Bugatti

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The Bugatti Mistral’s road-testing phase includes a top-speed run

Unveiled in 2022, the Mistral is the final street-legal Bugatti powered by the quad-turbocharged W16 engine. It’s related to the Chiron, but the two cars are different enough that the French brand built test mules to put the roadster through its paces before launching production.

While some hypercars can only be registered in the United States under the Show and Display rule, Bugatti wanted the Mistral — its first convertible since 2015 — to be fully street-legal in every major market. It re-engineered the monocoque during the development phase and notably reinforced the sills and the transmission tunnel, so it needed to put the model through a series of crash tests to obtain homologation.

Aerodynamic tests were completed in October 2023, and the 1,600-horsepower W16 engine was extensively tested on a dyno before it was signed off. The road-testing phase of the project has started: Bugatti is testing the Mistral on and off the track, on different road surfaces, at different elevations, and in wildly different weather ranging from freezing cold to scorching hot. One of its development mules has already covered nearly 20,000 miles, and it will rack up an additional 5,000 miles in the coming months including roughly 3,000 miles on a track.

If that doesn’t sound like much, consider this: Bugatti notes that most of its modern-day cars haven’t reached the 25,000-mile mark yet.

Even the top speed, which is advertised at over 260 mph, will be verified — it’s part of road-testing, after all. The problem is that finding a track with a long enough straight is easier said than done. “We are planning to run the final high-speed test on one of the very few tracks around the world that allows us to run the test in safe conditions,” said Emilio Scervo, the chief technical officer for Bugatti-Rimac, without revealing which track he has in mind. “The moment we have access to that track, achieving the top speed will no longer be a problem.”

Mistral production is limited to 99 units excluding the development cars, and the entire run is spoken for in spite of a base price pegged at about €5 million before taxes and options are factored in (that’s around $5.4 million at the current conversion rate). Bugatti also needs to build the 40 planned units of the sold-out Bolide, which is a track-only model. When those are delivered, the W16 will enter the pantheon of automotive history. After closing the W16 chapter, the company will launch production of the recently-unveiled, V16-powered Tourbillon.

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July 10, 2024 / Comments Off

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Dealer says he sold LeBron James a Bugatti. LeBron replies: ‘LIARS!’

It’s news in the automobile chat rooms when LeBron James buys a new Bugatti.

It’s news as well when LeBron James doesn’t buy a new Bugatti.

Seems that a California high-end dealership “congratulated” the NBA legend for all to see on Instagram about his “purchase,” bragging that James was their “biggest VIP customer.’’ Turns out none of that was true — it’s the car-dealer equivalent of stolen valor.

“Stop the [cap]!! LIARS!!” James shot back on his own post, aiming his blast at the Effortless Motors dealership in Riverside. “I don’t know y’all and I don’t even have that car. CLOUT CHASERS.’’ James also shared a video posted by the dealer showing a car being loaded onto a truck. No details on that vehicle or on the supercar James purportedly bought.

TMZ Sports said it spoke with Effortless Motors owner Daniel Ubario, who admitted that the uproar was part of a marketing ploy, and that he didn’t expect the angry reaction from James … or from his legion of fans who took to social media to bash Ubario.

Ubario also said that he’d not worked with LeBron in any capacity in the past.

June 18, 2024 / Comments Off

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Bugatti’s Chiron successor will make its debut on June 20 with V16 power

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June 4, 2024 / Comments Off

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Bugatti reveals track-only Bolide’s purpose-designed interior

Bugatti has done a good job of documenting the Bolide’s transition from a wild-looking concept car to a limited-edition production model, but we’ve been missing one key piece of the puzzle: the interior. The wait is over, and the brand revealed what the hypercar looks like inside.

Every part of the cabin was developed specifically for the Bolide, so the overall layout looks nothing the Chiron’s. Bugatti built the model around a new carbon fiber monocoque, and starting from scratch allowed it to set a new seating position described as race car-like. Fittingly, the Bolide is being developed exclusively for track use. The brand paid special attention to the steering wheel, which features an X-shaped design that echoes the shape of the rear lights. It’s easily removable, and Bugatti notes it can serve as decoration when not in use.

The driver sits on a seat that’s layered directly onto the monocoque, meaning the Bolide is the first Bugatti model built with fixed seats. This solution saves weight because it doesn’t require seat rails, and as a trade-off the driver can adjust the steering column and the pedals to find a comfortable seating position. Buyers will have four seat packages to choose from, including one tailored to their exact dimensions. And, like every Bugatti model, the Bolide will be highly customizable: leather, Alcantara and suede are among the types of upholstery offered.

Bugatti notes that its test drivers played a significant role in shaping the Bolide’s interior. The brand put eight commonly-used buttons on the steering wheel, and it developed a digital instrument cluster with two built-in modes. The first mode displays the kind of advanced data that a test driver would want, while the second focuses on the essentials. There’s no touchscreen because there’s no infotainment system, but the slanted center console features a handful of buttons as well as four cool-looking climate control system vents shaped like exhaust outlets.

Power for the Bolide comes from an evolution of Bugatti’s familiar 8.0-liter W16 engine. In this application, it’s quad-turbocharged to develop 1,578 horsepower; that’s a lot even without context, but it becomes even more impressive when you factor in the car’s 3,196-pound weight.

Bugatti Bolide production is scheduled to start in 2024 and pricing starts at approximately €4 million excluding taxes, which represents around $4.36 million at the current conversion rate. Production is limited to 40 units globally, and the model has been sold out since 2021.

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November 22, 2023 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Rimac signs exclusive distribution deal with VW of America

Volkswagen Group of America (VGoA) has only just announced a deal it signed with Bugatti Rimac during Monterey Car Week last month. The deal gives VGoA exclusive rights to import and distribute Bugatti and Rimac products in the United States, and puts the COO of Bugatti America, Sascha Doering, in charge of the Rimac’s American outpost as well.

Mate Rimac, CEO of what’s now called the Rimac Group, said, “For both the Bugatti and Rimac brands, the U.S. is the strongest single market in the world, so it’s important that we curate a sales and ownership experience befitting the extraordinary cars that we’re delivering to customers. The alignment and cooperation with Volkswagen Group of America will allow a new dealer network in the States to evolve with the enormous experience and resources available to them, allowing us to combine all the best bits of a mass-market sales operation with the bespoke, customer-centric special touches that have become a hallmark of both Bugatti and Rimac brands.”

We suspect the news will have more effect on Bugatti dealers than Rimac dealers, but neither company explained what the new arrangement will mean. Rimac’s retailer map shows seven stores in the U.S. Three of those seven also sell Bugatti, one assumes they’ll only need to deal with paperwork and potential new showroom dictates. Of the remaining four, two sell numerous additional brands that include VW nameplates other than Bugatti, one appears to only sell Rimac and Koenigsegg, and one appears to sell just Rimac. Those latter two could be cut off from the herd.

However, it’s more likely that all of the dealers saw this coming once Rimac turned into Bugatti Rimac in 2021. For anyone interested in minutiae, Bugatti Rimac is a joint venture between Porsche and Rimac, the German sports car company owning a 45% stake, the Rimac Group owning 55%. The Rimac Group is the carmaking division and Rimac Technology, which engineers electric powertrains for other automakers like Pininfarina and is separate from the production cars, is 100% owned by Rimac Group.

