Speed freak
The Bugatti Bolide takes the Chiron platform to the extreme. Does a crack at a Nürburgring record beckon?
THE BUGATTI CHIRON HAS SPAWNED countless special editions, from the retro-rehash Centodieci to the record-breaking Super Sport 300+. And now Bugatti has brought the Bolide, a trackoriented model that wraps a lightweight body around the Chiron’s mighty W16 powertrain.
Beyond the trademark horseshoe grille the result bears little resemblance to its road-going siblings. At just 995mm tall, the design mimics the Bell X-1 aircraft that Captain Charles ‘Chuck’ Yeager used to break the sound barrier in 1947. There’s a complex stacked wing setup at the rear, with a central fin mounted on the engine cover for increased stability, with mammoth 400-section Michelin slicks (compared to the Chiron’s meagre 355-section rear rubber).
Still driving all four wheels is Bugatti’s 8-litre quad-turbo W16, which on 110-octane racing fuel now produces 1824bhp and 1849Nm – up 345bhp and 249Nm over the Chiron – for a quoted 2.17sec 0-100kmph time and top speed of over 500kmph. The Bolide is also said to go from 0 to 400kmph and back to rest in just 24.64sec, 6.84sec quicker than Koenigsegg’s Regera.
To ensure the 16-cylinder engine withstands the toils of a track session, Bugatti has optimised its cooling and oil systems, fettling all four turbos to produce more boost at higher engine speeds. Three air-cooled oil coolers keep the engine, transmission and differential temperatures in check, with a water precooling system lending a helping hand.
The Bolide’s real party piece is its 1250kg dry weight – astonishing when the powertrain weighs nearly 500kg alone. To streamline weight, air-to-air intercooling is preferred over water-to-air, while 3D-printed titanium components, a wound carbonfibre driveshaft, forged magnesium wheels and a stripped cabin all contribute too. Combine this weight figure with the Bolide’s 1824bhp output, and you get an unrivalled 1483bhp-per-ton dry power-to-weight ratio.
The horizontal dampers of the pushrod suspension are visible through apertures in the bonnet. Extreme aerodynamics were also high on the agenda, with a peak downforce rating of 1800kg on the rear axle and 800kg at the front at 320kmph. A ‘morphable outer skin’ is also used for the roof-mounted intake to reduce drag by ten per cent.
Bugatti hasn’t decided if it will put the model into production, but it has claimed the Bolide will lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 5min 23.1sec – just seconds off the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo’s record time. It would certainly be fascinating to see if it could do it…
SPECIFICATION
Engine W16, 7993cc,quad-turbo Power 1824bhp @ 7000rpm Torque 1849Nm @ 2000-7025rpm Weight (dry) 1250kg Power-to-weight (dry) 1483bhp/ton 0-100kmph 2.17sec
Top speed >500kmph
Price TBA