Monday 30th November 2015

Bugatti Chiron confirmed for Geneva

Veyron replacement will be "the world's most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production super sports car"

---

Geneva is always the motor show for significant European debuts, and it appears 2016 will be no different. After many months of speculation, Bugatti has today announced that its next hypercar - the Chiron - will be shown to the world in Switzerland next March.

Quite a legacy to follow...

Ardent motorsport and Bugatti fans will know the Chiron name from Louis Chiron, a fantastically successful Grand Prix driver for the brand during the 20s and 30s. What will it be? There's little more than confident assertions from Bugatti yet - "we want to make the best significantly better" says Wolfgang Durheimer - so it's time to begin your best educated guesses.

The hypercar has moved on significantly since the Veyron's introduction in 2005, the Ferrari/Porsche/ McLaren trio the obvious example of this. You would have to assume that the Chiron will follow their lead in adopting hybrid power, though there is no confirmation of this yet. As for power, the Chiron will have to make more than 1,200hp to match Bugatti's claim of it being the most powerful production sports car and beating the Veyron Super Sport in the process. Top speed will have to be 270mph (!) at least to make it faster than the SS and the Hennessey Venom.

Currently the Chiron is in final development testing, Bugatti claiming no other car will be subjected to "such a stringent, comprehensive test programme." These have been kept very well hidden too as we have no idea yet what the Chiron will look like. Could it take inspiration from the Vision Gran Turismo car? Lydie Barre-Chiron, a descendent and biographer of Louis Chiron, says the car "looks fantastic, just magnificent. The design already indicates that this car will be very powerful and very fast." As you might expect her to say...

Perhaps the most interesting news from today's announcement though is that 100 orders have already been accepted for the Chiron. When you bear in mind the Chiron will surely be well in excess of £1m that's quite some achievement, especially given none of these customers have seen or driven the car yet. Expect further details as March approaches; we'll keep you posted!

[samoht]

It will be interesting to see where supercars go after the 918, P1 and LaF.

Previous rumours have indicated keeping the W16 engine; however doing so surely condemns the Chiron to being at least as overweight as the Veyron is, making it more of a straight-line car compared to the impressively light recent hypercars. I'm sure they could get the power from a 'mere' 10 or 12 cylinders, with turbos, and that could start a virtuous circle of weight reduction.

ISTR the Veyron started as a pure concept, and Piech then instructed his engineers to install a 1,000hp engine without changing the shape; I imagine this time around they will have shaped the car with a view to cooling, drag and downforce (that rounded-down TT-like tail on the Veyron can't possibly be a good aero shape for 250mph). Maybe the development process will run easier second time around than the Veyron's protracted and troubled gestation? Anyone know if Ricardo are doing the gearbox again?

[unsprung]

"These have been kept very well hidden too as we have no idea yet what the Chiron will look like"

Imagine going to work each day, surrounded by the sort of corporate subterfuge not seen outside of a stealthy "Skunk Works" project.

[mersontheperson]

"and most exclusive production super sports car"

Not if they are building 100 of them

[justanotherJC]

Didn't Bugatti produce the Veyron as the fastest, most expensive, most exclusive 1000hp 1M Euro sports car because they believed that forthcoming environmental/eco requirements meant that no-one would ever be able to make something similar?

Are they now trying to prove themselves wrong?

[Blackpuddin]

Autocar is quoting 1500PS for the new engine, with an 1100lb/ft torque cap for transmission reliability.

[myhandle]

Here it is, with no more disguise beyond being painted matte black and having different tail lights:

It does indeed take its styling from the Vision Grand Turismo, presumably the production tail lights will also be a full-width strip like the concept.

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/11/05/bugatti-chiron-...

and

https://www.google.com/search?q=bugatti+chiron&amp...

and

http://www.tf1.fr/tf1/auto-moto/news/scoop-prototy...

[framerateuk]

samoht said:

Previous rumours have indicated keeping the W16 engine; however doing so surely condemns the Chiron to being at least as overweight as the Veyron is, making it more of a straight-line car compared to the impressively light recent hypercars.

I don't think it'll be fighting them for lap times (or at least it won't be built to get around corners like those). It's more about speed and luxury if the Veyron is anything to go by.

[anonymous-user]

Blackpuddin said:

Autocar is quoting 1500PS for the new engine, with an 1100lb/ft torque cap for transmission reliability.

300mph top speed?

[kambites]

Greg66 said:

Blackpuddin said:

Autocar is quoting 1500PS for the new engine, with an 1100lb/ft torque cap for transmission reliability.

300mph top speed?

I'd guess they'll initially aim for 450kph, which is about 280mph.

[Twoshoe]

Here's hoping it's slightly less ugly than the Veyron.

