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January 2016|TOPCAR.CO.ZA 699RADOVAN VARICAK/MO``````TOR FORECASTIt’ll moveAston’sstyling forwardsUnlike DBS,Virage andVanquishbefore it, DB11 isn’t yet anotherminordevelopment ofthe still-beautiful but long-pensionableDB9.Sothe styling will bea consciousdeparture fromDB9, albeit acareful one.James Bond’s DB 10is, ofcourse,previewingelementsofthe design oncinemascreensworldwide, particularly in thebodysurfacing. ThatSpectre caris oneofthe reasons why the new Astonwill bebadgedDB11, but it’s alsotodenotea stepchangein Aston’sdevelopment. There’s precedenthere: there was never anAstonDB8.When DB9 replaced DB7, itwas justasbeautiful, yet profoundlymore modernandbroader in ability.History repeating? Let’s hopeso.Test mule gives awayDB11’swider track. WeexpectahandlingmasterclassBUGATTI’S BESTcustomers saw the successor to the 430kph VeyronSS – named Chiron– at a preview last July. Its public premierewas inked infor the Geneva show in March 2016. But the 442kph-topping, 1 100-plus kWsupercar is now on hold, the most high-profile, high-performance casualtyof Volkswagen’s cost cuts in the wakeof the dieselgate scandal.You can understand why VWGroupchairman Matthias Müller gotcold feet aboutthe Chiron. Imagine the headlines if VWhad pampereda thrill-seeking elite with a supercar retailing at €2.2 million (+/- R33million), when it had barely rolled up its sleeves correcting the 11 milliondiesel cars running the emissions defeat device.It’s a punishing blow for the Bugatti project, whose world’s fastestcar-goal in 2001 encapsulated the VWcharacter: arrogance, steely determi-nation and engineering excellence. The Chiron was set to follow the Veyronblueprint closely: carbonfibre body structure, four-wheel drive and quad-turbo W16 engine. By revising 70% ofthe parts, the engineers had coaxedanother 220kW from the 8.0-litre W16, pushing it to beyond 1100kW; thedual-clutch transmission was primed to handlenearly 1627Nm of torque.Redeveloped tyres and a modified 4WD system with adaptive torquesplitand torquevectoring reportedly delivered a 2.3sec 0-100kph time. To go for442kph v-max again required a second key tolower the nose, lock the rearairbrake and shut the selectively blocked air intakes.The Chiron includes new design elements. Double-barrel headlights siteye-level with the ba dge on top ofthe horses hoe grille, the roof-mounted airintake scoops are dropped for semi-oval lateral apertures, and the engine ispartly covered by a panel wearing Bugatti’s trademark centre crease.The finished car seduced a double-digit number of clients into signingcontracts and pl edging to pay deposits in two tranches, with the secondtriggering the delivery of the jewel-like speed key as an appetite-whetter.Now the Chiron is on hold. Whether it sees the light of day depends on howquickly VWrestores its reputation.BUGATTI CHIRONTHIS 442KPH PHENOMENONWAS LINED UPTO BE THE 2016SUPERCAR. NOW ITS FUTUREISVERY CLOUDY INDEED...2016 ’s MOST WANTED