The Bugatti Chiron is here and out to claim the title of world's fastest and most audacious supercar ever as it guns for a new speed record and boasts a sky-high price tag.
Bugatti has just released the official specs and images for its Veyron follow-up that will make its grand entrance Tuesday at the Geneva Motor Show. Unsurprisingly, it picks up where the last Bugatti left off in terms of power bragging rights.
These are the main performance figures: 1,500 horsepower with 1,600 Nm of torque from a new 8.0-liter W16 engine. The dash from 0 to 100 km/h is estimated at less than 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of 420 km/h (or roughly 260 mph). Bugatti says they're going after a new speed record with the Chiron, so to that end there are four turbochargers to make up a "two-stage turbocharging system" that is supposed to cure any hints of lag.
And then to cope with the gobs of torque, Bugatti says it's fitted the, "largest, highest-performance clutch" ever in a passenger car. I'm betting some trucks might envy the clutch in this seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, too.
The Chiron gets a new carbon fiber structure, and for the first time the rear of the car is also made from carbon fiber, according to Bugatti. There's also a new adaptive chassis with five settings to better adapt the car to how fast you're going on a certain road. Of course, when you need to stop, there are eight-piston calipers up front (six piston at the rear) for the tires that are 20 inches in front and 21 in the rear.
Also, Bugatti has apparently listened to Veyron owners and says the Michelin tires on the Chiron are, "easier to install and allow lower operating expenses." Thanks, Bugatti.
Hinted at by that adaptive chassis, the Chiron takes a technological leap forward from the Veyron. Lighting is handled outside with very flat LEDs, Bugatti points out, that also happen to be swathed in carbon fiber. This is the first Bugatti with wifi, should you passenger need to handle a merger while on a racetrack.
A production run of 500 cars is planned from this fall, and Bugatti says already a third of them are spoken for, despite a price tag of $2.6 million. And that's before you add the shoes or luggage you see below.