[Gecko1978]

CarBuzz had an article with a top speed of 311mph quoted but of course they could also quote 400mph and it be as likely. I think it will be as per the last car the fastest thing on 4 wheels and an amazing feat of engineering but also like the last car just not quite right hence a veyron is circa 700k now and a Enzo is around 1m etc.

So cars are just special others are just well fast and covered in shiny bits with great top trumps spec. I note looking in the classifieds Carrera GT's, ENZO's, Zonda's are all appreciating, the new crop of hybrids be it P1, 918 or The Ferrari are also climbing in value (918s were at one time available with a discount). To me the veyron is not even a Euro Millions car its a bauble like the Lykan Hypersport (but much better built).

Where as say the Hennesey is a drag car (I suspect it goes round bends too), they Veyron is more for parking outside a posh hotel etc, same can be said of P1 etc but I suspect most people imagin driving a P1 round the ring or spa but I doubt they do the same of a veyron. I suspect most owners drive them to the same places though, posh hotels the kings road, Monaco etc. An of course that's fine you pays the cash you can do what you want with it (I would if I had that cash park it up and have it like an ornament, an have a smaller car for fun).

So I am sure they will sell 100 or 300 etc at what £2m a pop would be my guess (May be chepaer to make than the Veyron as they will have a lot of R&D already in place). But I suspect it will never be speacail in the eyes of the motoring enthusiast. But lets face it non of us are in the target market anyway.

[kambites]

Gecko1978 said:

CarBuzz had an article with a top speed of 311mph quoted

That would be 500kph, which would certainly be a valid (if optimistic) target to aim for.

[lindrup119]

Gecko1978 said:

So cars are just special others are just well fast and covered in shiny bits with great top trumps spec. I note looking in the classifieds Carrera GT's, ENZO's, Zonda's are all appreciating, the new crop of hybrids be it P1, 918 or The Ferrari are also climbing in value (918s were at one time available with a discount). To me the veyron is not even a Euro Millions car its a bauble like the Lykan Hypersport (but much better built).

Where as say the Hennesey is a drag car (I suspect it goes round bends too), they Veyron is more for parking outside a posh hotel etc, same can be said of P1 etc but I suspect most people imagin driving a P1 round the ring or spa but I doubt they do the same of a veyron. I suspect most owners drive them to the same places though, posh hotels the kings road, Monaco etc. An of course that's fine you pays the cash you can do what you want with it.

I'd agree with all of that apart from including a mention of that Lykan tosh in the same breath as those other cars.

[j90gta]

myhandle said:

Here it is, with no more disguise beyond being painted matte black and having different tail lights:

It does indeed take its styling from the Vision Grand Turismo, presumably the production tail lights will also be a full-width strip like the concept.

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/11/05/bugatti-chiron-...

and

https://www.google.com/search?q=bugatti+chiron&amp...

and

http://www.tf1.fr/tf1/auto-moto/news/scoop-prototy...

I hope that is not the finished article as it seems to have been touched by the ugly stick. It looks like it belongs in a cartoon.

[unsprung]

myhandle said:

Here it is, with no more disguise beyond being painted matte black and having different tail lights:

It does indeed take its styling from the Vision Grand Turismo, presumably the production tail lights will also be a full-width strip like the concept.

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/11/05/bugatti-chiron-...

and

https://www.google.com/search?q=bugatti+chiron&amp...

and

http://www.tf1.fr/tf1/auto-moto/news/scoop-prototy...

Interesting. The large, circular scoop depicted at that last link is a bit too "Baroque furniture" for me. But I'm keen to see how the car turns out.

[Zod]

Greg66 said:

Blackpuddin said:

Autocar is quoting 1500PS for the new engine, with an 1100lb/ft torque cap for transmission reliability.

300mph top speed?

Where?

[Ryvita]

Chiron... chiron... Sounds familiar (but I'd never heard of the race driver.)

Chiron... Charon?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon_(mythology)

"The ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx"

Sounds about right at 500kmph.

[Buff Mchugelarge]

As a car mad 9 year old I remember reading about the F40 topping 200mph. That blew me away. I remember finding it hard to comprehend how quick that really is.

270+mph... 1200Bhp+...!?

Love it

[je777]

Pointless bragging rights for the stupidly rich and stupidly stupid.
If you were actually interested in driving, you'd have something much lighter, etc. - i.e. the Ferrari/Porsche/McLaren, for example.
And it'll be the most powerful, exclusive, etc., etc. right up until they produce the 'improved' versions.
Veyrons are now relatively cheap (in comparison to other supercars, which are worth more than they cost new), because once they're no longer the 'fastest, most... blah blah' the attraction is gone.
Veyron: not that good to drive, look at, listen to...

[Matt Bird]

Ryvita said:

Chiron... chiron... Sounds familiar (but I'd never heard of the race driver.)

Chiron... Charon?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon_(mythology)

"The ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx"

Sounds about right at 500kmph.

Now that's a good name