The Bugatti Chiron is a mid-engine two-seater sports car designed and developed in Germany by Bugatti Engineering GmbH. It was manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. The successor to the Bugatti Veyron, the Chiron was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show on 1 March 2016. The car's design was initially previewed with the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept car unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show.
The car is named after the Monégasque driver Louis Chiron. The car shares the name with the 1999 Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car.
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Specifications and performance The main carry over component from the Veyron is the quad-turbocharged W16 engine, though it is heavily updated. The engine in the Chiron has a peak power output of at 6,700 rpm and of torque starting from 2,000 to 6,000 rpm. The engine in the most powerful variant of its predecessor, the Veyron Super Sport, generates less than the new Chiron, while the engine in the original Veyron generates less power.
Like its predecessor, the Veyron, the Chiron utilises a carbon fibre body structure, independent suspension and a Haldex All-wheel drive system. The carbon fibre body has a stiffness of 50,000 Nm per degree.
The Chiron can accelerate from in 2.4 seconds according to the manufacturer, in 6.5 seconds and in 13.6 seconds. In a world-record-setting test at the time in 2017, the Chiron reached in 32.6 seconds, after which it needed 9.4 seconds to brake to standstill.
The Chiron's top speed is electronically limited to , or without the specific key, for safety reasons, mainly arising from the tyres as Bugatti concluded that no tyre currently manufactured would be able to handle the stress at the top speed the Chiron is capable of achieving. Independent testing by an owner has indicated that the Chiron can easily attain its limited top speed. Mixed fuel consumption is .
Sales
The first 200 cars were sold before the first was delivered. The base price is €2,400,000 and buyers were required to place a €200,000 deposit before their purchase. The first three Chiron were delivered to their owners in Europe and the Middle East in March 2017. In January 2022, every Chiron had been sold. In September 2023, Bugatti built the last base-spec (non-variant) Chiron; a Nocturne Black and Copper Chiron with a "Copper" tan interior. The Chiron production run ended in May 2024 with the Chiron L'Ultime. A North-American market Super Sport model with fading blue paint and writings of the Chiron's history and achievements all over the car. However, Bugatti still continues to manufacture cars based on the Chiron.
Variants
Chiron Sport (2018)
At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, Bugatti unveiled the track focused version of the Chiron, named the Chiron Sport. Mechanically the car is identical to the regular version, generating from a quad-turbocharged W16 engine but is lighter due to a lighter, more unrestricted exhaust system, the extensive use of carbon fibre, and a stiffer suspension in order to increase the cornering ability of the car while maintaining its grand touring characteristics. The steering of the car has also received modifications and a torque vectoring system to control the power sent to each wheel of the car for improved handling in tight corners has been added. Aerodynamic improvements and light weight have been given special consideration in order to keep the car competitive on the race track. The Chiron Sport became available in late 2018 for an additional on the standard Chiron.
In April 2022, Bugatti issued a factory recall for a 2018 Chiron, built 16 November 2017, due to a loose front frame support screw.
Chiron Sport 110 Ans Bugatti (2019)
Introduced in February 2019, the 110 Ans Bugatti is a limited edition variant of the Chiron Sport developed to celebrate 110 years of Bugatti. The car features carbon fibre bodywork finished in matte Steel Blue exterior colour. The body is also accented with Steel Blue bare carbon fibre. The exhaust system of the car is finished in matte black colour.
The colours of the French flag are present on the wing mirrors, fuel filler cap and on the underside of the rear wing. The brake calipers are finished in blue colour.
The interior of the car is upholstered in blue Alcantara and also has the colours of the French flag present on the headrests of the seats, on the back of the seats and on top of the steering wheel. Production was limited to 20 units.
Chiron Super Sport 300+ (2019)
On 8 September 2019, Bugatti presented a limited production high performance variant of the Chiron called the Chiron Super Sport 300+ to owners taking part in the company's 110th-anniversary tour in Europe. The variant is limited to 30 examples at a net unit price of 3.5 million euros. Changes from the standard Chiron include a more powerful engine, increased top speed, and a characteristic paint scheme featuring a lacquer-coated carbon fibre body with orange stripes, echoing the aesthetics of the company's previous top speed record-breaking cars, the Veyron Super Sport World Record Edition and the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse World Record Car.
The car is powered by a quad-turbocharged W16 engine shared with the Bugatti Centodieci, nicknamed "Thor". This car has a grey Bugatti logo made of black enamel and silver, the exhaust system from the Centodieci, a modified gearbox with longer ratios and front and rear bumpers optimised for aerodynamics at high speed, resulting in the overall length increase of the car by .
The Super Sport 300+ was also equipped with a top speed limiter, akin to the one found in the standard Chiron. Without the limiter, Bugatti claimed the car could attain a maximum speed in excess of , with being achieved in August 2019 with a pre-production model. Bugatti also prepared the cars of owners who want to take the car to its full potential at the Ehra-Lessien test track.
The first eight were delivered in September 2021.
Bugatti delivered the final Chiron Super Sport 300+ on 21 July 2022.
