A select number of motoring journalists were invited by Bugatti's management to test drive the new Chiron in Portugal, but were asked to limit their top speed to "no more than 350 kmph."
The car’s maximum velocity is electronically limited to 420 kmph but getting there is a nerve jangling experience, even for hardened motoring hacks.
The speed is neck-breaking with 0 to 100 kmph in 2.5 seconds, 0 to 200 kmph in 6.5 seconds, 0 to 300 kmph in 13.6 seconds.
Fuel consumption needs careful consideration as at full tilt, the 100 litre tank empties in nine minutes.
The 1,500 horsepower 8.0-litre 16-cylinder engine is given some extra help from four turbochargers and where better to test the Chiron at full throttle but along the quiet lanes of the Alentejo.
The road testing was undertaken by a very limited number of journalists and some private clients. They started in Lisbon and went on to Sintra and Évora but the real fun started on the straight roads of the Alentejo where the police closed off a section of a national road to allow drivers to edge over the national speed limit.
Drivers were informed that the Chiron's maximum speed is limited to 380 kmph, but there is a magic key that unlocks the limiter so the car can reach 420 kmph, which also is limited.
The Bugatti Chiron is a mid-engined, two-seated sports car, designed by Achim Anscheidt, developed as the successor to the Bugatti Veyron. The first generation Chiron was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1, 2016.
Bugatti has shamefully admitted that, with the limiter switched off, the Chiron is only capable of 450 kmph.
Only 500 Chirons will be manufactured by Bugatti, half are sold already, at a price of €2.4 million, before tax.
Here are two videos of the Chiron in action:
https://www.facebook.com/automotorundsport/videos/10155029546013405/
https://www.facebook.com/evomagazine/videos/10158571919900121/
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