The new hypercar from Bugatti will mark a significant change for the company. Achim Anscheidt, the former head of design at Bugatti, stated that the Chiron replacement will make its debut next year and go into production in 2026.
Most significantly, the next Bugatti substitutes a V-8 hybrid powertrain for the company’s iconic W-16 engine, probably drawing on the electrical know-how of Croatian carmaker Rimac, who joined Bugatti in 2021.
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No car, no matter how special, is free of imperfections. Case in point is the Bugatti Chiron. Regarded as one of the most expensive and powerful cars on earth, the Chiron is considered the epitome of automotive greatness. Today however, that image has been tainted in the form of a recall.
According to an article by Bloomberg, Bugatti Automobiles SAS has informed U.S. auto regulators that it is recalling models of the car due to faulty welds on the front seat recliner bracket. And unlike regular manufacturers, the French automaker isn’t content with notifying customers of the problem via email or calls, instead, they have taken it one step further.
A team of Bugatti personnel will travel to each Chiron owner’s location to pick it up personally. The team will then haul the vehicle in an enclosed truck to one of 12 Bugatti dealers in the U.S. for inspections. There are about 12 of such vehicles in the US, but 47 in total, globally, are affected by this issue.
There’s no word yet on how Bugatti aims to deal with customers outside the US, but we assume that its method, will probably be similar in nature to that executed in the US. At $2.99 million (RM12.20 Million) a pop, owners of the Chiron shouldn’t have to expect anything other than 6 Star level of treatment.
The Chiron is the follow-up model to the mind-bending Veyron, which claimed and held the record for the fastest production car in the world for several years. It is powered by an 8.0-litre W16 quad-turbo engine that produces 1,479bhp and 1,600Nm of torque. The car was the talk of the town until it was recently upstaged by Koniegsegg’s Agera RS with its 0-400-0 km/h feat.
Source: Bloomberg
The general consensus when it comes to purchasing a car is – all of them suffer some form of depreciation. As soon as they are driven off the showroom floor – their values drop. While cars like a Toyota Camry may hold its value for several years, other cars from lesser known marques may loose a whole lot more, rendering them almost unsaleable.
It seems as though a Bugatti Chiron has bucked the trend, with its owner expecting to make a cool £1.1 million (RM6.1 million) over the initial purchase price of £2.5 million (RM13.8 million). The UK based owner has put his car up for sale at specialist supercar dealer Romans International in Surrey for £3.6 million (RM19.9 million).
If this news has you scratching your head, its understandable considering that the car is considered ‘pre-owned’. But this isn’t the main criteria that makes the Chiron extremely valuable. The reason for the price tag – its the most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and the most exclusive production super sports car in the world.
Bugatti will only be making 500 of these cars over the course of the next 10 years, which makes it extremely desirable and valuable to many collectors and billionaires. But this one is extra special due to the options that come with it.
The black Chiron has been fitted with a leather and carbon interior at a cost of £53,000 (RM292,923) and carbon fibre seats for nearly £16,000 (RM88,429). It’s an insane amount of money to spend on a car that has covered only 1,609km since new, just to list it for sale shortly after taking ownership of it.
Speaking of the car’s listing, Tom Jaconelli, Director of Romans International, said, “Although the Chiron is not yet sold out, if you place an order today you will be waiting at least three or four years before the car could be built and delivered, so we are offering the chance to ‘jump the queue’ but of course there is a hefty premium to pay for this privilege.”
The supercar dealership has been in the business of selling exotic vehicles for nearly 20 years and has already sold a Maserati MC12 and a pair of Ferrari LaFerraris. Like the Chiron, these hypercars were also built in extremely low numbers and have commanded hefty asking prices.
Frankfurt played host to some of the more interesting reveals in recent years. A number of automakers brought out some pretty interesting and luxurious offerings. H.R. Owen, a leading luxury vehicle dealership is gearing up to have these vehicles put on sale soon.
The company deals with the world’s most sought-after premium car brands which include Bugatti, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and BAC. Here, were are going to a cover a number of more memorable cars that were unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Bentley Continental GT
The first car worthy of mention is Bentley’s new Continental GT, which sports a smoother and more rounded design, more prominent circular headlights with DRLs and of course an all-new engine. Its an enhanced version of the company’s famous 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 TSI engine that is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Ferrari Portofino
Like Bentley, Ferrari too had something pretty interesting to show us. It launched the Portofino, an entry level Ferrari and a successor to the California T. It’s a drop-top GT that is powered by a 592bhp engine and a E-Diff3 limited-slip differential.
It is supposed to be lighter than its predecessor, and that coupled with a more powerful engine, means that the Portofino requires just 3.5 seconds to get from 0-100km/h, a mere 0.1 seconds slower than the more expensive and sophisticated GTC4 Lusso.
Bugatti Chiron
Bugatti’s main reason for showing up at Frankfurt was to flaunt its Chiron hypercar at its rivals. The Chiron made the news recently for setting a remarkable pace record by accelerating from 0-400km/h and back to a standstill in just 41.96 seconds.
What’s even more remarkable than this is that the Chiron needed only 3.112km to accomplish this feat. It’s an astonishing vehicle both in terms of capability and styling. H.R. Owen’s Bugatti London showroom will have an example on display for order and for the general public to salivate over.
Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster
Last but not least, Lamborghini was there too, primarily for the Aventador S Roadster. Compared to the standard car, the S version has more power and a four-wheel steering system. Though not revolutionary for the time, the Aventador is still one of the most extreme hypercars on sale today.
Unlike Ferrari and McLaren, Lamborghini vehemently believe that naturally aspirated engines still offer the best driving experience one would want. And until it’s no longer economically viable, they will continue to make these amazing non-boosted vehicles for the elite.
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