Billed as the ultimate super sportscar, Bugatti’s multi-million dollar Chiron has made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show.

The French luxury brand says the Chiron is “the most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production super sports car in the world”.

The Chiron is latest generation of the ultimate super sports car and is a completely new development, the sports car manufacturer from Molsheim says, adding that it has taken the unique features of a modern Bugatti to a new level and developed a high-performance machine that has become “significantly better in every respect”. 

With a power output of 1,500 HP, unprecedented for production vehicles, an exceptionally high torque value of 1,600 Nm between 2,000 and 6,000 rpm and a wide variety of technical innovations, the Chiron sets new standards in every respect. 

The Chiron is therefore very well-positioned to become the next world speed record holder and reach a maximum speed significantly above the record currently held by Bugatti. 

The car accelerates from 0 to 100 kmph in less than 2.5 seconds and Bugatti has limited the maximum speed of the new car to 420 kmph for road use. 

Only 500 of these cars are to be produced and the Chiron’s basic price is €2.4 million ($2.61 million) net. 

Currently, advance orders have been received for a third of the total production run. The first vehicle is due to be delivered to a customer this autumn.

“It is part of human nature to cross boundaries and set new records – to run 100 m faster than ever before, to fly even further into space and to enter new realms. This striving is also our driving force at Bugatti,” said Wolfgang Dürheimer, President of Bugatti Automobiles, at the presentation of the Chiron. “The Chiron is the result of our efforts to make the best even better.”

With the Chiron, the Bugatti President said that Bugatti had left the dimensions which define the operations of all market players and had established new paradigms that had previously not existed. “Bugatti has tested the limits of physics. There is no area where we have not achieved significant improvements.”

The Bugatti Chiron is the world’s first super sports car to bring 1,500 HP onto the road with a torque of 1.600 Nm at 2,000 to 6,000 rpm with tremendous effectiveness, extremely high safety levels and unprecedented comfort.

This is the result of the legendary eight-litre W16 engine that has been newly developed by Bugatti. In combination with the four new, larger turbochargers that are controlled by the Bugatti two-stage turbocharging, an innovation that Bugatti is introducing, and a large number of other technical refinements and innovations, maximum performance is available constantly and can be easily controlled at all speeds. 

In its Top Speed mode, the car reaches the maximum speed of 420 kmph, limited for road use – however, this is by no means the end of the road for the Chiron.

With the new carbon fibre monocoque, a newly designed adaptive chassis, tyres developed especially for Bugatti and other innovative technologies, the Chiron is not only a champion in terms of maximum acceleration but is, for the first time, also an agile, modern Bugatti with handling that ensures maximum driving pleasure.

The design of the Chiron combines significantly more “beast” with a very high level of “beauty”. The design language introduced by Bugatti with the Chiron has a significantly more aggressive tone and does justice to the character of the new super sports car. The designers have succeeded in reinterpreting Bugatti’s DNA with its distinctive features in a modern manifestation at the same time as adding new features resulting from the technical demands of even higher performance. The Chiron remains unmistakably a Bugatti.

“The Chiron is the quintessential ultimate super sports car: ultra-modern, incredibly fast, agile and powerful with a stylistically demanding design and the highest possible levels of comfort,” says Dürheimer. “This combination is not offered by any other market player and gives Bugatti its unique market position.”

“Our customers form an exclusive group of automobile collectors who are searching for the very best. With the Veyron, they have the best production sports car of the past 10 years,” Dürheimer continues. “This is why their demands and expectations for our next step – the Chiron – were so high.”

Customers’ reactions show that Bugatti has hit the mark. Advance orders have already been received for one third of the production series. “Those who have already considered Bugatti and its unique features in connection with the purchase of a Veyron will find there is no way they can ignore the Chiron,” says Dürheimer. “With the Chiron we will not only be providing a key emotional element for the image of the Volkswagen Group but will also be making a positive contribution to Group results.”

The Chiron can be seen on the Bugatti stand at the Geneva International Motor Show, which runs from March 1 to 13 at the Palexpo convention centre in Geneva, Switzerland.


QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE CHIRON 

Powertrain

• Newly developed W16 engine
• Two-stage turbocharging is the outstanding feature of the powertrain
• New titanium exhaust system
• The two main catalytic converters are about six times as large as the unit fitted to a medium-sized car
• The transmission has the largest, highest-performance clutch fitted to a passenger car

Structure

• Highly sophisticated monocoque with extremely high rigidity – LMP1 level
• First airbag in the world to shoot through a carbon fibre housing

Chassis

• For the first time, Bugatti has developed an adaptive chassis – for significantly greater agility and driving comfort
• New high-performance tyres tested at aerospace facilities
• Newly developed high-performance brakes with Formula One technical modules
• New adaptive chassis with five driving programmes

Aerodynamics

• Intelligent air intake management significantly improves aerodynamic properties while enhancing vehicle cooling
• Newly developed heat shield for very-high-efficiency brake cooling
• Active aerodynamics system 

Electrical systems and electronics

• The world’s most intelligent super sports car with a high degree of future orientation
• The flattest full-LED projector headlamps in the automobile sector
• Newly developed adaptive instrument cluster

Central console 
• High-performance high-end sound system makes the Chiron the world’s fastest concert hall

Exterior

• Newly developed rear end with innovative rear light creates the distinctive signature of the Chiron
• Significantly more “beast” combined with a high level of “beauty”
• Newly designed front emblem crafted from solid 970 fine silver and enamel

Interior

• Illuminated C-bar in the interior is the longest light conductor in the automobile industry
• Everything within reach and perfectly controllable