Almost unbelievably, Bugatti has decided that 20 examples of the Chiron should forever remain in history for depicting a particular racing scene between a French biplane aircraft and the company’s first car, the Type 13. That and many more aeronautical and racing influences have been instilled onto the company’s latest special edition, the Chiron Sport “Les Légendes du Ciel”.
The French brand has been keeping itself busy as of late, probably trying to quell those pesky rumors that Volkswagen is getting rid of it. We’ve seen the incredible Bolide, but more importantly, we’ve slowly witnessed the nascent line within the line – the Chiron’s Sport derivatives.
That’s right, in case you missed it, there’s an entire lineup consisting of the Chiron Sport (upon which this daredevil-honoring limited series is based), the Pur Sport, and that potentially controversial Super Sport 300+.
As is customary for Bugatti, the Chiron Sport is being derived into a 20-unit special edition dubbed “Les Légendes du Ciel” (French for "The Legends of the Sky"). It’s a call back to the adventurous and treacherous days of land- and sky-based daredevils, many of whom raced both aircrafts and Bugatti’s own competition models on a daily basis.
“Many successful Bugatti racing drivers, such as Albert Divo, Robert Benoist and Bartolomeo ‘Meo’ Costantini, flew for the French Air Force, the French aviator legend Roland Garros privately drove a Bugatti Type 18 to be as fast on the road as in the air,” says Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti.
This is one reason why the door panels of the special Chiron Sport have been adorned with a hand-drawn racing scene featuring a Nieuport 17 biplane and Bugatti’s Type 13. Surely one can imagine that once the French aircraft was in the air, a victor quickly emerged when the 15 ps car faced the single-seater's 130 ps 9-cylinder...
Never mind that, because there’s more to this limited-run Chiron Sport than the possibility to place bets on a historical race. Bugatti’s “Les Légendes du Ciel” model is painted in a matte-grey “Gris Serpent” hue reminiscent of the exterior paintwork of aircrafts from the 1920s, while the interior is adorned in “Gaucho” leather.
Modern touches are also present – there's lots of aluminum, carbon fiber, and even some “high-temperature-resistant” Inconel, just to make sure it warrants the 2.88 million euro price - equivalent to almost $3.42 million at the current exchange rates.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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