Bugatti claims its new Chiron is the most extraordinary supercar on the planet. can it live up to such a boast?

by evan Monroe

In improving upon its Veyron supercar, Bugatti was faced with an endeavor not unlike, say, the creator of all things improving upon Gisele Bündchen. Impossible, right? Well…Let’s start with some stats. The 2017 Chiron is just over three inches longer, nearly two inches wider, and just shy of half an inch taller than the Veyron, but at 4,486 pounds, not an ounce heavier (all hail carbon fiber). It also has larger and wider tires and wider wheel wells, and manages to pack 300 more horsepower into a mammoth 8.0-liter sixteen-cylinder engine (utilizing four turbos), for a total of 1,500 at-the-ready ponies. In layman’s terms, that means that one can top-end this land rocket at an automatically-governed 261 mph (be reminded that at 140 mph, jetliners achieve takeoff velocity, and that NASCAR vehicles rarely exceed 230 mph). The red light warriors out there will launch from 0-60 in 2.3 seconds, 0-120 in just about 6 seconds flat, and 0-180 in 13 clicks. Just ruminate over those numbers for a moment. In rare instances when drivers can distract attention from the blurring landscape, the Chiron’s interior offers a simply gorgeous center console, with four beautifully machined climate control and other function knobs (works of art on their own), a chilled glovebox for storing a bit of champagne, and a speaker system featuring diamond membrane tweeters. How much is the world’s most incredible supercar? At $2.5 million, it might be a question almost too expensive to ask, but when one is racing a Boeing 737, singular experiences demand a singular entrance fee.

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