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Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport is lighter, sportier and able to drift

The latest Chiron variant is limited to only 60 units at $3.3 million a pop.

Daniel Golson Former social media editor
3 min read
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Yeah, we're into this.

Bugatti

If Bugatti's latest creation just looks like a Chiron with a bodykit to you, well, that's because it basically is. The Chiron Pur Sport has been designed to be sharper and more engaging to drive on twisty roads, and if that also sounds familiar to you, well, that's because it kinda is. In 2018 Bugatti unveiled the Divo, which was based on the Chiron and was also focused on being better to drive when the going gets corner-y.

So why also create the Pur Sport? Well, for one, the Divo carried a $6 million price tag and it sold out before it was even unveiled. Bugatti president Stephen Winkelmann says customers wanted a car that "is geared even more towards agility and dynamic cornering," saying the Pur Sport "yearns for country roads with as many bends as possible." I'm sure it does!

Power and torque from the quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 engine is unchanged at 1,500 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque, but the engine redline has been increased to a max of 6,900 rpm. The Pur Sport has also been fitted with a revamped transmission (80% of it is new) with gear ratios that are 15% closer together, and Bugatti says the car will accelerate from 37 mph to 75 mph in 4.4 seconds, two seconds quicker than the standard Chiron. Top speed is down to a measly 217 mph thanks to the new gearbox and different aero package.

The Pur Sport's front end is reminiscent of the Super Sport 300+'s with larger air intakes, a bigger horseshoe grille and vents at the top of the fenders. At the rear is a large wing in place of the regular Chiron's active unit, stretching some 6 feet across, but Bugatti doesn't say exactly how much downforce it produces. The whole rear bumper and diffuser is new, housing dual oval exhaust tips made from 3D-printed titanium. A new two-tone paint scheme with the lower third of the car finished in carbon fiber is an option, and a carbon-fiber stripe runs from the nose to the engine compartment, getting wider as it reaches the end of the car.

Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport

Everyone knows a car isn't sporty unless it has an Alcantara interior.

Bugatti

Alcantara suede covers nearly every surface of the interior, and all of the controls are finished black and made from titanium or anodized aluminum. The material on the seats and steering wheel is said to be sufficiently grippy even at "extreme lateral acceleration." There's some really cool color-contrasting patterns in the seat stitching and door panels, the latter of which have been laser-etched.

Yet again Michelin worked with Bugatti to develop a custom tire, with the Pur Sport's called the Bugatti Sport Cup 2 R. Bugatti says the tires, which are sized 285/30R20 up front and 355/25R21 at the rear, improve lateral acceleration by 10% as well as cornering speed. The rubber wraps around new magnesium wheels with an absolutely fabulous aero-disc design that are 35 pounds lighter than the standard Chiron's wheels and actually improve airflow and brake ventilation.

Weight is down by 110 pounds in total, 22 of which come from ditching of the Chiron's hydraulic spoiler mounts and actuators. Titanium brake pads shed a further 4.4 pounds while different brake discs are 2.2 pounds lighter. Along with the new wheels, that results in an unsprung weight reduction of 42 pounds. 110 pounds might not seem impressive in the grand scheme of Bugattis, as the normal Chiron weighs around 4,400 pounds, but it should still be enough to notice.

The Pur Sport also gets its own chassis setup with way stiffer springs, more negative camber, new adaptive damper tuning, carbon-fiber roll bars, and a lower ride height. In addition to the Chiron's existing drive modes, the Pur Sport has its own Sport+ mode that has less traction-control involvement in the dry, allowing for actual drifts. Hell yeah.

Bugatti will only build 60 Pur Sports -- 20 more than the production run for the Divo -- with production starting in the second half of 2020. The Pur Sport will cost around $3.3 million, a few hundred thousand dollars more than the entry price for a "regular" Chiron. Winkelmann says the Pur Sport will "make your heart race shortly after having started the engine," so if you're rich and that sounds appealing, you'd better get your order in soon.

Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport has a really big wing

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