No matter all that. By the time Bugatti’s new hybrid debuts next year, eager buyers should be clear on who they’ll need to call to place a deposit.

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September 21, 2023 / Comments Off

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Watch (and listen to!) the Bugatti Bolide go flat-out on an airstrip

Development of the track-only Bugatti Bolide has reached a significant milestone. After finalizing the hypercar’s design and building the first prototypes, the French brand has started testing the model on an airstrip to fine-tune parameters like the amount of downforce it generates.

Power for the Bolide comes from an 8.0-liter W16 engine that’s quad-turbocharged to 1,578 horsepower — you know we’re talking serious power when the horsepower figure includes a comma. While this is the same basic engine that powers the Chiron, among other models, the major similarities between the two models stop there. Bugatti didn’t design the Bolide for street use so its engineers were unfettered by the regulations that shaped your daily driver. They focused on keeping weight as low as possible while designers created a race car-like body.

So far, the tests have confirmed what months of computer simulation predicted: the 3,200-pound Bolide can handle up to 2.5 Gs of lateral forces, meaning it can take a corner really, really, fast, and it generates up to three metric tons of downforce (that’s about 6,600 pounds) depending on the speed it’s traveling at. Bugatti explains the car’s front splitter helps achieve this downforce: air hitting the car gets compressed under the splitter and expands under the diffuser to create the suction that helps pin the Bolide to the pavement. There’s much more to it, and all of the aerodynamic add-ons are functional. The shape of the passenger compartment, which is narrow compared to the Chiron’s, was selected in part to maximize airflow to the side-mounted intercoolers. The door mirrors channel air to the intercoolers as well.

While the mirrors add drag, Bugatti explained that they make more sense than cameras because they give the driver a better idea of where they’re positioned compared to other cars. “Every technical consideration has been translated directly into an aesthetic design,” said Frank Heyl, the company’s deputy design director, in a statement. “Design and technology flow into one another in the Bolide,” he added.

Bugatti will continue testing the Bolide on race tracks around the world in the coming months, and it plans to begin delivering the car in 2024. If you’re not already on the waiting list, it’s too late: production is limited to 40 units and they’re all spoken for in spite of a base price pegged at €4 million (about $4.29 million at the current conversion rate). Alternatively, there’s a 905-piece Lego kit that’s not sold out and that only costs about $50 excluding tax. It doesn’t need to be tested on a race track, but we can’t guarantee it will provide three tons of downforce.

In addition to bringing the Bolide to production, Bugatti is busily developing the yet-unnamed model that will replace the Chiron. Details are vague, but Autoblog learned the model will use a plug-in hybrid powertrain and feature many new components, including the monocoque.

June 1, 2023 / Comments Off

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$4.4M Bugatti Bolide moves down the track and closer to production

Unveiled in 2020, and approved for production a year later, the Bugatti Bolide is one step closer to hitting the track. The automaker just published photos of the car being put through its paces, and it released details about some of features that differentiate it from the Chiron.

Writing off the Bolide as a rebodied Chiron would be an oversimplification. While the two cars share an 8.0-liter, quad-turbocharged W16 engine, the list of Bolide-specific parts is long. Bugatti explains that its engineers designed the model around a new carbon fiber monocoque, and they were unfettered by the various rules and regulations that shape modern cars because the Bolide isn’t street-legal. It’s exclusively a track car. Changes were made to the cooling system, the suspension system, and the transmission; the suspension is notably three times stiffer than the Chiron’s, and it includes uniball bearings. Several 3D-printed parts, including titanium rockers, will be used to build it.

Even the engine isn’t carried over; not quite. In the Bolide, the four turbochargers always provide boost because the 16-cylinder is expected to spend a lot of time at higher revolutions. In comparison, the Chiron uses a sequential setup: The two smaller turbos generate boost at up to 3,800 rpm, and the two bigger units kick in beyond that. The end result is 1,578 horsepower in a car that tips the scale at 3,196 pounds.

Slick tires designed by Michelin put the power to the ground, while a carbon-ceramic braking system keeps it in check. Interestingly, Bugatti designed new calipers that generate and absorb heat to help the brakes warm up as quickly as possible (they’re less effective when cold).

Bugatti will begin delivering the Bolide in 2024. Production is limited to 40 units, and the model is sold out in spite of a base price pegged at €4 million excluding taxes, which represents approximately $4.39 million at the current conversion rate. If that’s too much, or if you missed your chance to buy one, one alternative is a 905-piece Lego Technic kit that stretches about a foot long and that costs about $50.

It’s too early to tell what’s next. We know that the Bolide is one of the last W16-powered Bugatti models along with the Mistral convertible and the final examples of the Chiron. The 16-cylinder chapter is about to end, and Bugatti confirmed that the Chiron’s replacement (which hasn’t been shown or given a name yet) will use a plug-in hybrid powertrain and feature a design described as “leaner and more athletic.”

April 20, 2023 / Comments Off

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Pininfarina Battista hypercar’s output specified at 1,873 horsepower

Even in a galaxy far, far away, the Pininfarina Battista would stand out.

After a delay of about three years, the official specifications of the all-electric hypercar have been revealed:

Full power is rated at 1,873 horsepower, outputting 1,697 foot-pounds of torque.
Sixty-two miles per hour arrives in 1.86 seconds, with 124 mph coming in 4.75 seconds.
217 mph is the estimated top speed. (The Rimac Nevera recently hit 258.)
The 120kWh battery pack should enable a range of about 280 miles from a single charge.

A pair of electric motors are mounted to each axle, each motor powering a specific wheel and giving the Battista full torque vectoring capability.

Pricing — and this is one of those cars that, if one has to ask, just move on — is about $2.2 million, which places it in the territory of the Bugatti Chiron. For those customers considering an upsell, a limited “anniversario” edition will comprise five of the expected 150-unit build run. It differs from the standard version by some cosmetic alterations, which lifts the price by some $70,000-plus. 0r you could buy a BMW M3 as a chase car.

The two-seater Battista is named for Battista “Pinin” Farina, who founded Carrozzeria Pininfarina in 1930. A lot of its battery, carbon-fiber chassis and motor components come from Rimac, the nascent Croatian electric supercar maker that recently paired with Porsche to take over Bugatti.

Many more details about the car’s development, several photos and our driving impressions can be found in this Autoblog post from August.

November 24, 2022 / Comments Off

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Bugatti plots PHEV Chiron successor with more athletic proportions

Bugatti is ready to close the W16 chapter of its history; the Mistral roadster it unveiled in August 2022 is the final street-legal car powered by the quad-turbocharged engine. What’s next remains shrouded in secrecy, but the French firm gave Autoblog a few hints of what to expect.

First, let’s dispel a myth: The Chiron’s successor will not be electric. Achim Anscheidt, Bugatti’s design director, confirmed that the model — whose name hasn’t been announced yet — will be powered by a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Rimac has previously described the drivetrain as “heavily electrified,” but precise technical details such as horsepower and layout haven’t been made public. All we know for sure at this stage is that the W16 won’t return and that many key components under the body (including the monocoque and the subframes) will be new.

In terms of design, it sounds like Anscheidt instructed his team to balance evolutionary and revolutionary approaches.

“[The car] will certainly be tailored to one or the other aspect of a hybrid. We see the potential to improve the overall automotive gesture of the car,” he said.

