*NOW UPDATED WITH VIDEO* Bugatti has unveiled the new Chiron, ahead of this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
[Not a valid template]Bugatti has finally unveiled the model we’ve all been waiting for, the brand new Chiron. It’s the most powerful production road car the world has ever seen.
As successor to the Veyron, the Chiron was bound to pack a punch, and it doesn’t disappoint. Its quad-turbocharged 8-litre W16 engine pushes out a massive 1379bhp (just two of the four turbochargers function until revs tip 3800rpm, then the other two kick in) and can reach a 100kph from zero in less than 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of 420kph . Torque levels meanwhile have risen over its predecessor by a massive 351Nm (257lb ft) to 1600Nm (1180lb ft), the combination equating to a barely comprehendible 0-100kph time in ‘less than 2.5 seconds’. That not impressive enough, 0-200kph is achieved in ‘less than 6.5 seconds’, while the Chiron will rip from 0-300kph in an eye-watering 13.5 seconds, three seconds faster than the Veyron. Like its predecessor, top speed can only be unlocked via a ‘Speed Key’: while ‘500kph’ on the speedometer seems unlikely, Bugatti confirms that 420kph is ‘by no means the end of the road’ for the Chiron, though stop short of specifying the final number.
Said W16 is mated to a seven-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox, a multi-plate clutch four-wheel drive system, and the highest performance clutch ever fitted to one of Bugatti‘s road cars. Beneath that very blue exterior lies a fully carbon-fibre monocoque structure, while the brake setup has been seriously developed to reign in all that power, 420mm front eight-pot carbon-ceramics appearing up front and 400mm six-pot carbon-ceramic discs lining up at the rear.
First previewed as the Vision Gran Turismo concept at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Chiron features a similar / identical front end, but incorporates a fully integrated rear spoiler with full width LED lights, a race-grade diffuser, and a large centrally mounted exhaust back box. The entire package runs atop bespoke 20in (front) and 21in (rear) wheels, clad with 285/30 R20 ZR and 355/25 R21 ZR performance tyres respectively. The two-seat cabin meanwhile features a combination of leather, carbon-fibre and brushed aluminium.
Just 500 are set to be made, with more than 150 orders for the model having already been received. And naturally, they don’t come cheap: the spoken-for models each had $250,000 laid down as deposits, and anyone still looking to buy one will need to fork over a massive $2.6 million. Just think, you could buy an entire Lamborghini Centenario for that…
Source – Bugatti
