2020 Bugatti Chiron Sport

The Bugatti Chiron is the perfect example of how we’ve normalized automotive greatness. Ever since the Chiron’s predecessor, the Veyron, was introduced, we’re at the point in history that these Bugatti supercars have made reaching just over 400 kilometers per hour (250 mph) some kind of reasonable target speed - impressive, surely, but no longer exceptional. And yet, while other manufacturers and tuners have managed to achieve that number, it’s the manner in which the Bugattis achieve it that still separates them from the pack.

This is a 2020 Bugatti Chiron Sport. Featuring blue carbon fiber weave paneling on the exterior, with a Deep Blue and Grigio interior, it is powered by an 8.0 liter, quad turbocharged, W16 cylinder engine, running its 1,480 hp to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch automated transmission. Swiss registered and built to European specification, it was originally delivered at the factory courtesy of Bugatti Geneva, and has had two owners. With 11,000 kilometers covered, Bugatti performed the last scheduled service in February of 2024. 

The heart of the Chiron would be that incredible engine - the singular 8.0 liter, W16 cylinder configuration, sporting four turbos for one at each cylinder bank, and the ability to breathe deeply enough to produce 1,479 hp (1,105 kW) of power from it - reliably. By itself this number is incredible, but all the more so when compared to the 1,001 hp the first Veyron produced, or the 1,183 hp achieved by the most powerful version of that model, the Super Sport Coupe. Along with all the necessary reliability and cooling requirements that went along with the increase in power, the Chiron’s top speed of 420 kilometers per hour (261 mph) almost seems modest - until you realize that the Chiron is electronically *limited* to that number. Simply put, Bugatti found no tire maker that could find a way to create a tire capable of a speed faster than that without the risk of catastrophic failure - and one can only marvel at what the Chiron could achieve if one wasn’t afraid of exceeding that limit.

With the French origins, the choice of that nation’s racing color blue as the finish for this Chiron Sport is apt. But the details still amaze, starting with the carbon fiber body panels whose fibers are blue, resulting in a surface detail that needs to be seen in person to fully appreciate. The interior of this Chiron was also specified as blue with contrasting grigio accents, where the sculpting of the cabin - and how it divides the two seats with its C-line arch - is a subtle thematic continuity from the exterior that impresses.

The resurrection of the Bugatti brand was notable, but the serious intent behind the brand should have been obvious given who it was that prompted the rebirth - the one and only Ferdinand Piech. As the head of the VW Group at the turn of the century, it quickly became apparent that his publicly stated goal for the VW Group to be the largest manufacturer was not idle talk meant to satiate the concerns of board members. He meant what he said, and also was determined to sell not only the most cars in the world, but also sell the BEST cars in the world - in every category, and at every price.

So when the Veyron concept was first articulated to the public as a real project, and Piech proclaimed with his typical measured intensity that the Veyron would be capable of 250 mph, even people that knew of his singular focus found it scarcely credible. Yet not only was the Veyron able to achieve that speed, it was its ability to repeat and sustain that speed - the consistency and the solidity at that velocity - that made it so breathtaking.

And somehow, while the Veyron immediately established itself as a benchmark, it’s just as incredible that the Chiron has managed to improve upon it so thoroughly. It didn’t require a complete rethink or a different approach. The engineers simply found a way to improve every aspect of the concept and build on the solid foundation laid by the Veyron - more power, more style, more speed, and more refinement of the fastest car in the world.

But either as a work of art or as an engineering triumph, this Chiron manages to stand out, and would be an incredible addition to any collection.