What does a hypercar manufacturer do when begin to be bored of their hypercars only reaching 400 km/h (250 mph)? Yes, that’s right, they build one that almost reaches 500 km/h (310 mph)! Well, to be precise, 490.484 km/h (304.773 mph).
Last year, Bugatti shocked the automotive industry when the Chiron Super Sport 300+ cracked the magical 300mph. It’s the first production car ever to do so. The hypercar’s official top speed is almost 30 mph faster than the previous record of 457.94 km/h (277.9 mph) set by a Koenigsegg Agera RS in 2017.
Like the “regular” Chiron, the Super Sport 300+ is powered by a quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 engine but pumps out 1.600 PS as opposed to 1.500 PS. The other key reason why the Super Sport is so much faster is due to improved aerodynamics. Bugatti decided to extend the tail section of the SS 300+ by a good 25 cm (9.84 inches), which disturbs smooth laminar flow over the car and creates the eddy currents that slow the car. Instead of two centrally positioned hexagonal tailpipes, there are two round tailpipe pairs right and left, arranged one above the other. The hypercar also sits on Michelin tires specially designed and made for the Chiron to be capable of 482 km/h (300 mph); the wheels and tires all need to cope with forces of up to 5,300 g at top speed.
Although Bugatti’s achievement is impressive, it hasn’t obtained a Guinness World Record. According to Bugatti, the track is the main reason why no official record could be achieved because for an official record run, the car would have had to drive in both directions within 60 minutes. In addition, the average of both runs would have been used for the evaluation. In Ehra-Lessien, however, the car is driven almost exclusively clockwise, which has an effect on the asphalt. This means that the tires would have had to work against the ground and would probably have become very hot which would result in incalculable consequences. “The safety of the driver is our top priority,” says Head of Development Stefan Ellrott, which is why Bugatti has left it at a one-way run.
You know what’s crazy about the whole story? Bugatti claims the Chiron SS 300+ could have hit around 515 km/h (320 mph) under the right conditions. Andy Wallace, who was the driver in the record run and former Le Mans winner (1988), has also said the same thing. The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport was still accelerating at the Ehra-Lessien high-speed track in Germany’s Lower Saxony when he finally lifted his foot off the gas.
Molsheim, home of Bugatti, will only produce 30 units of the Super Sport 300+. Each will have a price tag of EUR 3.5 million (VAT not included yet). For some people, paying this amount of money for a car is non-sense but just consider the amount of engineering, sweat and hard work Bugatti put into the project to reach the magical 300mph limit. Only 30 people will be lucky enough to own one and they will become rock stars among car collectors. By the way, the series model will have a speed limit, but it is not yet known exactly what it will be. According to media reports, it can be reversed for an additional charge. In addition, the owners of the hypercar will be granted access to the high-speed track in Ehra-Lessien. Two weeks ago, we had the chance to see the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ at the Supercars Owner Circle Event in Gstaad, Switzerland. Long story short, the car is breathtaking.
We at The Collectors Circle can’t wait till one of our collectors ends up with one of these masterpieces. We promise you to give an exclusive article when the time comes. Stay tuned dear petrol heads.
Summary
Brand:
Bugatti
Model:
Chiron Super Sport 300+
Price:
EUR 3.5 million
Limitation:
Small production batch of only 30 cars
When to drive:
Hard to say for a car that is street legal, but its performance stats beg for a ride on the race track. If you can, rent a private runway for a day and unleash your hypercar power.
What we love about the car:
The fact that the car is the first production car that cracks the 300 mph barrier is just terrific. A record for the history books and that’s what will make the Bugatti SS 300+ always a special car to own.
Photography: TFJJ IG: @tfjj
