No matter the rumors about its impending sale, or the fact that it lost the world’s fastest production car record, Bugatti is proving once more it’s still sitting on top of the automotive world. In track terms, at least, with the latest derivation of the Chiron – the Bolide. And where’s exclusivity, there’s always the famous YouTuber waiting just around the corner for a first dip into Internet glory...
Tim Burton, aka Shmee150, is no stranger to such exclusive encounters. And we can understand why Bugatti allowed the Briton to be among the first “strangers” outside its circle of trust to see, hear, and touch its new Bolide track-only hypercar.
As always, the host has done his homework – learning as fast as possible everything he could about this marvelous piece of engineering. Let’s just say that again, but with different words and in numbers. It joins the ever-expanding Chiron family (Chiron Sport, Pur Sport, Centodieci, Divo, Super Sport 300+) with the same W16 engine taken to 1,825 hp (on 110 octane racing fuel).
It's extremely light at just 1,240 kilograms (2,734 pounds), so the power to (dry) weight ratio stands at an incredible 0.67 kg / hp. And comes with all sorts of 3D-printed titanium parts alongside the customary carbon fiber galore (Shmee even shows some of them separately).
And the performance credentials are just mind-boggling (although based on simulations): 62 mph (100 kph) in 2.17 s, 124 mph (200 kph) in 4.36 s, as well as a Nürburgring Nordschleife lap in 5:23:1 minutes.
Well, enough with the virtual possibilities, because our host is showcasing the real deal – the sole example of the possible Bugatti Bolide series, sitting tucked away in a humble-looking (but secret) garage, on an elevator. Only that it’s sharing the room with an iconic Type 35, just for the sake of companionship.
Well, we all know that Tim Burton isn’t allowed to go out for a drive in the Bolide, but at least he delivers the next best thing – he checks out all the neat exterior details (including those snorkel bubbles that inflate for the sake of aerodynamics). At the 7:20 mark he begins the interior exploration – and he literally steps inside.
Then he’s once again outside so we can check out the motorsport-inspired X-shaped front lights (back in the day the headlights were taped so they won’t break completely if hit), and the aeronautically-experimental inspired rear with the quad exhaust in the center. Oh, yeah, don’t miss the glorious startup (12:30) sound of the W16 either...
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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