The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is lighter, longer and more streamlined — and still insanely powerful.
It’s been around for five years now, but Bugatti’s efforts to refine and improve the Chiron have kept it in the public consciousness, and now there’s an updated, lighter Super Sport into which enthusiasts and well-to-do buyers can sink their teeth. As you’d expect, you’ll need fairly deep pockets — as pricing starts at $3.9 million (or 3.2 million Euros) before options, taxes, etc. Engineers took the lessons learned from earlier Chirons and ambitious 300 mph top speed runs to refine this car, from tweaking the chassis and aerodynamics to updating the Super Sport’s 8.0-liter quad-turbo W12 engine.
On the engine front, you get 1,577 horsepower and 1,180 pound feet of torque. Tweaks to the turbos, cylinder head and engine oil pump allowed the Bugatti team to bump the redline up to a screaming 7,100 RPM, so you’ll really be able to wring out all that torque across a broader range. Power still makes its way to all four wheels through a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic, though seventh gear is a bit longer to allow for a higher top speed. Push it hard enough, and the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport should hit a top speed somewhere in the region of 273 mph.
In making its way to that speed, Bugatti says the Super Sport will hit 124 mph in 5.8 seconds. Want to go up to 186 mph (300 kph)? That’s done in 12.1 seconds. The new Bugatti Chiron Super Sport comes on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires to handle all that grunt, and they’re rated for speeds up to 310 mph. Reinforced belts cope with the extra strain, and engineers verify their strength using the same test bench built for the Space Shuttle. The development team also fitted tighter steering, stiffer springs and revamped the electronic chassis control programs to handle the higher top speed over some previous Chiron variants.
More unique Super Sport tweaks
Apart from changing the engine and chassis, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport also gets the lightweight treatment over past Chirons. That said, stripped-out model this is not — we are still talking about Bugatti here, and this car still needs to be a luxurious grand tourer. To that end, you do see aluminum and carbon fiber components saving 50 pounds overall, but that’s still blended with a host of leather surfaces. You can customize virtually everything based on your own tastes as well, as you should if you’re spending this sort of money on an exclusive hypercar.
The longtail Bugatti Chiron Super Sport gets an extra 10 inches of overall length for better airflow to reduce drag. What’s more, nine holes atop each fender help release pressure from the front wheel wells, further reducing the chance any troublesome air will hold the car back.
All in all, if you want a lighter, faster, tauter Chiron — the Super Sport could be your answer. If you have the cash, that is.
