The Bugatti Bolide Is the Ultimate ThrillCourtesy of BugattiLet’s start with the name. Bolide (boh-LEED), Bugatti’s moniker for the limited-production track monster you see here, translates from French as—wait for it—“fast car.” Or “race car.” Or it is used to describe a particularly bright meteor. Only one of these definitions is literally true, but the other two are metaphorically correct.As I stood in pit lane at Miami International Autodrome, mentally preparing myself to drive one of the $5 million Bolides that surrounded me, I was trying to not think about the definition that describes an item that explodes in the atmosphere. I wilted in my driving suit as Bolides blasted down the front straight, all high-volume bass blasting out of the quad tailpipes. If the Bolide were a normal sports car or race car, it might pop or bang on the overrun as the driver braked hard into the Turn 1 right-hander. But what the 1578-hp quad-turbo W-16–powered Bolide actually does in this scenario is set off a depth charge, blasting deep sound waves through south Florida’s waterlogged air.BugattiThe Bolides making all the racket are privately owned cars being driven by their owners. This event was created by Bugatti specifically for these owners. Each of the 40 Bolides sold worldwide came with a fully supported, luxury-appointed track day with full telemetry and race-crew support. This is not a car you drive to the track for a spontaneous day of lapping. Bugatti transported five privately owned Bolides and their owners to Miami for the occasion. I was the conspicuously not-rich person in pit lane trying to stay out of the way of the pro racing crew in their tidy black outfits. The scene had a very Tony Stark/Bruce Wayne vibe.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe cars certainly looked like the largely unseen and ultra-expensive playthings of the extremely rich. This is because that’s exactly what they are. When it was announced in 2020, the Bolide was intended as something of a send-off for the W-16 engine with which the current version of Bugatti was revived more than 20 years ago. The next Bugatti, the Tourbillon, will be powered by a Cosworth-built V-16. The Bolide is also a nod to Bugatti’s long-ago racing glory.BugattiBut the Bolide is neither an exclusive roadgoing hypercar nor a race car. It is not homologated for on-road usage, and despite its standard A/C, you really wouldn’t want to use it for that anyway. And there is no racing series in the world in which this beast would be allowed to compete. The Bolide is, like the upcoming Red Bull RB17 and several limited Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins over the years, a sort of real-world racing simulator. Its Michelin slicks are essentially the same as those mounted to Le Mans Hypercars. It can make about 6000 pounds of aerodynamic downforce, about 50 percent more than a modern Formula 1 car. The Bolide’s Chiron Super Sport–based W-16 makes 1578 hp, about the same as a current F1 power unit plus a 2025 Porsche 911 Turbo S. This is enough power to push the Bolide to a claimed top speed of 236 mph. If ever any owner managed that speed with all that downforce, well, may God be with those poor Michelins.At about 3500 pounds (Bugatti claims a roughly 3200-pound dry weight), the Bolide is more than twice the mass of an F1 car. So, it won’t be posting quicker laps than Max Verstappen’s weekend car. But this thing is still a beast. A beast that I will try to usher cleanly through the concrete chute of the F1 course, or rather a shortened version of the course called the Extended MIA Loop. At 1.75 miles in length, this loop truncates the longest flat-out sections of the track, which is probably wise for today’s activities. And as I’d eventually discover, when driving the Bolide you do not need the full length of the back straight to attain serious speed.BugattiBut first I would need some instruction on use of the vehicle. For all the Bolide’s exotica—the full-race carbon-carbon brakes; the Dallara-built, FIA-standard carbon-fiber tub; the button-bedecked removable steering yoke—it’s a car. I know this because that’s precisely what the onsite director of operations Frédéric Rouvier told me in an impressively nonchalant tone. And he worked for French megateam and race-car constructor Oreca for more than a decade.AdvertisementAdvertisementMy time in the car would be at the end of the day, after the customers had had their fill. And I would be driving Bugatti’s development Bolide with the man who developed it, retired racer Andy Wallace. An exceptionally convivial man, Wallace is apparently immune to fear. Not only did he blast down the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans piloting the Jaguar XJR-9 at 245 mph in 1988, he’s also the man most likely to ride right-seat with current and prospective Bugatti owners and was also the company test driver who went past 300 mph in a