Bugatti Chiron Sport Revealed in Geneva: Better Handling, Carbon Fiber Windshield Wipers
Bugatti teaches its Olympic sprinter how to dance.
If you asked us to name one car that definitely did not need a more hardcore version, the 261-mph Bugatti Chiron would be a pretty good answer. In spite of this, Bugatti has unveiled a more hardcore version of its autobahn-demolishing hypercar anyway. Say hello to the (somewhat unimaginatively named) Chiron Sport.
If you expected the Chiron Sport to deliver even more obscene straight-line performance just like the Super Sport did for the Veyron, you'd be mistaken. While the Chiron Sport's power output and acceleration stats remain identical to those of the "base" car, Bugatti has made the Sport a better performer in the corners.
Featuring stiffer springs, a 40-pound weight reduction, Dynamic Torque Vectoring for the rear wheels, reworked steering for the car's Handling mode, and carbon fiber windshield wipers (a production car first, apparently), the Chiron Sport is more nimble and more trackable than the car on which it's based. According to Bugatti, the Sport lapped Italy's Nardò handling circuit a whole five seconds quicker than the vanilla Chiron.
"The Chiron Sport has become perceptibly more nimble and its new agility, especially in tight corners makes for a much more emotional experience for the driver on winding roads and handling circuits," said Bugatti president Stephan Winkelmann, formerly of Audi Sport and Lamborghini.
Apart from the pair of woven wipers—which may be a little hard to spot from a distance—onlookers can distinguish the Sport model from a regular Chiron by the Sport's new wheels and quad-exit exhaust. In terms of color schemes, a black carbon rear-half is paired with a front-half and aluminum "C"-trim painted in either red as seen here, the brand's iconic "French Racing Blue," silver, or gunmetal.
With the regular Chiron costing $3 million on the dot and the Bugatti Chiron Sport's price of $3.26 million all-in, some buyers may have to decide whether the Sport, with its improved handling and freakin' carbon windshield wipers, is worth the price of an entry-level Lamborghini on top of the regular car. Something tells me, however, that most might have the budget for both.