Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Bugatti Chiron: Meet the next 'world's fastest supercar'

by Unknown on 9:34:00 PM

Moving on from the Veyron, first introduced in 2005, the Chiron is the latest high-performance supercar from Bugatti. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on Monday, its makers say it is faster, more powerful and more expensive than its record-breaking forebear.

Bugatti unveiled a new high-performance supercar at the Geneva Motor Show on Monday.

See more photos below...

The French car maker currently produces only four models -- all variations of the famed Bugatti Veyron. The Veyron was introduced in 2005 and the "Veyron 16.4 Super Sport" was named the world's fastest production car by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2013.

With a base price of $2.6 million you'd hope it packs a bunch, and with 1,500 HP -- 300 more than the Veyron -- there's no shortage of power.

Capped at 420 km/h (260 mph) for road use, it will nonetheless reach 0-100 km/h in a mere 2.5 seconds.

The cockpit layout of the Bugatti Chiron has a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Produced from the most exclusive materials available, all aluminium parts are milled from solid material.

But the Veyron era is about to end.

Bugatti says that the new generation, the Chiron, will be a "completely new development." According to the car maker, it'll be faster, more powerful and even more expensive, with a base price of €2.4 million ($2.6 million).

"It is part of human nature to cross boundaries and set new records," Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. President Wolfgang Dürheimer said in a statement. "This striving is also our driving force at Bugatti. The Chiron is the result of our efforts to make the best even better."

The new model will have 1,500 HP to work with, which is 300 HP more than the record-setting Veyron. The Chiron's top speed remains to be seen, but it will be capped at 420 km/h (260 mph) for road use.

Bugatti -- which is part of Volkswagen -- will make just 500 of the first Chiron series, and a third of them have already been sold. The company began giving private presentations of the car to "select customers" last fall, and will deliver the new cars this fall.