The Bugatti Veyron is one of the most common benchmarks in the automotive world, but the 15-year-old legend has been relegated to the history books as the French automaker has recently achieved 300 miles per hour (482 kilometers per hour) in its Chiron Super Sport. Mat of Carwow takes a look at what the French automaker’s flagship vehicle is like to drive on the road and at the track.
Before we begin, it turns out that Mat from Carwow is actually quite a lucky boy to get into the Chiron SS. He’s the first automotive journalist in the world to step foot into the rapid Bugatti, but it didn’t take long for him to be booted out of the driver’s seat and relegated to the passenger position. Although we’d be doubly disappointed, it doesn’t come without reason as the French automaker’s latest collection of engineering excellence is valued at $3.9 million (€3.3 million) and only 30 will be made. Those are a just two of the reasons why we named the Chiron SS to our list of coolest cars on sale this year.
Gallery: Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ prototype
No matter though, as following startup, you are greeted by the glorious sound of an 8-liter quad-turbocharged W16 engine producing 1,600 horsepower (1,193 kilowatts). Rather unsurprisingly, the powerplant is capable of catapulting occupants to 60 mph (96 km/h) in just over two seconds.
After a Doug Demuro–style walk-around of some of the crazy tech, Mat and Bugatti’s chief test engineer take a brief drive to the Nardo test track to showcase its capabilities. Located just outside of Nardò, Italy, the circuit is a 7.8 mile (12.5 kilometer) continuous banked oval that is visible from space. Numbers aside, on the way to the track it’s clear that the vehicle is very calm and collected on the road. However, after getting out on the tarmac, Mat is full of giggles as the car effortlessly reaches 186 mph (300 km/h) in a matter of seconds.
Engineering Excellence:
So what differentiates the Super Sport model from the “normal” Chiron? As it is the first thing to cut through the air, there are some aerodynamic modifications to the leading edges at the front fascia. One of the most noticeable adjustments is a series of vents over the front wheel arches to let pressurized air out. The vehicle’s magnesium wheels have also received a redesign to accommodate the bigger brakes and speed. The Super Sport also sits on Michelin tires specially designed and made for the vehicle to be capable of 300 mph (482 km/h); the wheels and tires all need to cope with forces of up to 5,300 g at top speed.
We could write a whole article about the amazing features of this vehicle but to put it simply, the amount of engineering to get to the magic 300 number is simply mind-boggling. It’s clear that Bugatti is setting a new paradigm for what a car can achieve. Anyone who experiences the Chiron Super Sport firsthand is a lucky dog.