MOTORING
THE WORLD’S fastest road car was unleashed at this week’s Geneva Motor Show as Bugatti took the wraps off its new £2 million Chiron luxury supercar. Its top speed has been artificially limited to 261 mph for road use — on derestricted German autobahns.
But an unlimited version will hit a maximum speed ‘significantly’ above the record held by the firm’s outgoing Veyron model at 267.7 mph. Insiders predict a record-breaking 288 mph, even 300 mph has been touted.
Its vast 8-litre W16 engine propels the new ‘hypercar’ from rest to 62 mph in less than 2.5 seconds, hitting 124 mph in just 6.5 seconds and 186 mph in 13.6 seconds. The engine, with four turbochargers, develops 1,500 bhp — equivalent to around 15 Ford Fiestas — and has 25 per cent more power than the Veyron. To reach speeds beyond 236 mph the driver must activate a second ‘speed key’.
Only 500 Chirons will be produced by the boutique factory in Alsace and a third of those have already been ordered. VAUXHALL’S British-built Astra has been crowned European ‘Car of the Year’, — beating big names to the coveted title.
The decision was made by a jury of 58 journalists at the start of the Geneva show. It means a big boost for the Ellesmere Port workforce. The Astra beat rivals including the Jaguar XE, BMW 7-Series, Volvo XC90, Audi A4, Mazda MX5 and Skoda Superb.
Vauxhall chairman and managing director Rory Harvey said: ‘To be named European Car of the Year is a testament to the hard work that has gone into the Astra.’ PEUGEOT-CITROEN is the first car company to adopt ‘realworld’ fuel economy tests. The company asked environmental group Transport & Environment — which played a leading part in uncovering the Volkswagen ‘ dieselgate’ emissions test cheating — to create tougher real-world tests. They fitted cars with mobile emissions testers and tracked how the ‘average’ driver drives.
When Peugeot-Citroen applied the tests to its own cars, it found the difference between its results and the official EU economy figures was 30 to 40 per cent.
A Citroen C4 Grand Picasso 1.6l Blue HDi 120, with an official economy figure of 70.6 mpg, achieved only 50.4 mpg in the real-world tests. And an upmarket DS3 hatchback 1.6 Blue HDi 120, with an official EU figure of 78.4 mpg, managed just 57.6 mpg.
Meanwhile, Citroen has upped the fashion stakes with its funky new Spacetourer Hyphen interiors, displaying garish colours and suitably attired driver to match (pictured above). AUDI’S angular Q2 ‘baby’ crossover will be a huge hit, I predict. Its geometric lines have sharper creases than a wellpressed suit. It will hit UK driveways in November, from £22,000 with order books opening in July. NISSAN’S stand demonstrated how electric cars could be charged wirelessly over special induction pads — and even park themselves once the battery was charged, as well as showcasing technology that will allow electric cars to act as mini-power stations supplying current to homes.