The 2017 Bugatti Chiron supercar, which replaces the Veyron, uses an updated version of the 8.0-liter W16 quad-turbocharged engine as its forebear, but ups the performance quotient by producing 1,500 horsepower, up 400 over the old model, and a prodigious 1,180 lb ft of torque.
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The Veyron, by contrast, had just 1,000 horsepower when it launched in 2005, making the Chiron up to 25 percent as powerful again as its predecessor.
The Chiron can hit 60mph is “less than” 2.5 seconds and can accelerate to 124mph (200km/h) in less than 6.5 seconds and to 186mph (300km/h) below 13.6 seconds. As it happens, instead of borrowing the “electric supercharging” system from its VAG brothers at Audi, Bugatti engineers went for a sequential turbocharging system to minimize throttle lag. You’ve got the Autobahn mode, where you can enjoy a unique top-speed suspension adjustment specifically for highway conditions. We say yet because it’s thought Bugatti is saving the option for a more potent Chiron down the track, something hinted at by former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn.
The limit on the top speed is created to keep the tires from wearing out, but unrestricted the Chiron could go as fast as 461 km/h (287 mph), CAR Magazine figures.
Billed as the “fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production super sports vehicle in the world”, the Chiron is set to smash expectations of all kinds.
Other highlights include no less than 10 radiators, active aerodynamics (the rear wing on its own has four different positions), a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox sending power to all four wheels, and some massive tyres.
Bugatti also claims that the Chiron is equipped with the “largest, highest-performance clutch ever fitted to a passenger auto”.
Oh, and if you thought Bugatti was all about straight line speed, consider this: the new Chiron has a drift mode. Let us know in the comments section below… According to Bugatti, numerous design cues on the Chiron were inspired by the company’s legendary Type 53sC Atlantic of the 1930s.
Only 500 units of the Bugatti Chiron will be built across a 7 or 8-year product cycle, with multiple special editions to kick in at least a year from now. This is clearly visible on the exterior side lining, running through the interior along the roof and continues between the two seats to the center console. Only 500 cars will be made, but Bugatti says it already has pre-orders for about a third of that total. Each comes with a base price of €2.4 million, roughly $2.6 million Dollars.
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“The Chiron is the result of our efforts to make the best even better”, Bugatti president Wolfgang Dürheimer said on the company’s website Monday.
