Photo: Bugatti Automobiles SaS
Bugatti is going to actual extremes with every new iteration of the Chiron – for example, the Super Sport 300+ is all about the highest-achievable speed, while the Pur Sport in turn focused on the best-possible lateral dynamics performance. And the company has just announced it is remarkably close to finally kicking off series production of the latter, though not before indulging in some exotic antics alongside test driver Andy Wallace and the inviting tarmac of the Nardò Technical Center.
It pays off to be working for Bugatti – just ask Andy Wallace, the man who last year broke the absolute speed record for a production car. He was driving a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ prototype, which achieved a maximum velocity of 304.773 mph (490.484 kph).
In absolute fairness, Koenigsegg’s Agera RS is still the official Guinness World Records title holder with its attempt that followed the classic rules of two high-speed runs in opposite directions. But, to be honest, 278 mph (447 kph) really doesn’t sound as good as 300+ mph, right?!
Well, this time around Wallace had a different beast that needed taming – the Bugatti test driver, instructor, racer (winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Daytona) was gunning for the best performance on the winding course of the handling track in Nardò to help engineers fine-tune the engine, running gear, brakes and gearbox of the Chiron Pur Sport.
Everything needs to be in complete working order before Bugatti kicks off production this very autumn of just 60 Chiron Pur Sport vehicles, each with a price of at least three million euros ($3,570,939 at current exchange rates).
“Even though I have already been doing this job for a few years, I am actually in Nardò for the first time,” explains Andy Wallace. “The fast right-left-right combinations on the demanding 6.2-kilometre long track are great fun in the Chiron Pur Sport. The shorter-ratio gearbox results in even more brutal acceleration out of the bends. The lateral acceleration potential is incredible.”
Or we could sum up the discussion to the point of seeing the Chiron Pur Sport leaving the ground for what looks like an exhilarating moment in the video embedded below – though immediately after the aerodynamics return to work and glue the car back to the tarmac...
In absolute fairness, Koenigsegg’s Agera RS is still the official Guinness World Records title holder with its attempt that followed the classic rules of two high-speed runs in opposite directions. But, to be honest, 278 mph (447 kph) really doesn’t sound as good as 300+ mph, right?!
Well, this time around Wallace had a different beast that needed taming – the Bugatti test driver, instructor, racer (winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Daytona) was gunning for the best performance on the winding course of the handling track in Nardò to help engineers fine-tune the engine, running gear, brakes and gearbox of the Chiron Pur Sport.
Everything needs to be in complete working order before Bugatti kicks off production this very autumn of just 60 Chiron Pur Sport vehicles, each with a price of at least three million euros ($3,570,939 at current exchange rates).
“Even though I have already been doing this job for a few years, I am actually in Nardò for the first time,” explains Andy Wallace. “The fast right-left-right combinations on the demanding 6.2-kilometre long track are great fun in the Chiron Pur Sport. The shorter-ratio gearbox results in even more brutal acceleration out of the bends. The lateral acceleration potential is incredible.”
Or we could sum up the discussion to the point of seeing the Chiron Pur Sport leaving the ground for what looks like an exhilarating moment in the video embedded below – though immediately after the aerodynamics return to work and glue the car back to the tarmac...
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