Zipcar is looking to increase its offerings, and will now begin offering one-way trips in certain North American markets. Along with that, the company will also allow drivers to change destinations mid-trip and extend reservations indefinitely.
In 2014, Zipcar launched the One>Way beta program in Boston, but now that the program will be transitioned into the new lineup of options, the company will change the name. The new one-way trip program will start out in Philadelphia, Denver, and Los Angeles on a small scale before getting rolled out in more cities. The Los Angeles program is set to launch in the coming weeks.
“We want to deliver to our customers before they even know they want it,” said Zipcar spokeswoman Lindsay Wester to Automotive News. The addition of the one-way trip program, as well as the ability to change destination is part of Zipcar’s strategy to adapt to customer demands. The new programs will let drivers drop vehicles off at different locations than where they picked them up, which will be a first for Zipcar.
Currently, the company will only offer Honda vehicles like the Fit for the new flexible options. However, Wester said that Zipcar is “open” to adding other vehicles to its fleet as it continues to expand its driving options, which will later include travel between cities.
While the Fiesta ST200’s turbocharged 1.6-liter EcoBoost I-4 makes the same 197 hp as the standard U.S.-market Fiesta ST, torque has increased from 202 lb-ft to 214 lb-ft. Additionally, a new overboost function increases power to 212 hp and 236 lb-ft for 15 seconds. In Europe, the Fiesta ST is rated 180 hp and 177 lb-ft.
Other drivetrain changes include a new 4.06 final drive ratio in place of the standard Fiesta ST’s 3.82 ratio for quicker acceleration. Ford claims the new Fiesta ST200 sprints from naught to 62 mph in 6.7 seconds, compared to 6.9 seconds for the standard Fiesta ST. In our testing, a U.S.-spec 197-hp Ford Fiesta hit 60 mph in 6.4 seconds. Top speed is a claimed 143 mph.
“The Fiesta ST is truly beloved by owners and critics. The ST200 takes this special drivers’ car to a new level of power and performance,” said Joe Bakaj, vice president, Product Development, Ford of Europe, in a release. “I think it’s a future classic in the making.”
In addition to its powertrain upgrades, the new Ford Fiesta ST200 should have even better handling thanks to an enhanced Torque Vectoring Control system with three-mode Electronic Stability Control (ESC), increased roll-stiffness for the adapted rear twist-beam axle, and a 0.6-inch lower ride height thanks to unique front and rear springs and dampers.
Additionally, the steering features a revised front steering knuckle and shortened steering arm with a shorter 13.69:1 steering ratio, while the braking system has been upgraded with a larger tandem brake master cylinder and rear disc brakes.
Visual changes include unique machined matte black 17-inch alloy wheels, red-painted brake calipers, and an available and exclusive Storm Grey exterior paint. Interior upgrades include partial leather Recaro front seats finished in Charcoal with contrasting silver stitching, illuminated scuff plates, and silver detailing on the seatbelts.
While the new Ford Fiesta ST200 hasn’t been confirmed for the U.S., the new high-performance model will go on sale in Europe this summer.
Like clockwork, once every 10 years or so there’s a new top-speed champ in the automotive world. When I was a growing up in the ’90s, that car was the 230-mph McLaren F1. A decade later, it was the 253-mph Bugatti Veyron. Now there’s a new bad Bug on the block. Packing 1,500 hp behind the rear seats, the Bugatti Chiron is designed to carry the production car automotive speed records for the next decade. Here are 10 things you might not know about the new Chiron.
How’s your French?
Those who have worked in sports and news broadcast might be tempted to call the Chiron “kai-ron,” like the company named Chyron that creates television graphics, but it’s actually pronounced “shir-on,” preferably with a heavy French accent. It’s named after legendary Bugatti driver Louis Chiron.
Fashionable and functional
This may come as a surprise to those who weren’t aware of Bugatti until the Veyron burst onto the scene, but the French automaker has a long and storied history. Although you’ll notice obvious visual similarities between the Chiron and its predecessor, the Chiron effectively looks to the future while blending in styling traits from its past. Take the distinctive C-shaped satin silver line that dominates the Chiron’s profile view, for instance. That line mimics the legendary 1930s Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic while providing the engine with clean, undisturbed air.
Speaking of Satin Silver …
The Bugatti badge on the Chiron’s grille is made of hand-enameled sterling silver, and it costs parent company Volkswagen $550 a pop.
We are the 0.02 percent!
That $550 badge represents just 0.02 percent of the Chiron’s estimated $2.7 million sticker price. (Bugatti only quotes the price in euros. It goes for 2.4 million of them.) According to Bugatti, the average Chiron buyer owns 42 cars, a jet, a yacht, three helicopters, and four houses. All right, then.
It’s going to be really fast
Bugatti’s still playing coy with the Chiron’s top speed, but computer simulations suggest at least 275 mph, 7 mph faster than the Veyron Super Sport and 5 mph faster than the Hennessey Venom GT.
But not so fast …
Bugatti will limit top speed of customer cars to just 261 mph. The Chiron’s true top speed can be unlocked by factory technicians after a set of ultra-finely balanced wheels and tires and some additional sensors have been fitted for a factory-backed v-max run.
More power!
To hit that 261-mph marker, the Chiron obviously needs a serious engine. The Chiron is powered by an updated version of the Veyron’s 8.0-liter, quad-turbo W-16 engine. Under the Chiron’s hood, the big 16-cylinder engine makes 1,500 hp and 1,165 lb-ft of torque, and it drives all four wheels through a seven-speed automated manual transmission.