Dialing in new proportions is something his team wasn’t able to do when it designed the Chiron, because parts like the monocoque and the doors were carried over from the Veyron. Beyond the overall shape, Anscheidt noted he’d like to see Bugatti’s design language get leaner and more athletic, but there’s a limit to this stretch. Regardless of what the Chiron’s successor looks like, it needs to stay true to the ambivalent character of “the automotive Beauty and Beast” and be instantly recognizable as a Bugatti

“In comparison to other hyper-sports cars, Bugatti always created its own sovereign segment. It was always slightly different, never trying to be a race car for the road. It is the ultimate GT. That should not change from one day to the other. We don’t want to become somebody else, but we’re opening a new tech chapter which is a challenge as well as an opportunity,” he clarified.

The cabin will evolve as well, but it won’t necessarily follow the industry’s ongoing shift toward wall-to-wall screens.

“When you look at today’s cars, it becomes very apparent that there are screens everywhere. Where is this leading us? Yes, I think that customers deserve to have full entertainment in their daily driver. This is the [interior design trend] of the automotive industry, and we don’t want to question that. However, I wonder: who still has an iPhone 3? Nobody, and you probably don’t want to have one anymore. It likely doesn’t work. What happens to those cars when they are 20 or 30 years old? Do those screens still work? Did one do all of the updates?”

Anscheidt and his team actively debate what this means for Bugatti and its customers as they shape the Chiron’s successor. Not all companies worry about whether the technology they put in their cars will work in two or more decades, but Bugatti is in a unique position: its cars are instant collectibles. They’re rolling works of art created to be enjoyed and admired by enthusiasts who aren’t born yet.

“Bugatti models need to sit on the lawn at Pebble Beach in 50 years and work. Just like we see pre-war luxury automobiles that still work. What a disaster it would be if a Bugatti would sit there and there are only black screens [inside].” We’ll need to be patient to find out the solution that Anscheidt comes up with. “We’re carefully thinking about this. I’m not saying that we have the ultimate answer, but I’m saying there is something that makes precious cars and precious brands worth thinking about for the sake of future generations,” he summed up.

August 24, 2022 / Comments Off

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1,600-hp Bugatti Mistral roadster marks the end of the line for the W16 engine

Bugatti’s mighty W16 engine will retire in the coming years, but it’s not sailing off into the sunset quietly. It will power one final street-legal car: a roadster named Mistral that stands proud as the first convertible of the Chiron era. Built due to customer demand, the Bugatti Mistral is a striking, limited-edition model that looks ready to add another speed record to the French firm’s trophy case. I sat down with some of the people who created it, including Bugatti design director Achim Anscheidt and head of design Frank Heyl, to get the droptop’s full story.

“For the final road-going appearance of Bugatti’s legendary W16 engine, we knew we had to create a roadster. Well over 40% of all Bugatti vehicles ever created have been open-top in design,” said Bugatti-Rimac CEO Mate Rimac. Heyl added that customers “begged” Bugatti to create a Chiron-derived convertible, and that granting them this wish was a “bucket-list” item for the members of his team.

Power for the Mistral comes from the same 8.0-liter, quad-turbocharged 16-cylinder engine that propelled the Chiron Super Sport 300+ to a record-breaking 304.773 mph in 2019. It’s rated at 1,600 horsepower, and it spins the four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Bugatti estimates that the Mistral’s top speed will check in at approximately 261 mph (420 kph). Will this number get verified? Hell, yes! “There can only be one goal in mind: to become the fastest roadster in the world once more,” Bugatti pledged in a statement.

While the Mistral is Chiron-based, Bugatti made several important structural changes to offset the inevitable loss of structural rigidity caused by chopping off the roof. Heyl explained that the monocoque’s sills and transmission tunnel were reinforced and that the a- and b-pillar structures are new, though the front crash structure is the same. And, the two models intentionally share no exterior styling cues.

“We had the pressure of creating something that is precious and valuable in a car collector’s garage. It’s not just a fashion statement: ‘Oh, let’s do a roadster!’ Or, even worse, ‘Let’s take a Chiron and just cut it open,’ which would have looked terrible. This burdens us with the responsibility that this is the last of its kind of that generation and how that’s going to sit in those collections,” Anscheidt told Autoblog.

Up front, the Mistral wears a redesigned rendition of Bugatti’s horseshoe grille and headlights with four LED strips (a configuration chosen as a tribute to the four-wheel-drive system and the four turbochargers) while the X-shaped lights characterize the rear end. There’s a lot more to the design than initially meets the eye, however. Heyl explained that his team added air curtains behind the headlights, for example. And, they separated the intakes that feed air into the engine from those that feed air into the oil coolers to avoid making the Mistral too wide. The former are now right above the front passengers, while the latter remain on the quarter panels. This setup brings a few unexpected benefits.

“The driver hears the air intake system and the turbo blow-off valves, and it’s very nice stylistically; it reminds us of the Vitesse,” Heyl said.

Interior designers kept the Chiron’s basic layout with a handful of exceptions such as new, more ergonomic seats. Check out the gear selector, too: It’s made of wood and features an amber insert with a replica of Rembrandt Bugatti’s “dancing elephant” sculpture. Bugatti told me this part is “just a proposal for the show car,” though it added that it will find a way to bring it to production if customers request it.

What if it rains? Act fast; The Mistral will come with what Anscheidt described as an “emergency roof” but it will not feature a fixed top.

Bugatti will cap Mistral production at 99 units, though it will build an additional car for testing purposes. Pricing is set at €5 million before taxes and options are factored in (about $5 million at the current conversion rate) and the entire production run is already spoken for. And, while many hypercars are only street-legal via loopholes, Bugatti went to significant lengths to fully homologate the Mistral around the world.

Is the Mistral the end of the W16? Sort of. It’s the last W16-powered street-legal car, Anscheidt explained that ever-stricter regulations are escorting the big engine off the stage, but the engine will also power the limited-edition Bolide that was developed exclusively for track use.

“To be honest, I can do all of the design talking that I want, but if we didn’t have the W16 engine [these cars] would not be worth half the money,” Anscheidt said. “The W16 is the ultimate [unique selling proposition] for the modern-day Bugatti brand, from 2005 to today. It means something to us. [The Mistral] is a tribute to this engine, and now we go on to the next generation and think about something else,”

Post Malone’s very white Bugatti Chiron is up for grabs

Rapper and face tattoo enthusiast Post Malone is selling a 2019 Bugatti Chiron. It’s not just any 2019 Bugatti Chiron, either, but one tailored to Mr. Malone’s personal tastes, which is, apparently, white on white on white.

Malone apparently eschewed the Chiron’s available two-tone exterior for a single finish entirely in what Bugatti calls Glacier. Apparently, it’s the hit songwriter’s favorite color, his car collection consisting of a fleet of matching achromatic vehicular baubles. The interior complements it with swaths of bleached leather ensconcing every conceivable surface, from headliner to seats to dashboard to steering wheel. We didn’t realize plain white could look so gaudy, but somehow the Bug makes it happen.

The car is currently listed with DuPont Registry, and photos show the odometer reading just 586 miles. That would explain why the alabaster supercar still looks as unsullied as a pair of collector grade Drake Edition Air Jordan 12 OVOs, or THX 1138’s torture room.

