THEY think will win. Human nature never changes – we all want to have a hero…
As we approached the staging lanes we were greeted by two track officials who had opened up the two inside lanes just for us. They motioned for us to come on forward and had us at the front of the line immediately. I could hear the announcer’s voice but could not make out what he was saying but whatever it was (I think it was the introduction of us onto the track?), it had the crowd roaring with approval.
In seconds, the officials waved us on forward and now it was for real…
Scanning the gauges as I rounded the curve onto the track’s staging area, I saw all was normal. I was to Sally’s left and I saw her drive around the water box – no need for it with AWD – and then I stopped to back into the watered area. The guys at the burnout area motioned me when to stop and then pull ahead to begin the burnout…
Snicking the shifter from “R” back to “D”, I felt the car shift again under the massive transfer of torque. I engaged the line-lock and began the burnout… first a whirring, hissing sound began with the exhaust note and then plumes of white smoke billowed out from beneath the rear wheel wells... the crowd was yelling and howling and the track attendant were smiling their approval… I released the line-lock and shot forward, braking as I crossed the beams to roll to a stop… I backed up back across the beams, watching the rear view mirror to ensure I was lined up… I noticed the crowd was on its feet and I could faintly hear the announcer driving them into a frenzy…
Yet, to my right sat the Veyron… patient and smug… no need for a burnout given the enormous amount of traction the huge tires and AWD were handing to Sally. Tire sizes? How about these specs? Fronts, 265-680 ZR’s, and Rears: 365-710 ZR’s! Plenty of traction there indeed…
As I rolled to a stop, once again I shifted from Reverse back to drive and then let off the brake pedal enough to pull up even to Sally… I could hear her rev the huge 8 liter engine… she still had not prestaged yet, I guess waiting for me to pull up with her…
I was glad to oblige…
I then rolled into the lights in slowly, creeping almost until I see the “Prestage” light come on… I stopped, watching and waiting for Sally to do the same which she did almost at the same time…
Knowing that we both had turbo’d cars, I wondered if her launch would be like mine – if she would try to build some boost first?
I didn’t have long to wait… I saw her car squat even lower (oh yeah, the adjustable ride height) but then sort of hunch up as I heard the engine build some rpms…
I did the same thing, rolling into the pedal enough to bring up the rpms… I watched the boost gauge as it began to build boost and rpms… the 3600 rpm stall converter was patiently waiting to be loosed…
2psi…
3psi… 4psi…
I could hear the Veyron’s engine and turbos as Sally did the same, drifting slowly into the lights. Her “Prestage” lamp was now lit…
I engaged the transbrake and continued to build boost…
6psi… 7psi… and more…
The V6 was screaming defiantly against the enormous 8 liter’s ominous note…
David versus Goliath…
Some would say, Good versus Evil… America versus the world… Muscle and hard work against technology and computerization…
After the race was over, many would forever say it was the most incredible thing they had ever seen… even years later, most who were there would say the same thing still… better yet, many more people even claimed to have seen the race than the actual number who were there… most likely, due to YouTube…
Now, both “Staged” lamps were lit and the starter began the light sequence…
I matted the pedal as soon as both lamps were lit, my finger on the transbrake release… I knew this would be a HARD launch… it would have to be if I was going to have a chance…
Amber…
Amber…
Third amber… TRANSBRAKE RELEASED! BAM!
It seemed – at the time – that everything happened in slow motion. I knew that Sally had a “Launch mode” selector in the Veyron but I wasn’t sure what it did exactly. Regardless, I had no time to think about it… why?
Because the moment I released the transbrake and all that torque, the GN lifted the nose off the track and nearly dragged the bumper before it quickly settled back down to terra firma…
I saw two birds flying high in the sky for the briefest of times as my view over the hood was briefly yanked skyward… freakish…
To my right, I only saw a red/black blur shoot forward as if from a cannon… to my horror - and before the wheel stand was even over, the Veyron had me by nearly three-fourths of a car…
And THAT was the good news…
The bad news?
