Beasts of Bugatti

Persbericht

Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+

Thanks to Koenigsegg, Bugatti launched the Super Sport 300+, because the French carmaker no longer offered the fastest hypercar on the market. The Swedish sports car manufacturer had snatched the speed record. That was reason enough for Bugatti to attempt a new record run. Driver Andy Wallace clocked no less than 490.4837 km/h in a modified Chiron. The test car formed the basis for the Super Sport 300+, recognizable by a 25 cm longer rear section and the addition of air vents. The name refers to the achieved speed in miles per hour, 300 and a bit. The road-going version of the Chiron Super Sport 300+ - built in a limited run of 30 units - has an electronically limited top speed of 440 km/h.

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse WRC

With a no less than limited top speed of 375 km/h, the Veyron Grand Sport was already the fastest open car in the world, but the Bugatti engineers took on the challenge of breaking through the 400 km/h barrier. The technicians installed the 1200 hp version of the W16 engine in the rear and made further technical adjustments. During official measurements, the open two seater reached 408.84 km/h. The more powerful version was released as the Vitesse, with eight units built as a World Record Car edition (WRC), as shown here. The color scheme was the same as the record car, only the top speed was even higher: 410 km/h!

Lamborghini Diablo W16

At first glance a Lamborghini Diablo, and that is what it is. Until you look at the car in detail. Many parts are not quite right. This is the test vehicle for the development of the W16 engine. The power unit is mounted centrally in the architecture. During development there was already an engine block, but no car yet. Since Lamborghini and Bugatti were sister brands, the development department took the Italian flagship model. The rear end has been raised and the left rear light is missing to make room for a radiator. Incidentally, the first design studio models of the Veyron were also built on the basis of the Diablo.

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Bernar Venet

Originally the Veyron was only planned as a coupe, but the design department soon started looking at an open version. The Barchetta without a roof and with a small windscreen remained a paper dream, while the version with a removable roof panel did reach production. Originally planned as a limited edition of 50 units, Bugatti built 150 to recoup development costs. You leave the central roof panel at home. If it unexpectedly starts to rain, there is an umbrella that connects to the window frame and roll bars. The most expensive version left the Atelier in Molsheim as the Bernar Venet. The French artist of the same name expressed his passion for mathematical equations and scientific treatises in a three dimensional form in the shape of the open version dubbed the Grand Sport.

Bugatti Veyron Prototype I

The first and therefore oldest Bugatti Veyron 16.4. Meet Prototype 1, in which the W16 was first packaged in a Veyron body. The body design was not yet final, as later became clear, because the outlet opening behind the front wheel is not present on the production model. After numerous setbacks, such as cooling problems and disappointing test results, the design department refined the bodywork. Two years later, test sessions began with a modified prototype, after which it took another two years - in 2005, to be precise - before production started.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4

Named after former test driver and racing driver from the 1930s and 40s, Pierre Veyron, the Veyron appeared in 2005. Bugatti outclassed everyone. The sports coupe was the first production car with an output of 1001 hp, a top speed of more than 400 km/h and a price of more than one million euros (excl. taxes). It resulted in a new term, the hypercar. The entire development process cost the company so much money that they only wanted to build a small number of cars to limit additional expenses. In the end, Bugatti opted for a limited run of 300 units.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

The aim was to extract 1000 hp from the 8.0 W16 engine, but during the first dyno sessions the power unit squeezed out more than 1200 hp. Bugatti reduced the output for the Veyron 16.4 to 1001 hp. In 2010 the Super Sport version appeared with 1200 hp after all. Speed tests showed that the top model recorded 427.933 km/h and - in the opposite direction - 434.211 km/h. The average speed of 431.072 km/h became an official Guinness World Record! The road version, also with larger turbos, was limited to 'only' 415 km/h.

Bugatti Chiron

The Chiron appeared as the successor to the Veyron. Like its predecessor, it was named after a former Bugatti racing driver. After its sports cars, the French carmaker wanted to launch a luxurious sports saloon, but due to a design error the project was cancelled. As an alternative, another hypercar was created. With the completely new Chiron, which had a development time of four years, Bugatti once again shifted the boundaries. This time, the four driven wheels had to handle 1500 hp from the 8.0 W16 engine with four turbochargers. Bugatti built the Chiron in a limited run of 500 units and only as a coupe.

Bugatti W16 Mistral

The official line was that it was not technically feasible to make an open version of the Chiron. Bugatti did not add the remark that it could be done at any cost. When it turned out that enthusiasts were willing to pay five million (ex. VAT/BPM) without batting an eye, the Mistral was born. This open sibling of the Chiron has a removable roof panel that only fits on top of the car, not inside it. It only arrived after production of the last Chiron had stopped. Bugatti built 99 units. It was supposed to mark the end of the W16 engine. That turned out not to be the case. Based on the Mistral, Bugatti developed two one offs, the Brouillard and the FKP Hommage.

The faces from the campaign

For the campaign, real people stood in front of the camera, exposed to wind speeds of more than 400 km/h. The result is a series of powerful portraits in which skin, lips and eyes visibly respond to speed. No AI or digital distortion, but real photography, real people and real wind.

Overview Beasts of Bugatti at the Louwman Museum

The Bugatti W16 engine in the Louwman Museum

Director Ronald Kooyman at the Beasts of Bugatti