The Bugatti Chiron is a lot of car: 0 to 100 km/h in less than 2.5 seconds, 16 cylinders with four turbochargers, a total power output of 1,500 horsepower, and a $3 million price tag. But now Bugatti is saying less is more with the Chiron Sport.
Announced on Tuesday at the Geneva Motor Show, the Chiron Sport follows a typical pattern of introducing a variation of a product that’s been around for a couple of years, as the standard Chiron has. The Sport keeps the same engine (a “16” is embedded in the grille in case you forgot how many cylinders it has), but engineers found nearly 40 pounds to cut out from the car in a bid to better balance the car. Bugatti went to extremes to find those 40 pounds. It says the Chiron Sport is the first production car with carbon fiber windshield wiper arms, for a savings of three pounds. Hey, you have to start somewhere.
Beyond that, the Chiron Sport also has a new handling package that includes revised steering and suspension systems that sharpen the car’s responses when in the aggressive Handling mode. This means the Chiron Sport is likely to match the standard car’s ability to be quiet and comfortable when you’re not on a race track — as we found when we drove it last year on a public road — and at speeds when you can enjoy the beautifully crafted interior and appreciate the way it’s built. Yet, because of the stiffer settings available when you need them, Bugatti says the Sport completes the Nardo Ring in Italy five seconds quicker than the standard Chiron.
Of course, a lighter car means a more expensive car when you’re talking about high-end supercars, and the Chiron Sport is no exception at $3.26 million. (That’s about $260,000 more than the base price of a normal Chiron.) At least you can tailor the paint to your liking.
