Geneva show: Bugatti confirms Chiron

BUGATTI has confirmed it will reveal the world’s fastest and most powerful series production car, the Chiron, at the 2016 Geneva motor show in March.

Although no power or performance figures have been released, the Veyron successor reportedly will pack a jaw-dropping 1100kW of power from a hybrid powertrain capable of propelling the all-wheel-drive behemoth to a theoretical 460km/h – about 30km/h faster than the most powerful version of the Veyron, the 883kW Super Sport.

The Chiron – named after Bugatti’s most successful works racing driver of the 1920s and 1930s, Louis Chiron – is also expected to adopt at least some styling cues from the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo shown at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

Announcing the Geneva debut, Bugatti president Wolfgang Duerheimer promised that the Chiron would top the 10-year-old Veyron in every respect, taking over as “the world’s most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production super sports car”.

“The development brief for the Chiron can be summarised in one sentence and is probably the shortest in the history of the automobile: we want to make the best significantly better,” he said.

“The Chiron will set new standards in every respect. We will continue to produce the world’s most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production super sports car. This is the claim of Bugatti and our customers.”

Mr Duerheimer revealed that the new model has already been shown to valued customers, with more than 100 already placing orders “despite the fact that they have had no opportunity so far to experience the fantastic driving properties of the Chiron”.

“The feedback from our customers concerning the Chiron is outstanding,” he said. “Our order book is steadily filling up.”

Among those allowed a peek at the new car at Bugatti’s headquarters in Molsheim, France, was a descendent of Louis Chiron, Lydie Barre-Chiron.

Monaco-born Louis Chiron was Bugatti’s most successful race driver in its golden era before World War 2, winning almost all of the races in which Bugatti was successful.

Mr Duerheimer said: “The name of the best racing driver and the most successful Bugatti driver of his time for the best super sports car of the present day – that is the ideal combination.”

The media release announcing the vehicle made no mention of a hybrid powertrain for the Chiron, although Martin Winterkorn – the former chairman of Bugatti’s parent company, Volkswagen AG – let the cat out of the bag in an interview with a German publication earlier this year.

European reports suggest a new version of the huge 8.0-litre W16 petrol engine currently used in Veyron will be mated with an electric motor powertrain to give the Chiron its extra wallop.

Bugatti says the Chiron is undergoing final testing, with a number of prototypes on the road “in several continents”.

“No other production super-sportscar of this calibre will be subjected to such a stringent, comprehensive test program,” it says.

There is no mention of right-hand-drive production. If Chiron follows Veyron in this regard, prospective Australian buyers will be out of luck, for road registration at least.