The Chiron Pur Sport. A Bugatti Built For Agility?

The mainstream benchmark for straight-line performance since the Veyron first arrived back in 2005, Bugatti has now thrown a spanner in its established works by presenting the new Chiron Pur Sport, a supercar prioritizing maneuverability over top speed.

No, seriously. Do not adjust your sets.

The Chiron’s stocky kerb weight has been given a kick, dropping 50kg courtesy of new brake discs, new magnesium wheels, and a 3D-printed exhaust pipe made form titanium. Granted it’s not the most stringent of diets, but it’s a start.

Aerodynamically, the Chiron has also received some tweaks, most notably the Pur Sport’s a new front splitter, a larger rear diffuser, and a brand new fixed rear spoiler (losing the hydraulics for the out-going active rear wing alone led to a 10kg weight drop), all for the purposes of more downforce. A specially configured chassis and suspension meanwhile means springs are now stiffer than before, to the tune of 65 per cent at the front and 33 per cent at the rear. or added grip, the Pur Sport also boasts bespoke, ‘Bugatti Sport Cup 2 R’ high-performance tyres. The magnesium wheels they adorn feature aero blades designed to improve airflow down the flanks and ventilation to the brakes. Alongside standard ‘EB’, ‘Motorway’, ‘Handling’ and ‘Sport’, Bugatti has even equipped a new ‘Sport+’ drive mode that significantly reigns in the traction control. Lairy indeed when dealing with 1,500hp.

This is still Bugatti we’re talking about of course, so grunt remains ungodly. Consequently the 8-litre quad-turbocharged W16 at the heart of the Chiron – and to which the ‘16’ on the front grille eludes – is unchanged, as are the 8.0-litre W16 engine generating 1,500hp and 1,600Nm (1,180lb ft) of torque figures.

Up to 80 per cent of the seven-speed automatic transmission though sending that power to all four wheels is different, and now features closer ratios for improved sprint times. Throw in a higher maximum engine speed (up 200 to 6,900rpm), and ironically, the Chiron “yearning for yearns for corners and challenging country roads” now sprint from 60 to 120kph almost two seconds faster than the standard model. Admittedly, the sharpened gear ratios mean the Chiron’s 420kph top speed has now been limited to a positively pedestrian 350kph.

Really? A reduced top speed? How very un-Bugatti!

Now, über limited, wildly expensive supercars tend to be par for the course at the Geneva Motor Show, and this year has been no different with the McLaren 765LT, the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut, the Hispano Suiza Carmen Boulogne, and the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar Roadster all breaking cover. Unsurprisingly, the more agile Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport joins that list, being limited to just 60 examples at a cost of €3 million per piece (plus tax), or around $3.4 million USD.

Ah, now there is the Bugatti we’re familiar with!

*Images courtesy of Bugatti