The Veyron’s lead seemed to be s-l-o-w-l-y widening… I could see that even as the nose of the GN dropped back to the pavement... Even though the Buick has just destroyed my previous best 60 foot time, it was not enough – the Veyron, with its 7 speed DSG $123,000 transmission, four turbos and 1000+ horsepower was hell bent for leather and in the process of leaving me behind…
Never, EVER have I run against a car that could accelerate that fast… It was as if the Bug was on rails and had rocket propulsion… The Bugatti engineers have every right to be proud of the car… it is jaw dropping…
Sally told me later that the launch is unlike any other car she had ever driven, turbo or not… she said that when you mat the pedal, for the first moment all seems normal, almost ‘civil’; acceleration is fast but no wheel spin no attitude, just powerful acceleration. But then - the turbos are ramped up and all hell breaks loose with a deafening roar… the car feels like it is trying to rip off your face and it does not care if or how much it hurts… your vision almost blurs and even with a helmet on, the engine’s scream is frightening… it is all you can do to hang on according to her… and I believe every word of it.
At half track, things began to slowly turn… the nose of the Buick was now just at the front of Sally’s door….
At the 990 foot mark, the Veyron was still maybe a half a fender ahead but by now, the GN was coming on strong… the shifts were brutal, unlike what Sally was feeling… the computer in the Veyron made sure that one clutch engages before the other disengages which is much smoother… the bullet-proof Janis-built tranny in the GN did not care about finesse or delicate shifts – when one gear left into another one, it was sudden and harsh… but Vince assured me it would take everything I could dish out and that it was good for at least 1200 horsepower…
He was right… I still drive that transmission today and it has never gone back to Akron for anything… and it will STILL nearly break your neck when shifted under power…
The finish line was coming at us fast… it was a blur but at the same time, it was almost as if it was a series of still photographs… beams of sunlight… a blue cloudless sky…
A red and black Veyron trying to hold onto a lead of maybe inches…
A black car from another generation with a little V6 and huge turbo and intercooler trying to once again prove that everything is not always as it seems… that sometimes, it truly is NOT over until it is over…
And just that quick, Sally and I drove through the last beam, too close for us to call… we could hear the announcer’s voice yelling something exciting…
We could hear the turbos whistling back down…
We could imagine the reddish glow that had to be on the exhaust manifolds, even in broad daylight…
I rolled my window down as I neared the turnoff area, enjoying the sounds of a summer’s Friday night at the drag strip…
Sally turned in just ahead of me, the wing on the Veyron still up in the braking position… what a beautiful car, I thought to myself…
She reached the time slip shack and I watched as the guy handed her a white slip… I wondered what it said as I looked at the glow of the Bug’s brake lights did the Buick have enough?
She pulled away, waving out her open window at me… what did that mean? Did she wave in victory?
Did she wave in congratulations? I didn’t know…
And just as quickly, I was at the doorway of the shack… the old, tall man handed me the slip as he was saying, “Man, that is SOME kind of car of hers, isn’t it? What a monster…”
I nodded yes. Yes. It IS some kind of car she has there…
He looked at me, I guess expecting a reaction… I had not looked at the times yet…
“Well?” he asked. “What do you think?” I looked up into his weathered face, imagining in his lifetime that he must have seen a LOT of unbelievable cars… he was not smiling…
I still held my foot on the brake… dare I look? As long as I didn’t, I could imagine that all is well. Looking might bring, well, disappointment…
But, I looked anyways. Losing to a car like the Veyron was nothing to be ashamed of…
The slip had two rows of numbers, with the top numbers representing a car number followed by all the times and MPH’s for each distance… My eyes quickly jumped over to see what Sally and Veyron had ran.
The right lane’s final numbers were staggering…. 9.91 seconds at 143.7 mph. OMG… I thought the Veyron was a low 10 second car at best! But this proved it wasn’t… at least in Sally’s capable hands.
And then, I looked at my numbers… Surely, someone had made a mistake… right?
I looked again. And again… but they still read the same thing…
Left lane: 1320 feet, 9.87 seconds at 142.8 mph.
It was impossible to believe – David had just slain Goliath…
That was when I looked up at the tall, old man and saw him smiling.
“You did it, son. You beat that foreign sum’bitch…” He then reached down and patted my arm.
“God bless the USA, son…” was all he said….”God bless the USA - and General Motors…”
He was still smiling as I drove away, back to the crowd...
To be continued…
