Bugatti Chiron to top 500km/h
French car-maker claims faster version of current hypercar will set new top speed record; also admits first SUV's design is doneBugatti's boss, Stephan Winkelmann, has confirmed that lighter more powerful versions of its current Chiron will one day be capable of cracking 500km/h.
Confirming in an interview with
that the Chiron will be capable of travelling 80km/h faster than the current car's artificially limited 420km/h, Winkelmann said the challenge internally remained finding a tyre partner willing to supply rubber that could cope with hitting 500km/h.As well as confirming more power and less weight for the Chiron, the ex-Lamborghini chief admitted that additional body styles were also being considered, suggesting a follow up to both the Chiron-based Divo and more recent one-off La Voiture Noire.
Winkelmann was careful to point out the 500km/h Chiron would only go ahead if the business case for re-engineering it to hit the 310mph target was sound.
Having ruled out hybrid electric boosting for the current car's 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16, it's thought Bugatti has tasked its engineers with upping power from the standard car's 1103kW and 1600Nm via more traditional methods.
How much power will be needed to achieve the extra 80km/h is unclear.
Instead of phasing the Chiron out in five years, Bugatti's boss also suggested that an interim update could prolong its life cycle. Such a comprehensive update, which could involve re-engineering the carbon-fibre monocoque, could allow Bugatti to offer a roadster version for the first time.
As well as evolving the Chiron, the Bugatti boss also admitted that the car-maker had finished designing its ultra-luxury three-door SUV.
"The design is done", Winkelmann told the US mag, adding: "Some potential customers have seen it, and they liked it."
Despite the progress on the SUV, which is thought to feature an advanced pure-electric powertrain, the Volkswagen Group-owned French car-maker stressed that no budget or decision had yet been made for a production version.
That said, Winkelmann claimed that "one or two" influential senior execs in Wolfsburg had been complimentary about the car, hinting that a green-light for the Bugatti SUV might not be far away.
Claiming it was "too early for an electric hypercar", Winkelmann explained his dramatic U-turn on SUVs was due to "strong demand" and that it was now right for Bugatti because no-one else was offering a high-performance, high-end luxury SUV.
"With the Galibier concept, Bugatti has in 2011 demonstrated that a super-luxury sedan is compatible with our portfolio. But time has moved on, and I’m sceptical that a sedan can generate enough volume in today’s commercial environment. After all, we’re not talking 100 cars a year here, but 600 to 800," explained the Bugatti boss.
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