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Geneva 2016: the £1.9m 261mph Bugatti Chiron

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Bugatti has officially unveiled the successor to its legendary Veyron at the Geneva motor show, with a promise that the Chiron will take its predecessor’s speed record.

The French luxury brand describes the Chiron simply as the most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production super sports car in the world.

“The Chiron is very well-positioned to become the next world speed record holder and reach a maximum speed significantly above the record currently held by Bugatti,” the brand says.

It will also be just about the most expensive production car built, with a price tag of £1.9 million. But despite this Bugatti says that around a third of the planned 500-strong production run – 50 more than the Veyron achieved – have already been reserved, potential buyers putting down deposits of at least 200,000 Euros.

The Chiron is evolved from the Vision Gran Turismo concept that debuted at the Frnakfurt Motor Show in September 2015. The all-carbonfibre car is also according to Bugatti a completely new model, not an updated Veyron.

Power comes from a complete redevelopment of the 8.0-litre W16 engine that powered the Veyron, with four new turbochargers added and peak output boosted to 1479bhp – 1500PS. Alongside this maximum torque goes up to 1180lbft, put through an all-wheel-drive transmission.

Bugatti says that the Chiron will accelerate beyond 62mph in less than 2.5 seconds, with its top road speed limited – to 261mph… This is mainly to ensure the tyres can cope with the car’s excessive demands. While the unlimited speed has not been quoted by Bugatti, it is predicted to be at least 285mph.

Only one Chiron will be built a week, with deliveries beginning in the autumn of 2016, meaning that the car could be in production for much of the next decade.

According to Bugatti president Wolfgang Dürheimer, the Chiron is the result of the brand’s efforts to make the best even better. “It is part of human nature to cross boundaries and set new records – to run 100 m faster than ever before, to fly even further into space and to enter new realms, this striving is also our driving force at Bugatti,” Dürheimer says.

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Andrew Charman
Andrew Charman
Andrew is a road test editor for The Car Expert. He is a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and has been testing and writing about new cars for more than 20 years. Today he is well known to senior personnel at the major car manufacturers and attends many new model launches each year.