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Chapter 1722 The Gale of Le Mans (Second update, please subscribe)
Dusk spread across the Le Mans track like melted asphalt, and Zhang Shengli could even hear the unique roar of the engine in the cockpit of the Volkswagen Tornado.

Its engine is a masterpiece of Volkswagen - although the cylinder capacity is only 6500 cm3, it has up to 550 horsepower and a maximum speed of 380km/h.

Outside the windshield, the red taillights of the Ferrari 330 P3 are drawing a seductive arc at the Dunlop Bend. This is Ferrari's careful design and boundary-breaking preparation for this race.

His strongest opponents in this race are not only Ferrari, but also Ford GT 40 MKII - two years ago, three GT40s of the Ford team crossed the finish line at the same time, and that scene was recorded forever. It has a powerful V8 engine, a cylinder capacity of 6697 cm3, 485 horsepower and a maximum speed of 320 km/h.

Ferrari, Ford!
But his Volkswagen Tornado is no worse than theirs. It is a car that Volkswagen has spent several years building - and it is designed for this race.

Although Porsche won the championship a few years ago, Volkswagen is Volkswagen, and Porsche... is just Porsche!

“Two laps left.”

The engineer's somewhat nervous voice came from the headset.

Zhang Shengli licked the salty corner of his mouth, and then he realized that the Kevlar fiber lining of the helmet had been soaked with sweat. His thumb rubbed on the shift paddle, feeling the slight vibration from the steering wheel - this 520-horsepower mechanical beast was restlessly moving there.

It's like a beast ready to attack, preparing to make the final attack!

There was a sudden uproar in the audience and a man in a Renault team jacket in the front row grabbed the railing.

The blue Volkswagen Tornado cut into the corner at an incredible tangent, with its left front wheel almost scraping the right diffuser of the Ferrari 330.

"He's crazy!"

Italian reporters screamed nervously,

"They were probably less than 20 centimeters apart!"

Different from the screams from the outside world, Zhang Shengli fully grasped the safe distance, which was safe enough.

When the V8 turbocharged engine let out a violent scream, he seemed to be able to see the air twisted into a transparent vortex behind the rear wing. Although it is a mass-produced car, the aerodynamic appearance of this car was designed by experts from the automobile company and the Aerodynamics Research Institute in two years. Through more than 500 hours of wind tunnel experiments and more than 1000 rounds of simulation optimization, an ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.198 was achieved.

In addition to using ultra-high-strength steel to increase strength and improve safety factors, its body also uses a large amount of super-hard aluminum alloy to reduce weight.

It can be said that this car is definitely a pinnacle masterpiece, but what is even more outstanding is its control system. Last year, Nanjie and Volkswagen cooperated to launch a groundbreaking three-channel four-wheel ABS system, which is equipped with a digital controller and introduces microprocessor technology. This car is the first model to adopt ABS technology, and its superior performance allows it to show its advantages in the Dunlop curve.

This bend is named after the Dunlop tires. This road is very bumpy and is a great place for many people to pull away from their opponents because the amount of braking here will affect the distance between vehicles. Although it is a good place to overtake, it is also a high-incidence area for accidents.

The symbolic figure that suddenly enlarged in the Ferrari driver's rearview mirror caused a flash of shock in his azure eyes.

But everything happened in an instant, and the public surpassed him!

After overtaking Ferrari, Zhang Shengli did not relax, but continued to move at full speed. After passing the Dunlop Bridge, he arrived at the Essos continuous bends, a set of high-speed bends on the right and left, which are famous for their high drop. Later, the driver came to the "Truges" acceleration bend. The driver needs to increase the speed from 230km/h to more than 300km/h in this set of bends to cope with the next "Mulsanne" straight.

"Mushang straight! Look at Mushang straight!"

The commentator's voice was carried throughout the stands through the loudspeaker.

The Mulsanne Straight is located at the Circuit de la Sarthe and is a 24km straight track in the 6 Hours of Le Mans. During non-race periods, the track is a local urban road and is named after the village of Mulsanne at its end.

The Mulsanne Straight is one of the most exciting sections in the Le Mans race. Drivers can easily reach speeds of over 330km/h on this super-long straight line. This is why countless car fans are crazy about it.

The Ford GT-8, which has always been at the forefront with its powerful V40 engine, is like a violent beast. Now, this Ford is preparing to replicate their Le Mans legend.

Zhang Shengli felt adrenaline rushing to his temples, and the speed needle on the dashboard was about to hit the red restricted area.

At this moment, he recalled those sleepless nights of testing in the Dongning factory, where he had pushed the performance of this beast to the extreme on the closed test section. When the roar of the powerful V8 engine formed a perfect resonance with the body, the grip from the rear wheel was like being kissed by God.

Volkswagen's V8 engine is gradually devouring the last pride of Ford's V8 engine. It caught up with the Ford GT-40 and then surpassed it little by little!
When the two were parallel, the numbers on the speedometer of the Volkswagen Tornado rose wildly - 380...381...387!

