► Chiron’s most nimble sibling
► Hardcore handling tricks
► Still obscenely powerful, 16 to be made
How do you make a two-tonne, W16-engined, all-wheel drive luxury hypercar handle? Bugatti thinks it has the answer with the Chiron Pur Sport.
Think of it as a Chiron that steers (wasn’t that the Divo?) and one that’s been designed not to hit the ceiling of top speed records, but smash lap times instead.
So they haven’t made it faster?
Not in the literal sense of its top speed, no. The Chiron Pur Sport’s 8.0-litre W16 still makes the same amount of power as a ‘regular’ Chiron – 1479bhp and 1180lb ft – and it’s all out of puff in a paltry 217mph, instead of the regular car’s 261mph. ‘We were forced to reduce the speed as a result fo the vastly increased downforce’, says Bugatti’s head of chassis development Jachin Schwalbe, ‘not least that generated by the new rear spoiler.’
Instead, the redline has been raised by 200rpm and the gearing has been heavily revised; Bugatti says the ratios have been moved 15 per cent closer together. Because of that, the Pur Sport can accelerate from 37 to 75mph two seconds faster than a standard Chiron. Nerd facts!
For the Pur Sport, Bugatti has added a Sport+ drive mode to the usual EB, Motorway, Handling and Sport modes. That slackens off the traction control and allows for a finer response to the driver’s inputs.
If it’s focused on handling, what’s changed?
Most obviously is aero – the Pur Sport looks far more aggressive, with a fixed wing rather than a hydraulically-deploying one and an entirely redesigned front valance and rear splitter.
The second key difference is a weight saving of 50kg. Not exactly a lot when a standard Chiron is hovering around the two-tonne mark, but Bugatti has shaved it off where it counts. That permanently fixed wing is 10kg lighter than the hydraulic one, forged magnesium wheels take off another 16kg, while titanium brake pad base panels and lighter brake discs remove another 3kg.
The chassis has been tweaked, with 65 per cent firmer springs at the front and 33 per cent firmer at the rear. Bugatti also worked with Michelin to develop a specific tyre for the Pur Sport.
Any changes inside?
The Chiron’s minimalist cockpit has been significantly de-leathered, replaced with lighter Alcantara across a lot of the surfacing. The remaining trim is either black, anodised aluminium or titanium.
Come on, then – how much for a Pur Sport?
Around £2.9m before taxes, with production starting later in 2020. Just 16 Pur Sports will be made at Bugatti’s facility in Molsheim.
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