When new, the supercar boasting 1,479-horsepower and 1,180 lb-ft of torque stickered at about $3 million, but Malone opted for a few bells and whistles to set it apart from your more plebeian Chirons. Its black brake calipers, for example, are said to be a $6,400 option. The silver mesh grilles front and rear command another $38,200, a relative bargain compared to the $64,000 Caractere wheels. Inside, the center console inlay aluminum trim adds another $10,900, while contrast-stitching comfort seats are worth another $32,000, or the price of one new Mustang convertible.

That’s over $150,000 in options alone, but that’s probably nothing for Mr. Malone, whose garage consists of a Lamborghini Aventador SV, Rolls Royce Phantom, Rolls Royce Wraith, McLaren Senna, Hennesey VelociRaptor 6×6, 2019 Subaru WRX, 1966 Lincoln Continental, and a 1992 Ford Explorer with Lambo doors.

With all those other sweet rides and a career as a musical superstar, Malone probably didn’t have the time to give the Bugatti’s 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 regular workouts, but maybe you can. Just don’t eat Chee-tos in it.

March 8, 2022 / Comments Off

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Germany criticizes Czech tycoon’s 257-mph Autobahn ride

BERLIN — Germany’s Transport Ministry has criticized a stunt that saw a Czech millionaire drive his high-powered sports car along a public highway at speeds of up to 414 kilometers per hour (257 mph).

A video posted online this month shows Radim Passer pushing his Bugatti Chiron to extreme speeds on a stretch of Germany’s A2 Autobahn between Berlin and Hannover.

Beneath the video, Passer wrote that the stunt was filmed last year on a 10-kilometer (6-mile) straight section with three lanes and “visibility along the whole stretch.”

“Safety was a priority, so the circumstances had to be safe to go,” he said.

But the car can be seen passing several other vehicles on the highway and the light in the video suggests it was at twilight.

While much of Germany’s Autobahn network famously has no speed limit, the Transport Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that it “rejects any behavior in road traffic that leads or can lead to endangering road users.”

“All road users must abide by the rules of the road traffic regulations,” it added, citing the first clause of Germany’s road traffic law, which states that “anyone participating in traffic must behave in such a way that no other person is harmed, endangered or obstructed or inconvenienced more than is unavoidable under the circumstances.”

The ministry noted that the law also requires drivers to “only drive so fast that the vehicle is constantly under control.”

Passer, who according to Forbes is the Czech Republic’s 33rd-richest person with a wealth of 6.6 billion Czech crowns ($308 million), suggested beneath the video that he placed his faith in more than just his driving skills during the stunt.

“We thank God for the safety and good circumstances, as we were able to reach the speed of 414 km/h!” he wrote.

The Green party, now a junior partner in Germany’s coalition government, called for a 130 kph (80 mph) speed limit across the Autobahn network in last year’s election campaign, as part of efforts to cut the country’s carbon dioxide emissions. But that idea was ditched during talks to form the new government.

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January 19, 2022 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Sur Mesure, an even more bespoke option

You might think the options list on your latest car purchase was long and it took some time to wrap your head around which options to add, and which didn’t seem too interesting, but when you are up there in the ultra-high net worth list, things change considerably, shopping for your next Mercedes, Rolls Royce, or Bentley might give you stress with their almost unlimited range of possibilities and personal approach.

With Bentley, you can stray from the ‘basic’ options list and head over to their Mulliner studio that will grant you just about anything, as long as you can afford it, Rolls Royce created their Bespoke department for more individual possibilities while they even have the Coachbuild program now that will create a one-off Rolls Royce just for you. And this highly personal customization need has been seen by supercar manufacturers too, Lamborghini has their Ad Personam studio where clients can make requests outside of the more regular options, Ferrari offers Tailor Made for their more discerning aficionados, and while most hypercars are already a very individual expression of the customer, Bugatti wants to take it to the next level with their new ‘Sur Mesure’ program.

Buying a brand new Bugatti is a very personal experience, you don’t just put together your Bugatti Chiron with an online configurator, check a few boxes, and hit ‘order now’, there is a long way from start to finish before you’ll be taking delivery of your new hypercar from Molsheim in France, it usually starts by going to one of their worldwide dealerships and sit down with your personal contact to go over the plethora of options and possibilities on their in-house configurator, it is even possible to make an appointment and go to the Bugatti Automobiles SAS headquarters in France to really get the VIP treatment.

But now Bugatti created ‘Sur Mesure’, which is French for bespoke, personal, made just for you, and when you look at previous Bugatti cars you might wonder why, isn’t each single Chiron already a bespoke build for one specific client? Or how about La Voiture Noire, that one is as bespoke as it gets with only a single one made, well, it’s not the same, La Voiture Noire is a one-off, but it’s made by Bugatti and subsequently sold, so it wasn’t really a custom-built for one specific customer.

But there are some other examples, like for instance the Bugatti Divo Lady Bug with her $1,000,000 paint option, that surely was a very personal order from a customer in the United States, or how about the Bugatti Chiron Sport ‘Alice’, the special Valentine’s gift ordered in the UK, another very personal combination … so it’s safe to say just about every Bugatti Chiron built is a one-off, bespoke car, but it seems there are customers out there that aren’t satisfied with that level of customization, they want to take it to the next level, almost a coach build level where they order a car with substantial differences from the standard model if such a thing even exists at Bugatti.

As a response to the ever-growing demand for more personalized cars, Bugatti introduces Sur Mesure as their official customization program, and they already have the first Chiron that went through this program ready, taking inspiration from classic Bugatti Grand Prix heroes, more specifically Louis Chiron, when he won countless races behind the wheel of a Bugatti Type 51 that had the race number 32 when he took the victory of the 1931 French Grand Prix with Achille Varzi, so that number has been hand-painted onto this first Sur Mesure customer car, a Chiron Pur Sport.

Let’s not forget this showcase of Bugatti’s ability to really make a personal hypercar already started back in 2013 when they introduced the Veyron Les Légendes de Bugatti, with six exclusive editions to celebrate individual heroes of the marque, each with its one-off exterior and interior finish, and more recently with the Chiron Zebra in 2019 that was a special order from a customer in the Middle East featuring a very ‘personal’ combination of Titanic Blue and Gunpower Grey on the outside, a paint job that took three weeks in the atelier at Molsheim, which is nothing compared to the aforementioned Divo Lady Bug, that elaborate paint scheme took them 18 months to complete.

But now Bugatti wants to streamline those special commissions into an even more one-to-one support from the Sur Mesure team, guiding clients through the vast array of options and possibilities Bugatti can offer to create a unique piece of personalized art on wheels, Bugatti Sur Mesure will take the customer from the initial design concepts over the actual production of the car at Molsheim, right up to the handover of the finished hypercar … hence the complete Molsheim experience.

I guess it won’t come as a surprise that the paint on this Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport Sur Mesure is a custom job too, both shades have been created just for this customer’s car to pay homage to the legendary Grand Prix racing Bugattis of the ‘20s and ‘30s, but it didn’t end there. I’m sure you’ve seen the pattern on the Divo Lady Bug, heck, even on the Lamborghini Huracán STO it seems those fading dots are a rage these days, but Bugatti took it to the next level with Sur Mesure … take a closer look at the fading red pattern, those are actual EB logo painted as a fading pattern, by hand, a new technique created by the Sur Mesure team.

