Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, the fastest car in the world in testing

In its recent history, Bugatti’s notoriety was built on successive speed records. Even today, it is the fastest Alsatian car in the world, having reached 490,484 km / h in the summer of 2019 on the Ehra-Lessien track in Germany. Since then, SSC tried with its Tuatara, announcing that it exceeded 500 km / h, but it turned out that the operation was manipulated. While waiting for the American manufacturer to try again, or to be overtaken by Hennessey or Koenigsegg, Bugatti is therefore at the forefront.

It wasn’t with any Chiron that Bugatti broke his record; a specific version has been developed for the needs of the cause. Aerodynamics, in particular, has been reworked, with an extended back of 23 cm to reduce drag. Aesthetically, it balances the silhouette of this hypercar, while at the same time being an award for the fastest cars that have raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which used the same device to gain top speed on the Mulsanne straight. The diffuser has also been widened, while the front fender poles allow air to escape that could accumulate in the wheel arches, with the risk of disrupting the trajectory.

A Bugatti restricted to 440 km / h

After a first edition of Super Sport 300+, limited to thirty copies and with the black and orange pound of the record car, this avant-garde version was available in Super Sport “in the short term”. Officially, no production figures are set, but the Chiron from which it is derived, limited to 500 copies, should be manufactured to less than fifty. The only difference with the car that exceeded 490 km / h is in electronic limiter that limits speed to 440 km / h, to ensure the safety of customers, who have nothing to do with professional drivers.. This is not a luxury, according to Andy Wallace, the official Bugatti driver who got the performance. “The tilt angle of the front axle is chosen to ensure high-speed stability. But beyond 460 km / h, the gyroscopic effect of the wheels is so great that the trajectory must be constantly correct “.

During our visit to Molsheim, Alsace, where it is manufactured, the British driver, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988, began driving the Chiron Super Sport and indulging in his favorite game. Reset the power meters to zero and then crush the throttle hard. Just a few fractions of a second, long enough to reach a speed of 3,000 rpm. Still, the time to be projected instantly. “Look at the meter: the W16 developed 800 hp. What other engine can offer so much power at such low revs? This is where you notice the difference with the 1,500 hp Chiron. This new 1,600 hp version is even easier and more elastic. “. Then it accelerates more. This time, it’s as if Chewbacca (compared to the roar of the W16) had inadvertently activated the Millennium Falcon’s hypermotor accelerator. The thrust is Herculean, formidable: this Bugatti can go from 0 to 200 km / h in 5.5 seconds and reach 300 km / h in 12.1 seconds. Above all, it never stops. “The seventh gear is longer in this Chiron Super Sport, compared to the Chiron Sport. The engine is still capable of delivering a lot of power.”

I have to take the wheel … 100 hp more than a Chiron is a lot. Andy Wallace can tell you, you really have to be used to the W16 and have traveled the roads with various Bugatti models to spot the difference. My more modest experience does not allow me to distinguish between the two versions of this one engine, the most powerful in the world in a production car and whose strength exceeds the comprehension of ordinary mortals. All in all, the additional cavalry corresponds quite well to that of an urban car that would increase from 90 hp to 96 hp. When this thought comes to mind, the conversation with Andy Wallace drifts precisely about cars of modest power. At the time he told me he was curious about everything rolling, that I liked to whip small cars with small engines. Here we are, aboard a 1,600 hp car for more than three million euros, evoking moments of madness in low-powered city cars or even in cars without a license. He tells me how, during an election of the athlete of the year for the highly esteemed magazine EVOhe had been impressed by the Renault Clio 2 RS Trophy, which a Porsche 911 GT2 could not follow on the road.

A 1,600 hp car to drive safely

Is this conversation degenerating? Is it the refinement of the cabin of the Chiron Super Sport, upholstered in tasteful brown leather? Or is it the awareness that you would not be able to get the most out of this Bugatti on the roads around Molsheim? Still, after pushing the throttle three times and the brakes so many times as a trip, I don’t feel the ultimate need to roll at breakneck speed. This is not to insult the engineers of the brand, on the contrary! While a Lamborghini Huracan can’t stand driving more than full, this Bugatti is a queen of subtlety. Remember that Ferdinand Piëch, in the specifications given to his engineers, had demanded that he be able to go to the opera in a Veyron. Twenty years later, Bugatti still need to be as efficient as they are docile. I have the test in the fast lane, when I get behind a truck in the right lane, I have to sneak between an SUV and a van to overtake it. A light pressure on the right pedal allows me to slide accurately between the two vehicles. Without sweating, without abruptly hitting the transmission. For a 1,600 hp car, this is an even more impressive performance than exceeding 400 km / h without leaving the driver in the background.

By chaining tests with Bugatti customers, Andy Wallace probably knows the roads of Alsace better than those of Derbyshire where he has settled. It leads me to a winding, poorly paved stretch that doesn’t seem to be the ideal playing field for a missile like this. The few roundabouts and crossings of villages dotted with speed bumps allowed me to see, once again, how accommodating the suspension is. It is certainly firm (the rear springs are harder than the Chiron, to ensure high-speed stability), but amortization does its job with astonishing rigor: the fastest car in the world is much more comfortable than a Porsche 911 “beast”, which one would imagine, however, more adapted to daily travel.

Disconcerting ease of driving

The turns are coming, then. The steering, heavily blocked around the midpoint (rather than in a Chiron Pur Sport), stands out as always with Bugatti for an exceptional feel. Specific electronic components (so expensive that they are inaccessible to most brands, including Porsche) allow for accurate mapping of the assistance prohibited on most sports cars. As you turn the steering wheel, the effort naturally increases: you can feel exactly what is happening on the front axle, from the steering angle to the deformation of the sidewall of the tire. This gives you confidence to pick up the pace. The Chiron Super Sport takes turns with agility. And always, there is the perfect calibration of the accelerator, which allows you to dose the engine power with delicacy. Incredible but true: once the car is tilted in a curve, the accuracy is such that we are able to engage a very light drift from the rear axle to the accelerator, without waking up the electronic safeguards. This reveals an extraordinary approach. We drive this car of 1,954 kg and 1,600 hp as we would drive a simple Volkswagen Golf R. At the end of our test, consumption is around 25 l / 100 km. We expected worse …

A common criticism of Bugattis is that they are disinfected. We certainly don’t have the vocalizations and brutality of a Lamborghini’s transmission, the support changes with the lightning vivacity of a McLaren, or the sometimes harsh reactions of an Aston Martin. The Chiron Super Sport gives the feeling of always having control, and this control may be perceived by some as a greed for sensations. However, happiness is there. A small road reveals Chiron’s amazing agility and perfect communication with his rider. A large straight line sends the brain to the bottom of the cranial box with minimal pressure from the right foot, to the point that we lose the notion of what surrounds us. And the short daily journeys become exceptional, because each model is tailor-made by its owner and there will only be a few dozen in the world.

In short, the Chiron Super Sport is a complete, fast and exciting sports driver to drive. He also has a good taste for proving that a sports car doesn’t have to be awkward to be effective. Unfortunately, even being able to pay the 3.2 million euros claimed for a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport (excluding taxes and options), it is impossible to afford one: all copies are already sold. All that remains for future owners who have booked one of the latest chassis of the Chiron is to choose between this Super Sport or the Pure Sport, optimized for use on the circuit. At least in Europe where approval is no longer valid for Chiron and Chiron Sport, still available in the United States or the Middle East.