A Bugatti for the Billionaire
The Chiron is the ultimate super sports car
How can you develop a new super sports car if you have already built the best? This was the steep challenge faced by Bugatti engineers in the development of the Chiron. The development brief for the new Bugatti was short and sweet – make the best significantly better in every respect.
The Bugatti Chiron is the ultimate super sports car and is the world’s first production sports car with 1,500 HP.With torque of 1,600 Nm between 2,000 and 6,000 rpm, the Chiron offers maximum performance with outstanding control. In its Top Speed mode, the Chiron reaches the maximum speed of 260mph, limited for road use.
The sports car manufacturer from Molsheim, with its long tradition, has taken the unique features of a modern Bugatti to a new level and developed a high-performance machine that has become significantly better in every respect. With a power output of 1,500 HP, unprecedented for production vehicles, an exceptionally high torque value of 1,600 Nm between 2,000 and 6,000 rpm and a wide variety of technical innovations, the Chiron sets new standards in every respect. The Chiron is therefore very well-positioned to become the next world speed record holder and reach a maximum speed significantly above the record currently held by Bugatti. The manufacturer has limited the maximum speed of the new car to 260 mph for road use. The Chiron is to be built at the company’s headquarters in Molsheim. Only 500 of these exceptional cars are to be produced. The basic price is €2.4 million net. Currently, advance orders have been received for one third of the total production run. The first vehicle is due to be delivered to a customer this autumn.
“It is part of human nature to cross boundaries and set new records – to run faster than ever before, to fly even further into space and to enter new realms. This striving is also our driving force at Bugatti,” said Wolfgang Dürheimer, President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., at the presentation of the Chiron. “The Chiron is the result of our efforts to make the best even better.”
The design of the Chiron combines significantly more “beast” with a very high level of “beauty”. The design language introduced by Bugatti with the Chiron has a significantly more aggressive tone and does justice to the character of the new super sports car. The designers have succeeded in reinterpreting Bugatti’s DNA with its distinctive features in a modern manifestation at the same time as adding new features resulting from the technical demands of even higher performance. The Chiron remains unmistakably a Bugatti.
This machine is also the world’s most intelligent production super sports car. It creates ideal conditions for the driver to concentrate fully on piloting a high-performance vehicle and enjoying his emotions without any distractions whatsoever. No fewer than 50 controllers manage the engine and transmission, the chassis components, the air conditioning and comfort functions. And of course, all these systems continue to perform reliably even at speeds significantly over 200mph.
Bugatti has paid more attention to the future viability of the new Chiron than almost any other carmaker. In order to ensure that a Bugatti remains compatible for many years with peripheral hardware and software which is continuously being developed, the processors fitted to certain controllers feature additional capacity for later programming. A firm foundation has been laid for subsequent expansion, especially in connection with telemetry and connectivity functions.
New developments on the Chiron include the complex LED lighting system, the infotainment system with instrument cluster and the air conditioning control unit. To implement special lighting scenarios such as the welcome ceremony, the vehicle lighting system is designed for individual digital control.
The Chiron is the most modern interpretation of Bugatti’s brand DNA. It embodies the new design language of the luxury brand with its long tradition. The styling accentuates the performance aspect of the super sports car much more strongly. The motto adopted by the Bugatti designers for the Chiron was “Form follows Performance”.
Achim Anscheidt, Director of Design at Bugatti, describes his task as follows: “In view of our extraordinary brand and the task in hand, it would not be adequate to simply draw a few fashionable lines. In terms of design, the Chiron was an opportunity to develop most of the basic elements required for an unambiguous stylistic concept from the extreme technical requirements of the vehicle with a view to underlining the performance of this unique super sports car.”
“This principle of form following performance defines the Chiron as an authentic technical product and a fascinating automobile sculpture,” Anscheidt adds. “Both for our customers and for us as designers, it is important for a Bugatti to have a certain stylistic longevity so that it is still perceived as precious in 10 or even 50 years.”
