I'm sure we're all quite sick and tired of special edition Chirons by now, especially with some of the considerably fresher hypercar concepts announced this week. In recent times we've had the 'built for corners' Divo, the built for straights Super Sport 300+1, the built for Ferdinand Piech (or Cristiano Ronaldo, depending on who you ask) La Voiture Noire and the built-for-reasons-beyond-our-understanding Centodieci. That lot comes without even mentioning the likes of the Chiron Sport, Chiron Noire, or Chiron '110 ans Bugatti', and before we've gotten around to telling you about this: the Chiron Pur Sport.
It's described by its maker as being, "pure and unadulterated. A genuine thoroughbred" inspired by the hillclimbing, road-racing Bugatti's of old - cars like the Type 13 and Type 35. "We spoke to customers and realised they wanted a vehicle that is geared even more towards agility and dynamic cornering. A hypersports car that yearns for country roads with as many bends as possible. An unadulterated, uncompromising driving machine", explains Stephan Winkelmann.
To achieve its goal, Bugatti has cut 50kg from the 1,978kg Chiron - or 30kg fewer than McLaren took out of the already-540kg-lighter 720S when making the 765LT. Of that total, 16kg did come from the wheels, though, which have been replaced by new magnesium items featuring optional aero blades. Titanium brake pad bases save a further 2kg while lighter brake discs shed a kilo, meaning the reduction in unsprung weight should at least be noticeable, if not the effects of the Pur Sport's overall diet.
But what does that matter when you have an 8.0-litre W16 engine over your shoulder, producing 1,500hp and 1,180lb ft of torque? That monstrous powerplant is paired here with an 80 per cent new transmission featuring 15 per cent shorter ratios. As a result, the Pur Sport accelerates from 60 to 120km/h almost two seconds quicker than the already lightning-fast Chiron, while its redline sits 200rpm higher at 6,900rpm.
Keeping that ferocious performance in check is the job of a raft of dynamic adjustments. These include a specifically configured chassis and suspension setup, featuring springs which are 65 per cent firmer at the front and 33 per cent firmer at the rear, as well as carbon-fibre stabilisers at both ends. All told the connection between suspension and body is 130 per cent firmer at the front and 77 per cent at the rear.
The wheels' camber values have also been adjusted ( -2.5 degrees), and they come wrapped in exclusively-developed Bugatti Sport Cup 2 R tyres (355/25 at the rear!) a combination which boosts the vehicle's lateral acceleration by 10 per cent to aid its cornering speed. Should all that grip get boring, a new Sport + drive mode makes the Pur Sport's performance "more emotionally tangible" by holding the traction control's intervention back until "a significantly later point" to appease "more skilled cornering experts."
Aerodynamically, the Pur Sport benefits from wider air intakes and an enlarged horseshoe panel, an enormous splitter, gigantic diffuser and a new fixed rear spoiler which measures 1.9 metres across. Doing away with the hydraulic component of the wing contributes 10kg to that 50kg figure, while the "extremely lightweight and highly temperature-resistant" 3D-printed titanium exhaust also saves an undisclosed amount.
Completing the package is an optional split paintwork design, in which the entire bottom third of the car's carbon fibre remains exposed, apparently visually blending the Pur Sport with the dark surface of the road to make it "appear even flatter." This is mirrored inside by swathes of Alcantara, with anodised aluminium and titanium details.
Production of the Chiron Pur Sport is set to commence in the second half of this year. Limited to just 60 examples at €3,000,000 (plus VAT) each, though, don't hold your breath on seeing one at Shelsley Walsh any time soon.
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