Bugatti Chiron : World’s fastest car unveiled

On Tuesday, Bugatti President Wolfgang Durheimer unveiled the Bugatti Chiron at the Geneva Motor Show. The car is alleged to be the world’s fastest car with a staggering speed of 261 mph in road mode. The one tantalizing omission from Bugatti's Chiron announcement is the car's absolute top speed — the company just says that the Chiron is ready to set a new record for production sports cars. The new Chiron turns its successor- Veyron's extreme specs up another notch: 0 to 100km/h in less than 2.5 seconds, four enlarged turbochargers, and a total power output of 1,500hp. Maximum speed is limited to 420km/h for road use, the tires have been specially developed by a Bugatti-Michelin partnership, and the 8-liter W16 engine of the Veyron has been completely redesigned.

Only 500 Chirons will be produced, and a third of them have already been sold for €2.4 million apiece. The Geneva Motor Show will play host to many debuts this week, but none will outdo the Bugatti Chiron's combination of performance, luxury, and exclusivity.

President Wolfgang in his speech said that “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. The Chiron is the result of our efforts to make the best even better. Bugatti has tested the limits of physics. The Chiron is the result of our efforts to make the best even better.”

With the Bugatti Veyron’s top-speed records, a price tag over $1 million, and distinctive melted-scoop-of-ice-cream styling, it was an instant rolling superlative when it debuted in 2005. Its successor, the new Chiron, is even more of a record- and headline-grabbing show pony.

At the risk of sounding beguiled, the styling of the Chiron is notably more fetching than that of the Veyron. The C-shaped curve carved into each side of the body recalls Bugatti’s 1930s-era art-deco masterpieces, the Type 57 Atlantic and Atalante, as does the spear running down the car’s spine. The all-mesh tail appears to belong to a different car, but the surfaces bending and flowing beyond it are nearly beautiful. Up front, Bugatti’s horseshoe-shaped grille remains—stamped with a badge rendered from five ounces of silver—and is flanked by quad-LED headlights. Moving aerodynamic elements range from a hydraulically operated diffuser, front splitters, and a four-position rear spoiler/wing that can sit flush with the rear bodywork, extend slightly (the setting for top-speed runs), fully extend, or fully extend and tilt in its air-brake setting. The underbody is totally smooth save for NACA ducts that gulp air for cooling the engine, the transaxle, and the rear brakes.

For all its beastly attributes, Bugatti wants the Chiron to be known as a luxurious beauty too. The interior is appointed in leather throughout and there's now a luggage space big enough to fit a reasonably sized suitcase (44 liters). Three high-resolution digital displays surround the analog speedometer in front of the driver, with the information on them adaptively changing in response to the car's speed. The faster you drive, the simpler the presentation becomes. The Chiron's audio system is so good, says Bugatti, that it can be considered "the world's fastest concert hall." This is where the company's penchant for excess truly manifests itself: there's a one-carat diamond membrane in each of the four tweeters inside the Chiron.

The Chiron has a new titanium exhaust system and the first airbag to shoot through carbon fibre housing. Its array of eight LED headlights is complemented by what will likely become the Chiron's visual signature: a single rear light spanning the car's width.

The Chiron’s game is to be so unattainable, so unimaginable, so magical as to re-establish Bugatti as the ultimate automotive accoutrement for those who measure their cash reserves not by face value but with a yardstick.

Awestruck yet? There’s little doubt that the Chiron trumps even the mighty Veyron in the jaw-slackening department. Bugatti has returned with a successor that faithfully carries on the proud heritage of performance fanaticism. Espousing a design philosophy of "form follows performance," the new Chiron was built with speed and driving pleasure as its foremost considerations, though opulence isn't a very distant third on that list. The Chiron is undoubtedly an engineering triumph and the pinnacle of immoderation; the masses should be properly enthralled. Most critically, so should those with the considerable means to purchase one.


Article by Rishibha Tuteja
Last minute Blogger, fangirl by profession. A Bibliophile by heart, Tech–Enthusiast by choice.
She breathes dreams like air and can be reached at https://twitter.com/BibliophileRish