And something similar has been achieved on the interior with a multi-layer EB motif on the door panels, another process created by Bugatti’s Sur Mesure team, it makes the Grand Prix door sills and plaque on the central console look simple in comparison while the ’32’ inspiration continues on the bespoke inlay on the central console in black anodized aluminum with a hand-painted, silver inscription.

Hendrik Malinowski, Bugatti’s Managing Director for Sales and Marketing, comments: “For many years, we have worked with our clients to create their own personal vision of the Bultimate hyper sports car. It has always been a highly tailored process, but as an ever-increasing number of our clients request detailed and intricate customization, the launch of Bugatti Sur Mesure will ensure we can cater to their desires with the perfect level of detail required from a Bugatti.”

“Our clients are often deeply intrigued by Bugatti’s motorsport lineage, and it’s fitting that the first Sur Mesure commission should pay homage to one of our great racing icons. We’re so taken with this creation that we intend to make many of this customer’s ideas available to more of our clients with the Chiron Pur Sport.”

So if you are looking to add a very special, one-off Bugatti Chiron to your collection, you might want to head over to your local Bugatti dealership and make an appointment for a Sur Mesure meeting with the team from Molsheim, and you might want to make that quick as the final production slots for the Bugatti Chiron are running out as we speak, production of the current Chiron hypercar is all but sold out already.

December 10, 2021 / Comments Off

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Unique Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport shows off customizing program

It’s strange, but there’s really no shortage of incredible supercars to pick from nowadays. Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Pagani, Koenigsegg, Bugatti, Aston Martin and Porsche, among others, are continuously rolling out ever faster, rarer and more unusual supercars. And as a result, buyers want more than just a choice of paint and interior colors to pick from. They want unique color schemes to stand out from the other supercar owners. Automakers such as McLaren have learned this with programs like MSO, and now Bugatti is launching a service called Sur Mesure, which translates to “tailored.” And its first customer car is the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport GP Sur Mesure you see above.

According to Bugatti, the car is a tribute to racing driver Louis Chiron, who won the 1931 French Grand Prix driving a Bugatti Type 51. The custom Chiron Pur Sport features the same style “32” on the outside and embroidered on the seat backs as Chiron’s Type 51. That number is hand-painted on the doors, as are the “EB” logo patterns on the front and rear fenders. Based on photos of the paint process, it seems some intricate masking was used, requiring careful removal after painting. The exterior paint color is a new hue that was created to match that of 1930s Bugatti race cars.

Inside, the Chiron Pur Sport is mostly black and red Alcantara. The most unique aspects are the door panels that feature the same type of “EB” pattern as on the fenders, but this time with embroidery. The car also gets black anodized aluminum trim panels with silver logos.

No pricing was given for this one-off Bugatti, nor were any estimates for services given. This is likely because every project will be different depending on the customers’ ideas, so the amount of time and cost will vary. Seeing as customers will be guided through the process and receive truly custom cars at the end, ones based on cars that already have seven-figure price tags, the costs must be mighty high.

Related Video:

December 9, 2021 / Comments Off

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1 of 3 Bugatti EB112 super-sedans built is for sale

Bugatti has never strived to achieve volume, but some of its cars are rarer than others. One is the EB112, an obscure fastback-like sedan envisioned as a follow-up to the EB110, canned when the firm collapsed in 1995, and resurrected by a third-party company in the late 1990s. Historians agree that three examples of the EB112 were built, and the second one has been listed for sale by a dealer in Germany.

Presented as a concept at the 1993 edition of the Geneva auto show, the EB112 represented one of the ways that Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli hoped to breathe new life into the storied French carmaker. It took the form of a large, four-door super-sedan with an aluminum body and a naturally-aspirated, 6.0-liter V12 tuned to send about 460 horsepower to the four wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. It offered passengers an interior that was luxurious without being over-the-top. In short, the modern-day Royale had arrived.

Bugatti quoted a 0-62-mph time of 4.3 seconds, which was remarkable considering the era and the car’s weight, and a top speed of 186 mph. Orders started coming in, but Bugatti filed for bankruptcy in September 1995 and the project was canceled. It closed its factory in Campogalliano, Italy, leaving behind 128 examples of the EB110 and one EB112, but the story doesn’t end there: two additional EB112s were left partially assembled inside the so-called Blue Factory. Gildo Pallanca Pastor bought some of the company’s assets and asked the Monaco Racing Team to complete the unfinished cars, according to dealer Schaltkulisse. The car that it’s selling is the first one of those.

Schaltkulisse notes that chassis number 39002 was ordered on April 27, 1993, by Bugatti’s Swiss importer and delivered in February 2000. It has been registered in Geneva since 2003 and its odometer displays around 3,900 kilometers, which represents approximately 2,500 miles. It’s presented as a one-owner car that’s still powered by a front-mid-mounted 6.0-liter V12. Pricing is only available upon request, but don’t expect this fascinating part of Bugatti’s multi-faceted history to come cheap. We wouldn’t be surprised if it costs more than a new Chiron.

Related Video:

December 2, 2021 / Comments Off

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New Bugatti Riyadh showroom

When the Bugatti Veyron was introduced back in 2005, it quickly became obvious there were a large number of potential clients to be found in Saudi Arabia, luxury, performance, and more importantly, exclusivity are very highly appreciated in the Middle East, and it didn’t take long before Saudi Arabia became one of the largest markets for Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., and in a partnership with SAMACO Automotive, we now see the launch of Bugatti Riyadh.

Located in one of Riyadh’s most highly sought-after regions, this new showroom is one of the largest in the world where visitors can emerge into the world of Bugatti, much in the same way they would when visiting the brand’s HQ in Molsheim, France. For the opening ceremony in mid-November no less than two of Bugatti’s latest and bravest were present, the stunning Chiron Pur Sport and the beautiful Chiron Super Sport.

Hendrik Malinowski, Bugatti’s Managing Director for Sales and Marketing said: “Saudi Arabia has historically been one of the strongest markets for us. So, to be able to establish a magnificent presence in Riyadh, with the help of our partners at SAMACO Automotive, is a remarkable milestone that we have been looking forward to. Saudi Arabia will only grow in importance as a hub for international trade and as a vibrant, prosperous society. And as it grows, we too will continue to thrive.”

Sheikh Mohammed Raffa, CEO of SAMACO Automotive, commented: “Bugatti’s creations are without equal. I am thrilled to welcome the brand to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and our capital city, Riyadh, which is already home to many of Bugatti’s passionate enthusiasts and customers. I have no doubt that this is the beginning of a long and prosperous partnership between us, and we have many exciting plans to instill the magic of Bugatti across the region which will see the brand’s presence grow significantly.”

Over the next weeks, Bugatti Riyadh will be inviting customers, possible clients, and dignitaries of the Kingdom to enjoy some of the best the French hypercar makes has to offer, making it possible to take a seat behind the wheel of both the Chiron Pur Sport or the Chiron Super Sport, both models will be available for the foreseeable future at this new showroom.

While the Bugatti Riyadh showroom might have just been officially opened, they have been in action already, more specifically during the famous Riyadh Car Show, where an even more impressive array of hypercars was shown, not only the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport and the Chiron Pur Sport, but also a Chiron Sport, and the magnificent Bolide … talking about coming in hot and in force, it’s clear this is a very important market for Bugatti.

