Latest news with #ChironSuperSport
Top Gear
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
The kings of speed: five of Top Gear mag's greatest memories in a Bugatti
Advertisement We had 24 hours with a Chiron Super Sport – what would you have done? If your answer is drive at over 200mph on the autobahn and then join a public session at the Nürburgring then great minds think alike. The only spanner in our plan was the sheet rain falling when we arrived at the circuit. I decided to go out in the car anyway with a very wide-eyed Andy Wallace riding shotgun – especially when we snapped sideways and the windows filled with Armco. We managed to stay on the tarmac, barely, and with refrigerated tyres we struggled to keep pace with the diesel BMW 3 Series Compact in front. Head over to the Top Gear YouTube channel and you can watch the whole ordeal in glorious 4K. Advertisement - Page continues below I'm a long way from being a racing driver. But how's this for a list of racing driver excuses? On the day life presented me with the chance to hit 250mph in a Chiron, it was too hot and humid for the W16 to make max power. The US spec petrol was low on octane, the wind was gusting on an active military runway (NASA's Cape Canaveral) that could be closed at any moment. Several runs were postponed. The engine baked in the summer heat. Time at the location was ultra tight. It came down to one attempt, one run, no second chances... and the Super Sport went and did it. A GPS verified 250mph, in worst-case scenario conditions, with a petrified driver. That's how easily a Bugatti hits record speeds. You might like Ollie Marriage: warped speed I'd been going to Bruntingthorpe for years. A solid two miles of cold war runway that knew its time was up. Crumbling surface, weeds on the fringes, broken bits of aeroplane in the bushes. And yet somehow, the best place in the UK to go fast. But not 200mph fast. I'd wrung stuff out there so many times, had cars tapping the 155mph limiter, once had a TVR Tuscan off the dial at 210mph, only for the GPS trace to reveal the truth – 178mph. And then I sent a Veyron down its crusted runway. I remember the sense of rumbling power, the sheer force that kept building and building, and glancing down to see the needle sweep innocuously past 200mph barely beyond the halfway point. Advertisement - Page continues below Tom Ford: eager to police A story well told by now, but a few years ago, I was tasked with picking up the Bugatti Veyron world record car from the factory and driving it across and down the Stelvio Pass. Tough job and all that. But it wasn't the autobahn-in-a-Veyron that turned out to be the focus, even though that's another story entirely. It was the ride I gave to the local Italian carabinieri who'd organised the road closures for TG. The back side of the Stelvio Pass is much more open and we only went for a quick 15 minute blast – but when we got back, the cop got out of the car, kissed the ground and cried. Loudly. We'd been down the – closed – single track road a little too fast for his constitution, apparently. Jason Barlow: blade runner The launch of the Bugatti Veyron was the hot ticket of 2005. Dogged by developmental issues and behind schedule, there were murmurings perhaps it was simply never going to happen. But here it was, at last. I covered it, and recall one of my colleagues – a well-known figure in the car mag world and an awesome driver – being uncharacteristically nervous as we boarded the helicopter that was taking us from Palermo to the venue, a medieval winery near Madonie. He was right to be – we landed safely but on the next flight the pilot misjudged things and the tail rotor clipped a concrete outbuilding. Fortunately no one was hurt. And the car? Well it didn't miss a beat. The drama, it turned out, was elsewhere... See more on Supercars
Top Gear
30-05-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
How to do a 300mph+ top speed run: Bugatti's Andy Wallace reveals his secrets
Supercars Andy Wallace has many Bugatti accolades to his name, here's what the king of speed has taught us Skip 4 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Only one man has blasted past the magical 300mph barrier in a production car, lived to tell the tale and kept his lunch down. Andy Wallace is a titan of top speed runs, a vanquisher of vmax and one of the nicest blokes you'll ever meet. Here's everything he's taught us. 1. Jump to it Suppose you could call this bit 'expect the unexpected' because Ehra-Lessien (the venue for the Chiron Super Sport's 304.8mph record run) was 'repaved halfway round the bit where you do vmax, and there's a join between the new surface and the old bit', Andy explains. 'I was coming back and saying to the engineers 'Oh, the car's quite stable over the jump' and they were getting quite annoyed, saying 'What jump are you on about? It can't be off the ground'. They looked at the data and came back saying 'Oh, you're right – it's a jump'. That was at about 270mph.' Advertisement - Page continues below At 304mph the tearing force acting on the tyre is 7,000kg – three and a half Chirons. The gyroscopic mayhem caused by 4,100rpm wheels locks out the front steering geometry and scrambles the steering's ability to self-centre. Apply too much lock and you might not be able to pull it back straight. To be fair, aeroplanes normally fly at this kind of speed, so you'd expect some unusual handling traits. 3. Fit for purpose The record car was no ordinary Chiron. The Super Sport 300+ Prototype was 250mm longer with a significantly lower ride height to reduce drag. At the rear, the longtail had a reduced cross section (to aid aero and minimise drag), while the rear wing and air brake were removed, replaced with a static unit. You might like The Guinness speed record rules are as follows. The car must achieve the speed in two directions on the same road within 60 minutes, with the average of the two speeds the result. Andy only ran the speed in one direction. Bugatti says the main reason for this is that, after decades of cars pounding over its surface in the clockwise direction, the tarmac structure has rolled that way. Run it in the opposite direction, and you're working against the grain, causing huge heat build up in the tyres. 5. Balance is everything While you want to keep the car on the ground, you can't just throw downforce at it. Downforce means drag, which requires more power, and greater heat through the tyres. What you want is a balance between two tonnes of lift and two tonnes of negative lift (downforce); in essence, four tonnes of force trying to rip the chassis in two. However, if balanced properly, vmax sees merely the static weight of the car keeping it on the ground, reducing tyre load, tyre heat and the chances of a crash. Advertisement - Page continues below Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport '55 1 of 1' Spotted in Dubai
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector One of the rarest Bugattis in existence has surfaced in the United Arab Emirates, as the Chiron Super Sport '55 1 of 1' was recently spotted outside the Kempinski Central Avenue hotel. This ultra-exclusive hypercar, crafted by Bugatti Sur Mesure, was commissioned for a client in the Middle East and is a modern tribute to the iconic 1930 Type 55 Super Sport designed by Jean Bugatti. Originally unveiled last year, the '55 1 of 1' stands apart with a striking yellow-and-black exterior, a color scheme that mirrors the original Type 55. The car also features a hand-applied "55" graphic on the front fenders, a nod to its inspiration. A unique detail is the underside of the rear wing, painted in bright yellow and displaying the number '55', ensuring that even at high speeds, the tribute remains visible. Inside, the Chiron Super Sport maintains its bespoke craftsmanship, with a black leather interior accented by hand-stitched yellow detailing that complements its striking exterior. Every element, from the dashboard to the seats, has been meticulously tailored to match the car's historic theme while preserving Bugatti's signature luxury. Powered by Bugatti's quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine, the Chiron Super Sport produces 1,578 horsepower, making it one of the fastest production cars in the world. With a top speed of 273 mph (440 km/h) and a 0-60 mph sprint in just 2.4 seconds, this bespoke hypercar combines elite performance with automotive artistry. Spotted by @skajll_carspotting, the '55 1 of 1' drew attention from enthusiasts and passersby, reinforcing Dubai's reputation as a hub for hypercars and one-off automotive masterpieces. With such exclusivity and heritage, the Chiron Super Sport '55 1 of 1' stands as a rolling tribute to Bugatti's rich legacy while pushing the boundaries of modern performance. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
