Bugatti drops a megawatt bombshell
IT HAS been more than a decade since the Bugatti Veyron was let loose in the world, yet it’s still the quintessential hypercar that people reference in conversations about extreme speed.
What you see here is its replacement, the Chiron, a car that will have to take the performance insanity to the next level if it wants to keep the legend alive. Thankfully, it appears that Bugatti has not chickened out of the power war and the Chiron’s redesigned 8litre, quad-turbo W16 engine produces an astounding 1 103kW and 1 600Nm between 2000 and 6000rpm. 0-100km/h is said to take less than 2.5 seconds.
If left unrestricted it would probably take off and orbit the earth, so Bugatti has limited the top speed, for road use, to a “mere” 420km/h. However, it goes without saying that the limiter will be lifted for special occasions, like setting a new world speed record, something the French hyper-car maker is confident of achieving.
With 25 percent more power than its predecessor, the Chiron is the most powerful production car ever made and to achieve this, Bugatti says it redesigned almost every engine component. Practically every number Bugatti throws at you is impressive… 32 fuel injectors, an air cooling system that can pump more than 60 000 litres of air through the engine, and so on and so on.
As mentioned, there are four turbo-chargers and Bugatti has even opted for a two-stage system to eliminate lag off the mark. This
means that the Chiron takes off with just two turbo-chargers and only calls the remaining pair in at around 3800rpm.
A seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, with the largest clutch ever fitted to a passenger car, sends the urge to all four wheels and on that note, Bugatti says that its hypercar has also been made ‘agile’ for the first time. Aiding that cause is an adaptive chassis offering five modes (Lift, EB “Auto”, Autobahn, Handling und Top Speed), as well as an active aerodynamics system, lightweight carbon fibre monocoque structure and specially developed tyres. Bringing the entire speed fest to a stop is what Bugatti describes as “the best brakes in the world”, as they sure need to be.
These come in the form of special carbon ceramic brake discs made from carbon silicon carbide. Bugatti claims to have “tested the limits of physics” while achieving “significant improvements” in every conceivable area.
Only 500 Chirons are scheduled to be built and despite the “basic price” of 2.4 million euro (R41.4 million), Bugatti has already sold the first third of its total production run.