December 1, 2021 / Comments Off

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The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, the world’s fastest and most luxurious GT

Due to a plethora of technological enhancements and the vast scrutiny of optimization, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is the fastest car ever from Bugatti made in series production, with a top speed in excess of 440 km/h, the French-based luxury brand from Molsheim gave us the world’s fastest and most luxurious Grand Tourisme, the Chiron hypercar.

And Bugatti even made a faster version, the Chiron Super Sport 300+ limited edition managed to breach the 300 mph mark back in August 2019 already, in fact, this impressive hypercar managed to reach a top speed of 304.773 mph, which converts to 490.484 km/h, almost 500 km/h, but while the 300+ version was set for ultimate high speed, the Chiron Super Sport plays on another market, the ultra-high-speed GT, still extremely fast, but more a luxury edition for the discerning customer.

To be able to reach speeds well over 400 km/h you don’t just need a lot of horsepower, you also need an aerodynamically optimized car that remains stable and safe to drive at those insane speeds, just to put this into perspective, a Boeing 777 takes off at about 285 km/h (180 mph), and while you need lots of downforce for a car driven on the track, to reach the highest top speed you’ll need a careful balance between a low drag coefficient and just the right amount of downforce.

So let’s take a look at how Bugatti managed to achieve this amazing speed with a car that is the epitome of luxury at the same time:

New Air Curtains

Above 400 km/h, a balanced and safe driving behavior is paramount. “Only perfect incoming airflow at the front of the car will keep harmful turbulence at bay and ensure that the airflow around the car stays clean,” says Frank Heyl, Deputy Design Director at Bugatti.

In order to minimize turbulence on the sides, the team integrated newly developed air curtains in front, similar to wings, which help guide the air around corners in an optimal way. At the same time, the air curtains also make sure that the airflow follows the body’s contours as closely as possible to stabilize the car. This lowers pressure losses and resistance – the ideal skin for fast driving “shaped by speed”. To achieve a perfect airflow, Bugatti engineers ran numerous simulations to arrive at the ideal curvature and thickness of the component, as well the perfect spacing between it and the front section. Additional air outlets at the front wheel arches help balance the aero loads even further.

Air Flow through the Front Section

An ideal air flow over the front of the car is equally important for a balanced driving behavior at high speeds. The optimal amount of air must pass through the radiator, so it can provide sufficient cooling for the 8.0-liter W16 engine at full load. The airflow through the Chiron Super Sport’s radiator is about 8% higher than that of the Chiron in order to guarantee a perfect air balance. In addition, most of the flow passes the new air curtains at high speed. In top speed mode, the front diffusors are positioned more horizontally and guide less air into the wheel arches.

Newly Developed Wings

Nine air outlets on the front wings reminisce at the style of the iconic super sports car of the 1990s, the Bugatti EB 110. Bugatti built the EB 110 as a super sport variant between 1993 and 1995, employing principles of lightweight constructions, as well as power, luxury and exclusivity. It was the first super sports car with a carbon fiber body, all-wheel drive and four turbo chargers. The V12 turbo delivered more than 610 PS and enabled the EB 110 Super Sport to set several records, including one for its top speed of 351 km/h. The EB 110 SS featured five cylindrical air inlets to provide the proper air flow for the engine compartment. In the Chiron Super Sport, the front wheel arches also have nine cylindrical air outlets. Thanks to Computed Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, experts were able to calculate the exact airflow rate to achieve a perfect aero balance. By using cylindrical air outlets, Bugatti avoids situations in which the dynamic pressure in the wheel arches of the Chiron Super Sport would lift the front of the car. So, this component creates a downforce without building further resistance, as would be the case with an additional spoiler. These air outlets generate approximately 20 to 30 kilograms of additional downforce at 380 km/h, thereby helping to balance all sources of downforce.

New Wheel Arch Ventilation Function

The nine cylindrical air outlets are 30-millimeter-deep wing penetrations, connected to the respective wheel arch by a special carbon air-guiding component, which ensures optimum air flow, while preventing stones from leaving the car. At the same time, the new wings improve brake cooling. Similar to a chimney, a vacuum caused by the airflow along the car’s body extracts air from the wheel arches. In addition, the air is guided through special venting ducts and sucked out of the wheel arches behind the front wheels. Stylistically, these elements are placed like gills behind the front wheels.

Handmade Wings

The wings weigh approximately four kilograms and are hand-crafted from clear-coated carbon, with fibers running across the edges. Each of the nine cylindrical vents is a different size. For aesthetic reasons, the visible openings are identical. In addition, the newly developed wings comply with global safety regulations regarding pedestrian and impact protection. For this purpose, the very rigid construction is weakened in certain places to absorb energy. Thereby, the wings can deform in case of slow-speed impact, while remaining extremely rigid at high speeds.

A Long Tail for High Speeds

The first thing one notices when looking at the Chiron Super Sport is its tail section – referred to as a longtail – which has been extended by 25 centimeters. At high speeds, it ensures that the air flowing along the top and bottom of the vehicle creates a break-away area that is as small as possible. To achieve a balance between down forces and lifting forces, Bugatti precisely aligned the performance of the rear wing and the diffusor, by enlarging the diffusor’s profile. This moves the break-away edge upward, so that the break-away area of the tail section is minimized. This significantly reduces the losses generated in this area, leading to much lower wind resistance – which is what slows the car down.

Larger Rear Wing

In handling mode, the blade of the rear wing, which has been extended by 23 millimeters and thereby gained 8 percent in size, makes the airbrake far more efficient, in combination with the larger diffusor. In top-speed mode, however, the rear wing is retracted almost completely, allowing the car to make full use of its longtail design concept. In this way, the laminar flow can establish itself across the entire length of the car’s body, until it breaks away at a defined location of the tail section. This reduces air resistance significantly.

“In top-speed mode, the Chiron Super Sport generates only minimal resistance, making it perfectly balanced and as aerodynamically efficient as possible,” says Frank Heyl. The goal was to perfectly balance downforce and lift at speeds above 400 km/h. “The Super Sport generates just enough downforce to stay stable above 400 km/h. That’s essential at this speed to avoid putting excessive pressure on the tires,” Frank Heyl continues. At these speeds, lift is enormous, meaning the Chiron Super Sport has to neutralize it by creating considerable downforce.

Larger Diffusor

To create as little resistance as possible and stabilize the car at speeds above 400 km/h, Bugatti also had to redesign the diffusor on the underside of the Chiron Super Sport. Due to the elongated tail section, the diffusor gains about 23 millimeters in length. To increase the diffusor’s effectiveness and give it more space, Bugatti moved the exhaust section from the center to the sides. The two tailpipes are positioned one above the other to reduce the effective area of the diffusor as much as possible. This increases the total size of the diffusor by 32 percent, compared to the Chiron. “In addition, the most efficient area, the center, is freed up for uninhibited airflow and the optimum effect,” says Christoph Dobriloff, Aerodynamics Development Engineer at Bugatti.

Exhaust System made with a Titanium 3D Printing Process

The two exhaust bezels are a special feature. Titanium 3D printing was employed to create an extremely thin double-wall structure, some of it as thin as 0.4 millimeters, pushing the envelope of what is technically feasible. A lattice structure gives the component stability, and also provides space for airflow channels.

