$7.9 million Bugatti Divo already sold out

The Bugatti Veyron was fast and expensive, the Bugatti Chiron was faster and more expensive, and now the Bugatti Divo is the most expensive production car in history.

The €5 million ($A7.9m) hypercar, based on the still-fresh Chiron, has already sold out its full allocation of 40 cars to existing Bugatti Chiron customers.

Instead of just raw power, the Bugatti Divo focuses more on agility with more downforce and a 35kg weight reduction over the 1995kg Chiron.

Hence, Bugatti says it slashes eight seconds from its lap time around the Nardo test centre’s 6km handling circuit.

Limited to 380km/h, the Divo can’t quite match its blue body hints to the blue Pirelli sidewalls, but it does boost the Chiron’s lateral (cornering) acceleration up to 1.6g.

The 1125kW quad-turbo W16-powered Divo also benefits from hard-core chassis tuning including revised suspension with a lower ride height, along with visual changes.

“When I took up my position at Bugatti at the beginning of the year, I soon learnt that our customers and fans were waiting for a special vehicle which would tell a further story for the brand in addition to the Chiron,” said Bugatti president Stephan Winkelmann.

“The Bugatti team was also very eager to implement a project like this. We have shifted the balance further toward lateral acceleration, agility and cornering.

“To date, a modern Bugatti has represented a perfect balance between high performance, straight-line dynamics and luxurious comfort.

“Within our possibilities, we have shifted the balance in the case of the Divo further towards lateral acceleration, agility and cornering. The Divo is made for bends.”

Named after France’s dual Targa Florio winner (1928 an 1929), Albert Divo, the Bugatti Divo generates 95kg more downforce at 200km/h than the Chiron, totaling 456kg of anti-lifting help.

It has smaller air intakes to reduce the frontal area and drag of the hypercar, with four independent brake air inlets.

The Bugatti Divo’s 1.83-metre wide spoiler has a 23 per cent larger area than the Chiron’s, delivering both braking and downforce improvements.

It also runs a NACA duct in the roof to optimise its airflow to the engine, while its new adjustable rear spoiler takes lessons from Lamborghini’s Performante program. Not coincidentally, Lamborghini is one of Winkelmann’s former responsibilities.

“The feedback from our customers was overwhelming,” said Winkelmann.

“We showed the Divo to a small group of selected Chiron customers. All 40 cars were sold immediately.”