GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Bugatti counts down to Chiron unveil

Bugatti has published what could be its final tease of its Chiron hypercar ahead of the reveal on Monday at the Geneva motor show.

Look closely and behind the image of the countdown clock there’s a shadowy outline of the production version of the Veyron replacement.

Sadly, it’s a little tricky to make out anything more than just the trademark grille and pair of door mirrors, but look closer and you might just see the centre-line crease that pays homage to the firm’s famous Le Mans race cars of the past.

That same centre line was evident on the Vision GT concept that was shown at last year’s Frankfurt motor show.

That car was described by Bugatti president Wolfgang Durheimer as a “preview” for the Chiron and if you look at both front-end images of the outline of the new tease and compare it with the Vision GT concept that was shown at Frankfurt, they look near identical.

It’s safe to say that what the real Chiron won’t share with the GT Vision is the road-scraping front splitter, wind-cheating winglets, and huge rear wing. The production car is also expected to have different detailing around the front headlamps too.

Little is known about what exactly will power the Chiron, but the safe money is it will get a development of the monster 1118kW, 8.0-litre, W16 quad turbo engine that powered the Veyron, coupled to a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive.

Beneath the skin, the Chiron will also be built around a new carbon-fibre monocoque that will be both lighter and stronger than the former Veyron’s.

Sources say it won’t lose anything in terms of luxury with a highly luxurious cabin that will come with cutting-edge connectivity.

Perhaps difficult to imagine in a world of Tesla sedans that can hit 100km/h in around 3.0 seconds, the new Chiron will, without doubt, redefine what we consider ‘hypercar’ performance.

The all-wheel drive Bugatti is expected to hit 100km/h in less than 2.3 seconds and top out at an incredible 464km/h.

Where the breakthrough in performance is expected to come is through state-of-the-art aerodynamics that offer huge downforce and minimal drag.

Bugatti might also rely on a part-hybrid powertrain and electric turbochargers - the latter most likely resulting from Bugatti’s parent company, the Volkswagen Group, investing heavily in the new technology.

Electric turbochargers, or e-boost, use electric motors to spin up the turbos eliminating lag and offering maximum boost from idle revs.

The Chiron’s unveil was originally thought to be in jeopardy following the Volkswagen’s Dieselgate scandal, when it was thought the Bugatti vanity project might be put on the back burner to save costs.

These rumours eventually forced Bugatti to issue a public statement to confirm the Chiron would still be made and will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show.

The French firm also revealed it already has an order bank of 1000 orders for the Chiron.

Total production for the new Bugatti is expected to be around 500 cars.