“The combustion era’s equivalent of Concorde”, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is “farcically expensive”, at £3.5m, yet it’s not “vulgar”, said Vicky Parrott in The Daily Telegraph. The two-door coupé has a top speed of 273mph (restricted), with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, but what makes it “brilliant isn’t just its performance”: it is also the way that performance is delivered. “An assault of mechanical revelry” and “engineering witchcraft and wizardry”, the car is absurdly easy to drive and “weirdly entertaining at normal road speeds”.
“A hypercar like no other,” said Sean Carson in Auto Express, it is capable of 0-62mph in 2.4 seconds, 0-186mph in just 12.1 seconds, and 0-273mph in 28.6 seconds. The 1,578bhp 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine emits “a menacing burble from its vertically stacked exhausts” as you put your foot down. The steering is “perfectly judged”; and for a car that weighs two tonnes it “handles impeccably”. Despite its vast dimensions and its low-slung deep bucket seats, visibility is good. The interior is plush yet understated, with tan leather and titanium finishes, and it is refreshingly free of touchscreens.
At any speed “the Chiron rides firmly, with tremendous body control and precious little roll”, said Matt Prior in Autocar. Traction is “phenomenal”; braking “exceptional”. The Chiron is “absurdly fast”, and yet its greatest achievement isn’t anything to do with the “ludicrous numbers”, it’s the fact that they are achievable in a vehicle that is no more difficult to drive than a regular hatchback. Price: from about £3.5m.
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In pictures: Bugatti Chiron Super Sport
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