The double-wall structure insulates the titanium bezel, while the airflow reduces its temperature. To protect the surrounding carbon parts from excessive heat, the Chiron Super Sport has additional air inlets in its undercarriage. Cold air circles around the exhaust components and exits through the tail pipe bezels. This way, the exhaust gas flow, which can reach temperatures of up to 850 degrees Celsius, is surrounded by a sheath of cold air. It prevents hot exhaust fumes from impinging on the car’s tail section.

“Even at full power and top speed, exhaust gas does not influence any other components and is prevented from flowing back,” says Jens Wenge, Construction Engineer at Bugatti. Titanium itself reaches its melting point only at 1,668 degrees Celsius. Other advantages of titanium printing include precise edges and small gaps, leading to improved airflow properties and minimal rework. After the 3D-printing process is finished, a bezel is simply blasted and cleaned with compressed air. If desired, it can be painted black. In addition, a 3D-printed titanium component weighs only 930 grams, which is 570 grams or one-third lighter than a precision casting component.

W16-Engine with more Power and higher RPMs

In order to reach the top speed of 440 km/h, Bugatti stepped up the maximum power of the 8.0-liter W16-engine to 1,600 PS – an increase of 100 PS. For more agility, the engine delivers an additional 300 rpm and a higher power plateau at 7,100 rpm, up from 7,050 rpm. 1,600 newton meters of torque are available from 2,250 to 7,000 rpm, compared to 6,000 rpm before. To achieve this increase in power, engineers redesigned many components. Pistons have been reinforced. Thanks to a stiffer pressure control spring, the oil pump now supplies more lubricant at a higher pressure to engine parts like the crankshaft, valves, chain drive, camshaft adjustment and piston cooling. At full load and nominal rpms, more than 140 liters of oil flow through the pump every minute.

Higher performance and rpms have led to an increase in vibration which, in turn, creates more stress on the chain drive and the valve train, including the four camshafts and 64 valves. To improve durability at maximum rpms, Bugatti resized the bearing bolt of the chain tensioner, among other components. This also required a modification of the cylinder head. Modified valve springs with steel spring bases are now able to withstand the increased stress. In order to comply with current legal acoustic requirements, new, multi-layer, fiber-reinforced chain cases are used to reduce noise emissions. A modified torsional vibration damper at the crankshaft, which is mounted on the belt drive side, allows the engine to run much more smoothly. In addition, Bugatti adjusted the auxiliary component drive, including generator, air-conditioning compressor, water pump and tandem pump to compensate for higher rpms.

More Efficient Turbochargers

Apart from higher rpms, the increase in performance is also a product of optimized and newly developed turbochargers. All four turbos now use a compressor wheel that grew in size from 74 to 77 millimeters, to allow for a higher throughput. The turbine wheel grew from 64.4 to 67.2 millimeters in diameter, to be able to provide more compressor power, necessary for the increase in boost pressure. At full load, 4.8 tons of air flow through the four turbochargers every hour. Optimizing blade geometry improves thermodynamic efficiency. The throttle response is similar to that of the Chiron.

“Despite the increase in performance, the weight of the engine is unaffected, and the response of the turbochargers remains at the same positive level provided by the 1,500 PS engine,” says Andreas Kurowski, Engine Development Engineer at Bugatti.

New Gear Ratio

To achieve the top speed of 440 km/h, the 7-speed double clutch gearbox employs a new gear ratio. The seventh gear is 3.6 percent longer, compared to the Chiron. Due to the increased performance, at full load and full acceleration, the 7-speed double clutch gearbox shifts from sixth to seventh gear at 403 km/h. The Chiron Super Sport accelerates from 0 to 200 km/h in 5.8 seconds and reaches 300 km/h in 12.1 seconds. The difference is even greater for the acceleration from 0 to 400 km/h, a speed which the Chiron Super Sport achieves in 28.6 seconds. This makes it 12 percent, or four seconds, faster than a Chiron. To make traction interruptions during shifting imperceptible to driver and passengers, the boost pressure control has been refined for the individual gears. Even at 6,000 rpms, the acceleration continues relentlessly and gives the Chiron Super Sport an enormous push up to 7,100 rpm.

Newly Developed and Refined Chassis

Bugatti redeveloped the chassis of the Chiron Super Sport with utter focus on high-speed performance and the car’s new aerodynamics. For this reason, engineers increased the rear axle spring rate by seven percent, compared to the Chiron, in order to further stabilize the Chiron Super Sport at speeds above 420 km/h.

“The longtail design leads to a shift in axle load distribution, which we have taken into account when we tuned the chassis,” says Jachin Schwalbe, Head of Vehicle Development at Bugatti.

In combination with the longer tail section and the modified front, the Chiron Super Sport achieves an improved aero balance at high speeds. For this purpose, the engineers retuned the electronically controlled chassis and adjusted the damping of vehicle movement. Within six milliseconds, almost in real time, it adjusts the dampers and adapts to the vehicle’s movements.

New Michelin Tires for Top Speed

Newly developed Pilot-Sport-Cup-2 tires from Michelin, optimized for the higher top speed, offer more rigidity and running smoothness above 420 km/h than the Chiron. The individual tires were tested at speeds above 500 km/h. This has been made possible by a new technology using reinforced layers, capable of withstanding incredible forces – tested in a facility originally built for fighter jets. The front tires are sized 285/30 R20 ZR and the rear tires 355/25 R21 ZR. After production, every tire is x-rayed to detect even the smallest irregularities. Michelin Pilot-Sport-Cup-2 tires are designed for extreme longitudinal dynamics and therefore support the philosophy of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport.

Lightweight Rims with a New Design

To reduce unsprung mass, Bugatti developed new five-spoke aluminum rims, weighing four kilograms less per set than those of the Chiron. They also increase rigidity for longitudinal dynamics, making them a perfect fit for the Chiron Super Sport. As an option, Bugatti offers a magnesium rim set that weighs 16 kilograms less than regular Chiron rims, thereby further reducing unsprung mass at the axles.

With the Chiron Super Sport, Bugatti developed an extreme hyper sports car. Many technical modifications and the pursuit of perfection make it the fastest production vehicle with a very own character, a unique design and an unrivaled level of luxurious comfort. Bugatti manufactures the Chiron Super Sport at its headquarters in Molsheim. The first vehicles will be delivered to their new owners in early 2022, at a net price of 3.2 million euros.

November 28, 2021 / Comments Off

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Sightseeing Coastal California in a Bugatti

Owning a Bugatti is an achievement on its own, having one or more of these 16-cylinder hypercars in your garage is an amazing feeling, but Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. is all about the experience of owning such an automotive masterpiece, so they tend to organize drives all over the world to bring together owners to showcase the benefits of being a Bugatti customer.

The 2021 US Grand Tour hosted by Bugatti of the Americas took 10 ‘Made in Molsheim’ beauties on a 600-mile drive along Coastal California recently, in a multi-million dollar convoy consisting of five Veyrons, a Veyron Vitesse, two Chirons, a Chiron Sport, and a Chiron Pur Sport, with an inaugural dinner at the famous Wolfgang Puck in Beverly Hills, the cars would head to the Santa Barbara wine country in the morning only to continue north to Big Sur.

“We look forward to this event every year,” said Cedric Davy, Chief Operating Officer of Bugatti of the Americas. “The camaraderie developed during these trips is incredible. These rallies are also a fantastic way to demonstrate the grand touring spirit, craftsmanship, and reliability of our vehicles, which was evident by the range of cars that attended – one of which was 15 years old. By the end of the event, customers had made new friends and left wanting more, We look forward to planning another Bugatti Grand Tour next year.”

