The first examples of the new, €2,4-million (R34,4-million) Bugatti Chiron are almost on their way to the select few who have placed orders. Seeing that this car was revealed a little over a year ago, one may wonder why delivery takes so long. Bugatti has answered this question, revealing an extensive gallery of its assembly plant in Molsheim, France, in the process.
Bugatti says each Chiron takes an average of six months to build – from the start of production to delivery – at the hands of 20 employees, who assemble the 1 800 individual parts by hand. A series of “stringent acceptance tests” are then applied before the finished product is delivered to the customer.
Once the Chiron has been configured by the customer, Bugatti sources the required materials and parts while the bodyshell is assembled with the monocoque and chassis substructure for the first time to ensure that everything fits together perfectly. Once this is done, the parts are sent in to be painted, which takes about three weeks.
After this, full assembly takes place. Each Chiron goes through 12 different work stations, focusing on things like preparing the engine, chassis, electronics and fluids. The hypercar is then placed on a dyno that can accommodate its 1 103 kW to ensure that the engine is performing optimally.
Due to the sort of power the Chiron delivers, it has to be fastened to the floor with special adapters. The room is also fitted with a special vehicle cooling system as well as pollution control.
The Chiron is then subjected to a series of tests that ensure the reliability of its ABS and ESC system. This takes three hours and covers 60 km. Other stress-testing procedures include drenching the car in a synthesised monsoon rain (to check for leaks) as well as conducting a high-speed test drive over some 300 km.
The finishing touches are then applied, before the Chiron is handed over to the customer. During this lengthy process, Bugatti tries to involve the customer as much as possible and welcomes them to visit the plant. In fact, the customer can even assist the 20 employees in assembling the car if he or she wishes to do so.
