Bugatti’s 300mph hypercar

published 4 October 2019

If you found the Bugatti Chiron sluggish, the French carmaker has a new model for you. Chris Carter reports

For most drivers, 262mph is quite sufficient, says Charlie Turner in Top Gear. But while the top speed of a regular Bugatti Chiron is indeed fast, it isn't fast enough for the hypercar world. There, "being the fastest takes on a whole new importance". Even then, "being the fastest is not the right expression", Bugatti's Stefan Ellrott tells Turner. "Moving boundaries would be better," he says. "Right now, the 300mph barrier for a hypercar is the boundary we would like to achieve." So, they did.

Last month, a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ Prototype was clocked at 304.77mph at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien track in Germany. It didn't set an official speed record for a production car for that you need to drive in both directions and submit the average. The Chiron was also just a prototype. The record, however, is not the point, says Turner. "No owner will ever find the space to drive this fast, but the depth of engineering required to propel man and machine at this velocity oozes out of every pore of the regular' Chiron." As for the second quibble, the production car is on the way.

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It will be powered by a tuned version of the original Chiron's quad-turbo 8.0-litre W16 engine, producing 1,578bhp, says Luke Wilkinson in Auto Express. The Super Sport 300+ will also have the lowered suspension system of the prototype, uprated brakes, a new set of lightweight magnesium-alloy wheels and a tweaked quad-exit exhaust system. Prices will start from €3.5m, with the first cars delivered in the summer of 2021.

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.