You’ve never seen a dyno chart like this
Most dyno charts are progressive power and torque curves that slowly gain along the y-axis as they travel along the x-axis. Not so with the Chiron; the Bugatti’s torque curve shoots damn near straight up the y-axis to 2,000 rpm and then remains flat to 6,700 rpm, and the Chiron’s power curve is more like a power line, rocketing straight up to 6,700 rpm.
The big Bug can turn, too
The Veyron got a bad rap for being unwieldy on racetracks and on canyon roads. As a result, Bugatti’s engineers paid special attention to how the Chiron handled, fitting the new hypercar with a new ZF-sourced electric power steering rack, external reservoir Sachs suspension dampers, and custom hand-built Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. Oh, and yes, we’ve been assured the new Chiron can drift.
Blowing Hot Air
The Chiron uses a neat trick to expel exhaust gases while making it more slippery. Although it appears that the Chiron has just four exhaust pipes, the Bugatti actually has six 3.2-inch titanium exits. Four of the exhaust tips exit centrally, and the other two exit downward on the left and right sides of the car, which helps create a Formula 1-style blown diffuser that increases downforce at speed.
After Wolfgang Dürheimer’s son showed his dad the YouTube video of John Hennessey’s Venom GT running 270.49 mph one way at Kennedy Space Center, the Bugatti boss reached out to the Texas tuner during 2014 Pebble Beach car week. “I didn’t know what to expect,” Hennessey recalls, “but he was just the coolest guy. I thought I was just talking to another car guy from Texas.”
And so began an unusual rivalry. “I give Bugatti a lot of credit for setting such a high bar so long ago,” says Hennessey, who says the Veyron performance benchmark proved an inspiration.
“I hope he makes his 270 mph in both directions pretty soon so he can enjoy being the fastest,” Dürheimer says with a smile before pausing to deliver the kicker. “For three months.”
That’s a challenge John Hennessey is looking forward to. “It’s a very cool validation for our little company,” he says. “We look forward to them beating our number. It gives us something to go out and try and leapfrog at one point.”
After sharing what we know about the Chiron with Hennessey, what does he think the new benchmark will be? “They are the ultimate sandbaggers,” he says of the claimed 0-60 time. “Of course it depends on the tire, and it depends on the surface, but I’ll be disappointed if the new Bug doesn’t go a 1.9.” And top speed? “I’m guessing it goes way past 270 mph, maybe pushing 280.”
Given more road than the 3.4-mile runway used for the record run at Kennedy Space Center, Hennessey believes his Venom GT could still challenge the Chiron for top speed honors. He says the Venom GT accelerated from 260 mph to 270 mph in 11 seconds, and even assuming the rate of acceleration tapered off 1 mph every 2 seconds, he calculates that if he had the chance to run it at Ehra-Lessien, coming off the banking and onto the track’s 5.4-mile-long straight at 150 mph like Bugatti test drivers do, it could reach 275 or even 277 mph.
“I asked Wolfgang whether I could bring a car over and line it up with a Bugatti,” Hennessey smiles. “He didn’t say yes. But he didn’t say no.”
As you probably noticed in our 2017 Bugatti Chiron First Look, the successor to the Veyron features a radical new design worthy of its performance upgrades. Here, we take a closer look at just what went into making the Chiron from a design perspective.
Interior
A special hinge allows the doors to open wider for easier entry and egress.
The all-new carbon monocoque means a roomier interior. The passenger H-point is offset from the vehicle centerline by the same amount as in the Veyron, but the wider front track means better legroom. And although the roof is lower (the 0.2-inch increase in overall height is due to the fin), there is a half-inch more headroom.
The C-line element in the center of the cabin is not just for decoration. It is a structural element of the new monocoque.
All switchgear is unique to Bugatti. And if it looks like metal, it is.
The carbon-fiber trim in the interior is given a special layer to reduce reflected noise.
The Chiron’s airbags can now be fired directly through the carbon fiber of the dash panel thanks to construction patented by VW Group.
The speedo is analog and reads to 500 km/h (311 mph). It’s clever, subtle marketing: “The speedo doesn’t fade away when the ignition is off,” says Bugatti chief Wolfgang Dürheimer, “and so when people look inside they can see how fast the car can go, and they will talk about it.”
Exterior
All exterior panels are carbon fiber. The crease running back from the grille becomes a suspended fin at the rear of the car and recalls the iconic Type 57SC Atlantic.
A 1.5-inch increase in overall width completely changes the proportion compared with the Veyron and is accentuated by the new headlight treatment.
The side view is dominated by the C-shaped “Bugatti line” that echoes paint schemes from 1930s cars. It allows a front-to-rear color break, important as 75 percent of Veyrons have two-tone paint schemes.
Like the Veyron, the Chiron has a negative wedge profile; unlike other supercars, the main bodyline drops down as it progresses rearward from the front wheels.
Hidden inlets tucked in at the side actually deliver more, less turbulent airflow to the engine than the Veyron’s signature top-mounted scoops.
The cutaway rear improves aerodynamic efficiency and helps suck hot air out from the engine compartment.
The rear spoiler/airbrake now runs almost full width across the rear of the car; extending it beyond the C-pillar cant rails improves performance.