Chiron Noire (2020) Bugatti announced a special-edition, the Chiron Noire, celebrating the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Coupé Aero No. 57453 (also known as "La Voiture Noire") following the 2019 one-off homage and namesake "La Voiture Noire". The special edition comes in two versions, the Noire Élégance (black exposed carbon body) and the Noire Sportive (black exposed carbon body covered with a matte black finish). Only 20 were made. The Noire starts at around $3.3 million, and deliveries are expected to begin in mid-2020. The Chiron Noire package is available for the entry-level Chiron or the Chiron Sport, in this case at an extra charge of .
Chiron Pur Sport (2020)
On 3 March 2020, Bugatti introduced the Chiron Pur Sport, a handling-focused model limited to 60 units. The tachometer has an additional 200 rpm, increasing the redline to 6,900 rpm. 80 per cent of the transmission has been revised for a 15 per cent closer gear-ratio spread benefiting the power band. The Pur Sport is lighter than the standard Chiron due to a lightweight 3D printed titanium exhaust, a fixed rear spoiler and extensive use of Alcantara, anodised aluminium and titanium on the interior. The front horseshoe grille is also wider than on a regular Chiron. The wheels have special spokes called "aero blades" which are designed to channel turbulent air near the wheel down the side of the vehicle to the rear diffuser. The tyres are Michelin Sport Cup 2R increasing lateral grip by 10 per cent, and were co-developed with Michelin. To improve handling, the springs were made 65 per cent stiffer at the front and 33 per cent at the rear, aided by revised damper tuning and wheel camber along with additional front and rear carbon-fibre anti-roll bars and a new Sport+ drive mode. Production of the Pur Sport was to start in late 2020. The first car was delivered to the owner in United States in January 2021. Deliveries reached the halfway mark on 1 December 2022.
Chiron Sport Les Légendes du Ciel (2020)
Introduced in November 2020, the "Les Légendes du Ciel" Chiron is a limited-edition version of the Chiron Sport developed to celebrate Bugatti's racing drivers that flew in the French Air Force.
The car features a new grille, a French flag behind the front wheels, a matte grey ("Gris Serpent") exterior colour with a gloss white stripe in the centre. The interior is upholstered in tan leather and turned aluminium.
Production was limited to 20 units and started in late 2020 at €2.88 million each.
Chiron Super Sport (2021)
On 8 June 2021, Bugatti introduced the standard version of the 300+ world record car. Unlike the 300+, it does not come with interior stiffening and has more leather in the interior like a typical Bugatti Chiron. More visual differences include special redesigned wheels and a paint finish instead of the bare carbon fibre seen in the 300+. The Chiron Super Sport had the same power output as the 300+ but was limited to . It also has the capability to accelerate from in 5.8 seconds and from in 12.1 seconds. Unlike the 300+, the limiter cannot be disabled by Bugatti in the Super Sport for prepared runs. Customer delivery started in early 2022 at a net unit price of each. The first car was delivered in April 2022. About 70–80 were built, including the L'Ultime, which is the very last of the Chiron series. It is the last car to use the Bugatti W16 engine, and likely the last car to use an engine of this layout in general.
Chiron Pur Sport Grand Prix (2021)
The Chiron Pur Sport Grand Prix was announced in December 2021. It is the first project of Bugatti's new ‘Sur Mesure’ (meaning tailored in French) customization program, so it is a one-off car. In 1931, Louis Chiron won the French Grand Prix at Montlhéry in his Type 51 – an enhanced version of the legendary Type 35 – together with Achille Varzi. The number 32 was displayed in bold letters on their racing car and is now hand painted on the doors of the Chiron Pur Sport 'Grand Prix'. "EB" logo patterns are also hand painted in red on the front and rear fenders. Inside, the car features black leather and red Alcantara, embroidered "EB" pattern on the door panels and black anodized aluminum trim panels with silver logos.
Chiron Profilée (2022)
The Chiron Profilée is a one-off special introduced in December 2022. It is based on the Chiron Pur Sport, but features a new aerodynamic profile characterized by wider air dams and a bigger grille up front, a redesigned front splitter, and a relatively small rear wing with a hollow middle section. Bugatti also made changes to the steering and suspension systems, and it gave the seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission 15% shorter gear ratios. It is the fastest-accelerating car of the Chiron range with a of 2.3 seconds. takes 5.5 seconds and takes 12.4 seconds. It has a top speed of . It's finished in silver (Argent Atlantique) and the bottom part of the car features bare carbon fiber that's tinted in blue (Bleu Royal Carbon). It is the first Chiron fitted with woven leather on the dashboard, the center console and the door panels.
Bugatti had planned to build 30 units, but as the production of its pre-series vehicle started, all 500 Chiron slots were already assigned. The project was cancelled and the car never entered production thus only one example was built and it is fully street-legal in European markets. On the 1 February 2023, the Profilée was sold at auction by RM Sotheby's for , with a percentage of the proceeds going to benefit charitable causes. At the time of its sale, it was believed to be the last street-legal W16-powered car Bugatti sold, as the Chiron and the Mistral were already sold-out.
Other Bugatti based on the Chiron La Voiture Noire (2019)