Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer has hinted that the automaker will effectively delimit the new Chiron should that be what a customer wants.
Speaking to Car and Driver, Dürheimer said that with the Chiron’s “handling mode” engaged, a top speed of 385 km/h is possible. In this mode, there’s “maximum downforce and easy handling. It reacts like a go-kart,” he said.
But toggling to “top speed” mode raises the limit to the full-fat 420 km/h. Thing is, Dürheimer revealed that this speed governor can also be completely disabled, before adding that Bugatti hasn’t taken the Chiron to its true top speed just yet.
According to Car and Driver, the official top speed run will likely happen only in 2018. However, if Chiron customers wish to exceed the 420 km/h limit before then, Dürheimer hinted that Bugatti will be more than willing to help them to do so.
“We haven’t driven top speed yet, but we hold the world record with the 268 [431 km/h] of the Veyron Supersport, and we know that we can push up the mark significantly with the extra 300 horsepower of the Chiron,” he said.
The Chiron employs a W16, 8,0-litre engine with as many as four turbochargers. Peak power output stands at 1 119 kW, while maximum torque is a claimed 1 600 N.m.
Interestingly, Dürheimer also revealed that Bugatti is already thinking about the Chiron’s successor.
“We are following a sequential pattern. We don’t want to make two model lines, but we are deciding on the product that would succeed the Chiron.”
“We are weighing four strategic alternatives, all of them sensational. One of them is the Galibier,” he said.
Back in 2009, Bugatti unveiled the 16C Galibier, a five-door super-sedan concept.
