Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport

There is a time for solid, practical consumer advice. This is not it

- Chris Chilton

ENGINE 7993cc W16, DOHC, 64v, 4-turbos

POWER 1103kW @ 6900rpm

TORQUE 1600Nm @ 2000-6000rpm

0-100KM/H 2.4sec

WEIGHT 1946kg

PRICE $125,000 (approx.)

LIKE: Eye-watering power; retains its manners; improved dynamics; looks

DISLIKE: Road noise; auto can struggle to keep up; not much else, really

YOU MIGHT HAVE read in the news pages in this issue how US supercar maker SSC recently shut down 11km of Nevada highway and then shut down the Bugatti Chiron, pinching the Super Sport 300’s world’s fastest production car record with an insane 533km/h run.

Don’t expect Bugatti to fight back this time. It’s done with top speed records. Now it wants to prove its cars can corner, too, and has revealed the (relatively) lightweight Bolide, a track-only 1245kg supercar based around the Chiron’s engine, but tuned to produce a thumping 1361kW.

And while the grotesquely rich wait with bated breath to see if Bugatti will offer the Bolide for sale, they can occupy themselves in the interim with the next best thing, the Chiron Pur Sport.

The Pur Sport isn’t Bugatti’s first go at a more handling-focused Chiron. In 2018 it released the Chiron Sport, lopping 18kg from the standard car, stiffening the suspension and adding torque vectoring, following it up with the limited-run Divo, a 35kg lighter, re-bodied Chiron, a year later.