Car and Driver - USA (2019-12)

SPEED THRILLS

The 300 Club

How Bugatti finally broke through the
300-mph barrier.

Ever since the Bugatti Chiron arrived
with the claim of a 26 1-mph governor,
we’ve been dying to know how fast it could go
\ßYRNU.[Q[\daUN[Xa\/bTNaaVdRQ\
6[.bTbaaURO_N[Qa\\XN²[RN_]_\QbPaV\[³ Chiron prototype to the Ehra-Lessien proving T_\b[QV[4R_ZN[fN[QUVa !$$ Z]UAUR PN__R^bV_RQ\ZRZ\QV¼PNaV[a\O_RNX  dUVPUdRμcR\baYV[RQUR_R/bTNaaVV[\d
celebrating this feat by selling a 30 -unit run
of a special-edition Chiron, called the Chiron
Super Sport 300+, with some of the same mods
aUNaa\XaUR]\a\af]Ra\ Z]U0`a,
.UNVb[QR_ &ZVYYV[—Mike Duff

How does Wallace

feel about

breaking the

300-mph barrier

in a road car?

“It’s pretty

bloody cool.”

Bugatti extended the bodywork by

10 inches to improve aerodynamics.

The record car also has a lower ride

height for reduced drag, a taller

top gear, and a full roll cage.

The quad

exhaust has been

divided into two sets of

vertically stacked pipes

(versus four across) to

minimize the effect that

exhaust has on aero.

The idea was to create neither lift nor downforce, but veteran

racer Andy Wallace explains there were still huge forces in

play. “It doesn’t mean the air is having no effect; it means that

there are close to 2000 kilograms [4440 pounds] on the top

surface of the body trying to pick the car up off the ground and

another 2000 kilos under the car trying to pull it back down.”

At 304.773 mph, the

prototype covers 447

feet every second—

or a mile every

12 seconds—and

each custom-made

Michelin rotates

at 4100 rpm.

Take that, LPs!

CHIRON

CHIRON SUPER

SPORT 300+

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ILLUSTRATION BY BRYAN CHRISTIE DESIGN