street-legal production car.BugattiDusk quickly approaching, Florida pulled a Florida. No sooner did I look up at the encroaching clouds than I felt the first drop of rain. This is when I knew I’d be writing a story titled, “What It Feels Like to Almost Drive the Insane Bugatti Bolide!” It was deemed wise to wait out the shower. The Bolide went up on its air jacks and the team swapped on rain tires as it was clear the pavement’s wetness would not soon evaporate into the saturated air. Finally, I was frantically jammed into the passenger’s seat to get a single warm-up lap with Wallace driving. It would be his job to get some heat into the brakes and test the conditions. We came trundling into pit lane, where I was hustled out of the car and around the front and directly into the driver’s seat, crammed inside, recalcitrant harness buckles tugged at by the team to get me secured in place. Wearing a full-face helmet and a HANS device, I couldn’t bend my head forward enough to see the belts or my legs. Finally, the door slammed down on my helmet, but my body gave just enough for them to latch the door, helmet wedged firmly above. Wallace flipped the dash-mounted toggle to turn on the electronics . . . wait . . . okay, now flick on the fuel pump and hit the yoke-mounted start button.Installed in the machine with my feet higher than my butt, I slowly pulled away as the dual-clutch gearbox hooked up. And how does it feel to drive one of the most sought after track-day toys/investments/sculptures? In a word, hallucinatory. As I trundled out toward pit exit, there was an ungodly rattling noise. Something is broken, I’m sure. Wallace doesn’t say anything. He must be hearing it too. His silence is my tacit approval to keep accelerating out onto the track. It was only later I learned that the sound was the brakes still not being up to temp and clattering.BugattiThe rain broke the tight schedule. Time is now extremely limited. I have an out lap and an in lap before I need bring the Bolide back into the pits. This means I’ll hit each of the 14 turns at speed at least once. I’ll be learning the track as I go—the wet track. As I tentatively squeeze the throttle through the first couple of bends I’m already basting in my suit. There are two large, flexible hoses that act as A/C vents. I remember trying to point the nearest one at me only to have it flop back to its original position. The instrument panel is so crowded with numbers that it might as well be a tablet covered in ancient Sanskrit. I can easily read only the gear indicator and decide that will just have to do.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe brake pedal is rock hard. There is no perceptible movement in it. It responds to pressure, lots and lots of pressure. No worries about locking the brakes though because, like modern GT3 cars, the Bolide has ABS. Wallace tuned the system personally, and he recommends standing on the pedal hard enough to engage it at the two or three big braking zones.BugattiI’m divorced from speed. I cannot tell how fast I’m going and I’m not searching the screen to find out. With concrete walls lining much of the track, I can’t really judge my speed by the surroundings, which are just blurring into an uninterrupted stream of light gray. I start to pick up the pace by the end of the out lap, letting the big W-16 bellow on the straights. I’m aware of my breathing. My second lap is more confident. I mostly remember which way the track turns, and I’m carrying a little more speed in the corners, trying to string them together more smoothly instead of treating each individually.BugattiAdvertisementAdvertisementI hit the left-hander onto the back straight and finally ease the throttle pedal all the way to its limit and whip through the gears. Wallace had told me earlier to let the transmission handle the upshifts itself because of the wet track. But I’d forgotten that instruction, probably before I’d left pit lane. Only when I watch the in-car camera recording later do I realize I topped out at 174 mph in sixth gear and then dropped about 145 mph to enter the hairpin at the end. When I ask Wallace if I have one more lap, I can’t recall if I thought I could convince him to allow it or if I’ve just lost track of time. He points me to the pit entrance and I helpfully respond “FUCK!” I was just learning the track; just starting to dip into the car’s performance.It was true what Frédéric said; the Bolide is a car, and its relative ease of use had my confidence ramping up quickly. And now I felt like I could drive it a bit harder, put together a respectable lap. In retrospect, it’s probably better to have had just a glance through the window into this other world, one most are unaware exists. I’ll take that. Say what you want about billionaires, they do have the best toys.You Might Also LikeIf You Can Only Own One Car, Make It One of TheseThese Are the Most Popular Cars by State