Geneva motor show: Bugatti’s Chiron packs 1,500hp punch

One of the Geneva 2016's stars has been officially revealed the night before the motor show opens. The Bugatti Chiron, named for famed pre-war racing driver Louis Chiron, has basically confirmed every rumour we'd heard about it - it does indeed have 1,500hp from its four-turbo 8.0-litre 16-cylinder engine, it will accelerate from 0-100kmh in just under 2.5secs and will run on to a top speed of 420kmh. Assuming you own your own stretch of private Autobahn.

That's a massive 500hp more than its predecessor (or an whole Jaguar XF-R if you prefer) with a scarcely-believable 1,600Nm of torque on tap from 2,000rpm.

Thanks to a dual-clutch transmission and a four-wheel-drive system controlled by a series of multi-plate clutches, it’s no featherweight. While many car makers have turned to exotic materials to trim the weight of their performance models, even full-carbon-fibre construction can’t prevent the Chiron from tipping the scales at near-as-makes-no-difference two-tonnes.

Hilariously, it has a 'Drift Mode.' While Bugatti's engineers have notably failed to name-check the Ford Focus RS in the car's press notes, but there is indeed a setting that transfers power around the four wheels to make the car more exciting to drive.

The adaptive suspension and drivetrain will have five modes - Lift (for speed bumps and car park ramps), Auto, Autobahn, Handling and Top Speed. As with the Veyron, Top Speed mode requires a separate key to engage. To make the car easier to handle at lower speeds, the turbos operate sequentially - two start the puffing, with the other two joining in as more power is required.

The brakes are enormous 420mm front and 400mm rear carbon-ceramic discs with eight-pot (front) and six-pot (rear) callipers. Bugatti claims that they’ll stop the car from 100kmh in just 31-metres, or two car lengths.

Stylistically, the car clearly owes much to both the Veyron and the Gran Turismo concept shown last year. The overall silhouette is clearly the same as the Veyron’s but there are detail changes - the iconic Bugatti horseshoe grille is more upright, the LED headlights are narrower and wider, and there is a distinctive carbon-fibre ‘spine’ running across the top of the exposed engine bay, which is supposedly an homage to the classic Bugatti Type-57 Atlantique coupe.

Will it make any money though? Famously, the Veyron lost millions for the VW Group on every car sold, but was written off as an engineering exercise which would benefit the group as a whole. Now though? Times are far tougher at VW, and every car and brand must start cutting costs and maximising profits to bring VW through its diesel-gate tribulations. The Chiron’s profits or losses will doubtless be lost amidst some clever accounting (and the fact that the car still exists at all is down to the fact that its engineering and development costs were paid before the breaking of the emissions scandal) but there’s no getting away from the fact that it costs double what the Veyron cost - €2.4-million before local taxes.

There could be profit though - after all, much of the engineering work originally carried out on the Veyron has transferred to the Chiron, and although the engine has been altered, its core is the same.

Presenting the car, Bugatti boss Wolfgang Durheimer said "The Chiron is the quintessential ultimate super sports car: ultra-modern, incredibly fast, agile and powerful with a stylistically demanding design and the highest possible levels of comfort. This combination is not offered by any other market player and gives Bugatti its unique market position. Our customers form an exclusive group of automobile collectors who are searching for the very best. With the Veyron, they have the best production sports car of the past 10 years. This is why their demands and expectations for our next step, the Chiron, were so high. With the Chiron we will not only be providing a key emotional element for the image of the Volkswagen Group but will also be making a positive contribution to Group results."

Interestingly, Bugatti is hinting that the 420kmh top speed might not be the ultimate ceiling for the Chiron. With special editions of the Veyron punching through the 400kmh barrier, could a developed Chrion eventually break 450, or even 460kmh?