When his speed exceeds 390km/h,
The audience erupted in earth-shaking howls - on this day, they witnessed history!
For the first time, a car reached a speed of 390 kilometers per hour!
The cameraman on the French TV station's aerial helicopter captured this scene truthfully, and what was even more shocking was that he actually started overtaking at this high speed!

The moment the blue ghost tore through the airflow curtain from the right side of the Ford, the spectators in the stands screamed wildly, grabbing everything they could grab and shouting excitedly.

"Oh my God! He actually managed to overtake in this way!"

The reporter grabbed his colleague's arm, and the camera lens recorded this terrifying moment.

The race supervisor made the sign of the cross in the monitoring room. Although this style of driving relies on speed, it requires more courage because it is a life-threatening way of overtaking.

At this speed, any attempt to overtake could result in an accident.

Although Zhang Shengli bit his lower lip, he was unaware of it. He just glanced at the rearview mirror, and the torn red and white spots in the mirror were falling into the distance.

His fingers still felt the violent vibration of the steering wheel from his last attempt, and he could even hear the roar of the engine in his ears. For a moment, he even had a thought in his mind - should he sprint for 400 kilometers?

But this thought only flashed through his mind. After all, all he needed to do at that moment was to enjoy the victory and finally cross the finish line.

The most important thing is to safely pass the finish line and finish the race!
After passing the second zigzag curve on the Mulsanne Straight, the car entered the Mulsanne Bend. Because the curvature of this bend is close to less than 90 degrees, the driver needs to step on the brake pedal hard to ensure the vehicle passes safely. In this process, a little carelessness can cause an accident. However, thanks to the help of the ABS anti-lock braking system, Zhang Shengli easily drove through this bend and drove towards victory.

……

When the news came out that Volkswagen won the Le Mans car race, it did not cause much response outside the non-professional field. After all, the circle of car racing is still very small. However, it caused quite a stir in the SEA automotive community, not because he won the race.

But because of the new technology it applies.

BMW did not think there was anything wrong with the application of ABS, but Volkswagen's V8 engine made BMW executives frown.

After all, BMW used to have the best engines, but now Volkswagen has come from behind.

Putting out the cigarette butt fiercely in the ashtray, Zhao Guowei said:
“We also want to design a car to compete in Le Mans and compete with them!”

After he finished speaking, the chief engineer Eric shook his head and said.

"There is absolutely no need for us to compete with them. In terms of sports cars, we have Porsche and Alfa Romeo, both of whom have won the Le Mans championship."

As the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, BMW has many brands under its name, and each brand specializes in its own field.

"It's just one game, all we need to do is be ourselves and do what we do best."

Eric said, looking at the manager.

"Manager, the official residence called and said that His Excellency is planning to visit Russia and is preparing to present a luxury car to the Russian leader. This is the best advertisement for us."

Eric then gestured with his hands in a calm yet somewhat excited tone.

"The leader of a superpower drives a BMW through Moscow's Red Square."

Listening to Eric's words, Zhao Guowei asked curiously.

"Will he drive the car himself?"

How could the leader of a superpower drive his own car?

"Who knows? All we need is a stunt, a piece of news."

Eric took a puff of his cigarette and said:
"It's not about whether he can drive the car or not, but that our car is presented to him as a state gift, and that's the most important thing."

After listening to the engineer's words, Zhao Guowei thought for a moment, then nodded and said.

"This is indeed the most important thing for us. With just a few shots in the news, the whole world will know that our cars are luxury cars and the epitome of luxury!"

Over the past decade, BMW has been committed to building its own brand image - luxury cars!
Luxury brand, this is the brand image he created.

More than a decade of persistence has paid off. Now W is known as one of the world's four major luxury cars along with Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce.

The image of a luxury brand has also brought BMW huge profits. After all, luxury goods themselves are lucrative.

So in comparison, making a sports car is simply making a joke of your own brand image.

Because - the owners of luxury cars just ride in them, and few people would experience the so-called pleasure of driving.

Even fewer people would want to experience the thrill of speeding at lightning speed and risking their own lives!

However, BMW was still influenced by the past to a certain extent. After all, there were many sports cars in their models before the war, and the addition of Porsche and Alfa Romeo also brought certain sports car factors to it.

This also makes BMW cars a very fun car to drive and an extremely comfortable luxury car to ride in.

That is why he is loved and welcomed by wealthy people all over the world.

It has been given as a state gift to other national leaders many times. Now that there is another opportunity to show off, of course we have to seize it.

After all, the Soviet automobile industry was very backward, and if their cars were good enough, perhaps in the future we would see Soviet leaders driving BMWs instead of their domestically produced cars.

"We need to prepare a car carefully, and we can refer to yours..."

Before the manager could finish his words, the deputy manager in charge of this matter said:

"Manager, you made it very clear in the call from the official residence. They want us to recommend a luxury car that is more fun to drive. Right..."

The deputy manager looked at the manager and said.

"His exact words were that the car had to be fun to drive."

(End of this chapter)