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FOR more than a decade the Veyron has been the absolute production car high water mark in terms of power and speed. But no longer.
The Chiron – unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show overnight – boasts 1103kW, which is 25 percent more grunt than even the Veyron Super Sport.
And top speed? Bugatti boss Wolfgang Durheimer is keeping that one a surprise until the Chiron’s testing program is completed later this year, but says it will be faster than the 431km/h Veyron Super Sport, and hints at a V-max north of 440km/h.
The 38mm increase in overall width, a slightly lower roofline, pronounced haunches over the rear wheels and a sharply truncated rear end give the Chiron a much more aggressive look than the somewhat dumpy Veyron.
The dramatic C-line that defines the Chiron’s side view and allows modern two-tone paint schemes that reference classic 1930s Bugatti styles – and 75 percent of Veyrons featured two-tone paint – also hides massive scoops that funnel air into the mighty 8.0-litre W16’s intake and cooling systems.
Similarly, the rear end is designed to help extract as much hot air as possible from the engine compartment.
Insert the second, go-faster key (as in the Veyron) that sets up the Chiron for ultra high-speed running, lowering the ride height and reducing downforce and drag, and it will reach a computer-limited 420km/h. That’s the velocity to which Michelin will validate the hand-built tyres – 285/30 R20 up front, and 355/25 R21 at the rear – the French company developed for the car.
Durheimer says the Chiron will go even faster, and owners who want to explore the very limits of its performance envelope will be able to do so in Bugatti’s factory demonstrator, or in their own car, to which Bugatti will fit a set of ultra-finely balanced wheels and tyres, and a battery of sensors to be monitored by Bugatti technicians during a V-max run.
The current plan is to build 500 Chirons – 50 more than the Veyron – and Durheimer insists that (unlike the Veyron) it will be a profitable project.
