Making the record books for the “fastest in the world” is not anything new to Bugatti.
In the last week Bugatti Chiron made news for going from 0 km/h to 400 km/h and then back to 0 km/h in record time.
Before I get into the record made by the Chiron, let’s just take a minute to process some numbers. Believe me, you’re going to need it. So here’s what $2.7 million (R35,7 mil) can get you: a W16 6-cylinder engine with four turbochargers spurting out +1000 hp and 1600 Nm of torque, all cocooned into a hand-built ultra-luxurious shell. Its 1,800 parts are assembled by 20 people in the span of 6 months.
Not forgetting it comes with the title of the second fastest car in the world. But the term “fast car” is an understatement to describe the Chiron. The term used by Bugatti is “hypercar” and the name in itself is enough to make you believe the Chiron can go fast enough to warp into another dimension or at least open a portal to one.
But it all dates back to its founder Ettore Bugatti who designed elegant racecars at the turn of the century.
Chiron’s fastest time
With that said, the 1500-horsepower (1120 kW) hypercar was driven by F1 and Indycar driver Juan Pablo Montoya for the record. He achieved a 0-400-0 km/h time of 41.96 seconds! (which Bugatti rounded off to 42 seconds) The stunt was achieved on a 3.112 km stretch of track and the car only needed 491 meters to come to a halt.
The record attempt was made in August and has been certified by SGS-TÜV Saar. It is the first planned record of the car.
Montoya opted not to wear any safety gear; such as a racing suit, helmet or HANS (head and neck support) device for the record run. He commented saying,
“Of course, the Chiron is a super sports car that requires your full attention when you are behind the wheel. At the same time, it gave me such a feeling of security and reliability that I was entirely relaxed and really enjoyed myself during my two days with the car.”
The 41-year-old Montoya also broke his own personal speed record of 407 km/h in the Chiron. Over the past weekend, during set-up, Montoya exceeded the 400 km/h mark on 17 occasions making his new fastest time 420 km/h.
“It really was incredible to see that you didn’t need the complex preparations we have to make in racing for the 0-400-0 drive,” he said. “With the Chiron, it was all quite easy. Just get in and drive off. Incredible.”
To break down Montoya’s time:
0-100 km/h was reached in 2.4 seconds,
200 km/h in 6.1 seconds,
300 km/h was touched in 13.1 seconds,
and 400 km/h was hit in 32.6 seconds.
That means the Chiron braked from 400 km/h to a complete stop in 9.36 seconds! This was managed by its massive brakes and huge rear wing which also acted as an air brake.
It blows my mind at how blisteringly fast that is! I feel a sense of rush just thinking about it.
Montoya gushed, “The Chiron is so unbelievably quick – it takes your breath away.”
Bugatti president, Wolfgang Dürheimer, was considerably pleased with the car’s performance.
“Bugatti is the first car brand that doesn’t only calculate how fast a car can go on a computer, we validate our data with real-life values. This record run confirms the exceptional position of the Chiron in terms of acceleration and braking.”
What’s to come
In Bugatti’s official release, it mentions they are planning to set an all-out top speed record for production cars. This will be done in 2018 with its Chiron. While the Chiron is electronically limited to 420 km/h (261 mph), word has it that the full top speed of the car is 463 km/h (288 mph). Considering the 500 km/h speedometer and the “To be continued” teaser at the end of the video where the car is climbing 440 km/h, you can only wonder what Bugatti will pull out next from its magic hat of tricks…
Watch the record here:
