It's not for everyone, but it's a heck of a way to spend $5 million on a car.
The latest stupendously powerful, incredibly capable even quicker version of Bugatti’s Chiron is the Pur Sport. It’s designed to generate numbers as impressive in the corners as the standard car could going flat-out. This one, they say, is for drivers. Assuming those drivers are immensely talented and have a little over $5 million to spend on picking one up.
“We spoke to customers and realized they wanted a vehicle that is geared even more towards agility and dynamic cornering. A hypersports car that yearns for country roads with as many bends as possible,” says Bugatti President Stephan Winkelmann.
The company set out to do that starting with new wheels hewn from magnesium that manage to trim 4 kg each from the curb weight. Special covers cut turbulence over the center of the wheel and optional aero blades improve the airflow down the side of the car.
Titanium backing plates for the massive brake bads cut another two kilos and new brake discs cut another kilo from the car’s curb weight. It’s a total savings of 50kg, enough to offset about half the weight of a full fuel tank. This leaves the Pur Sport just a medium-sized child away from being a 2,000 kg car, but when you play in this dollar league, weight savings is still weight savings.
Springs are 65 percent stiffer in the front and 33 percent firmer in the rear combined with a new programming strategy for the adaptive dampers and some extra camber for the tires to increase agility and response. Bugatti says it makes the steering more accurate and more direct, with plenty of grip even at high speeds.
That grip comes courtesy of a new Michelin-designed Bugatti Sport Cup 2 R tire in 285-width up front and 355 in the back. Bugatti says the new compound boosts lateral acceleration by 10 percent. It’s also helped by a new front splitter and massive rear wing that work together to produce more downforce.
In case the 1,500 hp from the quad-turbo W16 wasn’t enough, the redline has been raised by 200 rpm and the gears are now spaced 15 percent closer. The top speed is a touch less, but acceleration from 60 km/h to 120 km/h is two seconds faster than the Chiron. So don’t sneeze with your foot on the gas.
Just 60 Chiron Pur Sports will be built, set to start production in the second half of the year. After the Divos start arriving. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a heck of a way to spend $5 million on a car.
Keyword: Bugatti Takes Aim at Corners and Back Roads with the Chiron Pur Sport