Even though Bugattis aren’t designed for shaming other hypercars at the drag strip, those W16-engined exotics are ridiculously quick in a straight line. Filmed at the Yas Marina Drag Strip, the Divo in the featured clip set a new record for the quickest internal combustion-engined production car in the quarter mile during a drag race against a McLaren 675LT Spider.
From a dig, the 16-cylinder land missile from Molsheim clocked 9.27 seconds at 248.68 kilometers per hour, which converts to 154.42 miles per hour. The Divo also makes easy work of a Porsche 911 Turbo S, with both cars duking it out from a roll at 40mph (64 kph) rather than a standstill.
Based on the Chiron, the limited-run Divo records 8.02 seconds at 255.51 kilometers per hour (158.76 miles per hour) compared to 8.96 and 225.81 (130.31) for the Neunelfer. The question is, can the $8-million hypercar keep up with the most polarizing quarter-mile weapon of them all, namely an e-sedan with a three-motor layout and a much lower MSRP?
The short answer is no, but it’s pretty close nonetheless at 8.45 seconds for the Divo against 8.34 seconds for the Model S Plaid. The Bugatti crosses the finish line a bit faster at 250.84 kilometers per hour compared to 247.75 kph for the Model S Plaid (155.86 and 153.94 miles per hour, respectively).
The rematch is done from a dig, which favors the Tesla as well due to the near-instant torque of its electric motors. “When I went to launch it, it came off super soft, it was slipping the clutch and didn’t apply full power to well past mid first gear,” said Brooks Weisblat of Drag Times. Be that as it may, 10.96 seconds is pretty darn good, although the Tesla ran 9.47 seconds.
Built for corners rather than straight lines, the Divo produces a tremendous 1,479 horsepower at 6,700 revolutions per minute and 1,180 pound-foot (1,600 Nm) from 2,000 to 6,000 revolutions per minute. Noticeably lighter than the Model S Plaid, the Divo is named after Grand Prix racing driver Albert Divo, who won the Targa Florio twice in a Bugatti Type 35.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News