Words just can’t do justice to these amazing cars, true hypercars that draw attention at every corner, so I’ll let these photos do the talking, for now, enjoy these magnificent looking cars that will remain a dream for most of us, but a reality for the fortunate owner …

November 23, 2021 / Comments Off

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Driving the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

While winter is settling in for most parts of Europe, the temperature in Dubai is still a very nice 34° C, and that means the track at the famous Autodrome is even hotter when customers in the Middle East get a first opportunity to take place behind the wheel of the impressive Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, but not after seeing what this amazing 1,600 PS hypercar can do in the hands of Pierre-Henri Raphanel and Andy Wallace, Bugatti’s own official test drivers.

The Dubai Autodrome features 16 corners, and the demo consists of taking the Chiron Super Sport at full-throttle on the straights while taking on the sweeping bends at high-speed and showcasing the G-inducing braking zones before the customers are allowed in the driver seat to experience this Bugatti Chiron Super Sport for themselves to get a feel for the car most of them have already ordered, but now, for the first time, they can push the advanced technologies and cutting-edge aerodynamics to their limits.

“The Dubai Autodrome gives customers the chance to experience what these extreme hyper sports cars have to offer,” explains Kostas Psarris, Regional Director Middle East & Asia. “The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is the quintessence of luxury and speed, and is therefore a perfect match for our customers in the Middle East.” Bugatti already offered extensive test drives in the Chiron Pur Sport in Dubai last year and the customers were astounded. This year, the customers have had the opportunity to put the new Chiron Super Sport to the test at high speeds on the Dubai Autodrome in the United Arab Emirates, before it continues its Middle East tour to other key Bugatti markets.”

“We developed a new vehicle design with optimized aerodynamics for the Chiron Super Sport’s streamlined bodywork. The Chiron Super Sport is an uncompromising reincarnation of the Bugatti design mantra “form follows performance,’” says Frank Heyl, Deputy Design Director at Bugatti. The entire design of the Super Sport was created to reach the highest top speed possible, right from the new front bumper up to the diffuser at the rear, which is about 25cm further from the front when compared to a regular Bugatti Chiron.

“The Chiron Super Sport and Chiron Pur Sport are very different to one another visually. But the difference between the two models is even more pronounced when driving,” explains Frank Heyl. For the Super Sport the W16 8-Liter engine received an increase of 100 PS to a magical 1,600 PS (1,176 kW) which translates to an acceleration figure of just 5.8 seconds to reach 200 km/h, 300 km/h takes 12.1 seconds, Bugatti has electronically limited the top speed to 440 km/h!

While the 60 units of the Chiron Pur Sport come with ‘just’ 1,500 PS, she’s a little quicker to reach 200 km/h at 5.5 seconds but is limited to a mere 350 km/h top speed, each unit came with an MSRP of €3,100,000 (net) while the Super Sport variant is just a little more expensive at €3,200,000, albeit none of the latter have been delivered to clients yet, the first Bugatti Chiron Super Sport will arrive in early 2022.

November 10, 2021 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Chiron almost sold out

The Bugatti Chiron, the successor to the impressive Bugatti Veyron, was introduced at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, and while production was always set to the limited at only 500 units, it took only 18 months for Bugatti to find 300 customers for this amazing hypercar from Molsheim, the fastest and most powerful production car in Bugatti’s 112-year history, and while sales kept going despite the global pitfalls over the last few years, Bugatti just announced the last cars in the Chiron line up are being built as we speak, and very few build slots remain of either the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport or the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport.

Right now the last units of the regular Chiron and the Chiron Sport are being completed at the Bugatti Atelier in Molsheim, to make place for the final encore in the Chiron lineage, with the Pur Sport and Super Sport models, less than 40 slots are available for new customers, so it’s probably safe to say Bugatti is already hard at work on a replacement for the Chiron, especially with the merger with Rimac, so the next generation Bugatti will certainly be a hybrid, perhaps even a full-electric model, but back to the current top of the line model, the Chiron.

Hendrik Malinowski, Director of Sales and Operations, comments: “Our discerning customer base across the world consists of true Bugatti connoisseurs. They are hard-working, self-made individuals who regard owning one or multiple Bugatti masterpieces as the realization of a dream. They understand the devotion behind the pioneering design and engineering of each Chiron model. Their appreciation for the provenance and performance of our hyper sports cars comes from a genuine passion for the brand. With the Chiron Pur Sport and Super Sport, we are offering customers the culmination of years of continual development of the Chiron platform. This spectrum of performance, whether it be hitting the apex on-track, or cruising on Autobahns in total luxury, takes the Chiron to an entirely new level. Now with so few build slots remaining, the purity of the W16 recipe is being honored in style.”

The Bugatti Chiron reached her first production car record in 2017, setting a new 0-400-0 km/h world record in a mere 41.96 seconds, the fastest time ever reached and officially measured at the time. Continuing a run of unrelenting success, just two years later, the Chiron reached speeds once through to be unreachable by a road car when a close to production prototype ready evolution of the hyper sports car surpassed the magic 300 mph limit with a speed of 304.773 mph (490.484 km/h), a world record that stunned the automotive world and secured the Chiron’s status as an unquestionable automotive legend.

Power in the Bugatti Chiron comes from a quad-turbo W16 engine that delivers 1,500 PS and 1,600 Nm of torque, an absolute record for a production car back in 2010, the figures only solidified the Chiron’s position at the top with an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.4 seconds, reaching 200 km/h after just 6.1 seconds, and 300 km/h comes in 13.1 seconds … staggering figures for an ICE powered only hypercar.

In 2020, we first saw the Chiron Pur Sport, created as an uncompromising hyper sports car, optimized for dynamic agility and downforce, the Pur Sport comes with new aerodynamics, a new transmission, and a 50-kilogram weight reduction together with a firmer suspension, combined with a massive 1,90-meter wide rear wing and close-ratio transmission.

But things got even better in 2021 with the unveiling of Bugatti’s latest masterpiece: the Chiron Super Sport, which alongside the Pur Sport will make up the final 40 units of Bugatti’s 500-strong Chiron production run. As the quintessence of luxury and speed, the Chiron Super Sport has been designed to embrace supreme longitudinal speed without compromising luxury and comfort.

As such, the Chiron Super Sport is regarded as the ultimate Grand Tourisme, capable of crossing continents in a heartbeat. Defined by its longtail design, the Super Sport achieves extreme levels of aerodynamic efficiency, enabling the hyper sports car to reach speeds of up to 440 km/h. With an upgraded version of the renowned Bugatti 8.0-liter W16 engine, the Super Sport outputs 1,600PS – increasing power by 100PS over the base Chiron.

The milestones in the five-year production run of the Bugatti Chiron:

March, 2017: The very first Chiron customer deliveries take place following its global unveiling at Geneva International Motorshow in 2016.

May, 2018: a customer in the Middle East receives the chassis 100 in the Chiron production run

February, 2020: production of the Chiron is halfway with the 250^th Chiron produced in the limited production run of 500 units

March, 2021: a Pur Sport as one of just 60 vehicles marks the 300^th Chiron to leave the Atelier in Molsheim

November, 2021: the Chiron Pur Sport and Super Sport will complete the Chiron family production as the final 40 units.

November 5, 2021 / Comments Off

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