POWER, LUXURY DEFINE HYPERCAR
For $3.6 million, Bugatti Chiron provides timeless automotive style
You can get a lot for $3.6 million. A decent starter mansion in Toronto, a nice yacht, about 200 Smart cars — or a 2018 Bugatti Chiron. It’s the sequel to the Veyron, which, when it broke cover in 2005 with a 1001-horsepower 16-cylinder engine, completely rewrote the hypercar book. So how do you top that? Well, make it faster, more comfortable, better handling, better looking. And, oh yes, more expensive. The completely redesigned, quadturbocharged
8.0-litre W16 engine generates 1500 hp and 1182 pound-feet of torque. Driving all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, it blasts this 1,995-kilogram, midengine, carbon-fibre luxo-missile through the 100 km/h mark from a standstill in 2.4 seconds. Keep your foot in it and 400 km/h arrives in 42 seconds. Top speed is limited to 420 km/h, and that’s only because of the tires.
I wish I could regale you with tales of eyeball-squishing acceleration from 250 km/ h and lateral g-forces that had my kidneys and liver swapping places. Sadly, however, my brief time with this Bug was more of a polite handshake, all under the watchful eye of Chiron minder and pro race driver Butch Leitzinger. Temperatures hovering around the freezing mark spell cold tires, and with the Chiron that is a big deal. Even at 80 km/h, a prod on the gas pedal results in wheel spin. And don’t forget, this is an all-wheel-drive car. Nevertheless, an open stretch of country road allowed me to feed in some throttle.
To quell turbo lag, the four turbochargers are now two-stage, with the smaller turbos spinning up early. Hit 3,800 rpm and flaps in the exhaust manifolds open to feed the larger pair, from whence they all start huffing up to 26.8 psi of boost into the 16 cylinders, gulping 35 cubic feet of air every second. There’s a cacophony of hissing, whistling and roaring from behind my shoulders, as this internal-combustion monster hurtles us forward like an ICBM. Lift off and there’s a chorus of percussive whoofs from the popoff valves underscored by some weird sucking noises. Imagine a Dickensian factory being hit by a category five tornado. It’s best enjoyed with the windows down. Yes, the Chiron’s limits are absolutely nuts, but what is equally amazing is how easy this car is to drive. Tootling around town, it’s as benign as an Accord. Intimidation factor is essentially zero. The new electric steering that replaces the Veyron’s hydraulic unit feels excellent, and the ride, while not exactly coddling, is certainly acceptable. Cabin noise, apparently, is vastly improved over the Veyron, although there’s some road surface resonance.
A rotary dial on the steering wheel calls up four drive modes. Default is EB, Lift raises the ride height for negotiating speed bumps or steep drives, Autobahn lowers the car and adjusts the giant wing for high-speed touring, while Handling firms up the suspension and steering, and sets the wing for more downforce. Top Speed mode is a different kettle of fish; it is activated by a special Speed Key, and only when the car is stationary. The Chiron crouches to the ground, does a diagnostics check, and the wing and underbody aerodynamic elements tuck themselves in for maximum slip streaming. Compared with the Veyron, the Chiron is downright gorgeous, with its sleeker snout, LED headlights, along with the spectacular C-shaped side pods and spinal ridge, a nod to Bugatti road cars of the art deco period. The cabin is a work of art. It is beguilingly simple and elegant, and rendered in the finest materials. An intriguing example of one-upmanship is that the entire gauge pod, which houses a big central speedometer and the steering wheel are both machined from a single hunk of aluminum. Bugatti design director Etienne Salome was going for timeless. He wanted a cabin that would wow Pebble Beach goers 50 years from now, so there’s no black hole of touch screens in here. The slim centre stack is particularly intriguing, with its four protruding aluminum dials, each tipped with a small digital readout. From these you can control HVAC, as well as glean such information as real-time horsepower output, maximum speed, oil temperature and so on. The Chiron’s carbon-fibre body panels are hung on a carbon-fibre monocoque that takes four weeks and 500 man-hours to build, or more if you spec the optional exposed weave. The Chiron
wears special Bugatti-spec Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, sized P285/30R20 in front and P355/25R21 in back.
They say there are no dumb questions, but here’s one: Is the Bugatti Chiron worth six Lamborghini Aventadors? Of course it is — for those who want and can afford one. Bugatti, which is part of Volkswagen AG, will be making 500 Chirons, of which more than 300 are all ready sold.