It’s not every day you see a Bugatti Chiron drifting, but to celebrate reaching halfway into production of the Chiron Pur Sport, Bugatti sent a driver in one to smoke some tires. Bugatti released the footage on Thursday.
Focused more on roadability than top speed, the Pur Sport was unveiled and tested in 2020 and entered production towards the end of the year. Bugatti said in a press release that it has now delivered 30 of the planned 60 cars, each with an estimated price tag of about $3.5 million. So far, at least nine Chiron Pur Sports have been delivered to the USA.
To mark the production milestone, Bugatti had its senior development and chassis engineer drift a Pur Sport for the cameras. A short video released by Bugatti shows the driver writing a giant “C” in the pavement, referring to Bugatti’s “C-line”. This is the curve that frames the back of the Chiron’s doors and also houses some of the many radiators and ducts used for engine cooling. According to Bugatti, the design feature should also be reminiscent of classic models such as the Type 57.
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport
The Chiron Pur Sport receives numerous changes over the standard Chiron to make it more track-capable, including increased downforce, increased negative camber, and a 110-pound weight savings over the standard Chiron. Engineers shortened each gear on the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission to bring the ratios 15% closer together. The Pur Sport also wears a model-specific version of the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tire with a softer rubber compound.
Because of the softer tires, increased negative camber, and increased downforce, engineers limited the Pur Sport’s top speed to 217 mph, compared to 261 mph for the standard Chiron. However, the Pur Sport offers quicker acceleration, hitting 62 mph in 2.3 seconds and 124 mph in 5.9 seconds versus 2.4 seconds and 6.1 seconds for the standard Chiron, respectively. Bugatti also claims that the Pur Sport is two seconds faster than the standard Chiron when accelerating from 60 km/h to 75 km/h.
The 8.0-liter quad-turbo W-16 delivers the same 1,480 hp as the standard Chiron, but peak power is 200 rpm higher, between 6,700 rpm and 6,900 rpm. The Pur Sport also has an 8mpg city fuel economy rating, in case you’re wondering.
Fuel-guzzling Bugattis could soon be a thing of the past. The Chiron sold out at the end of 2021 and the remaining 30 Pur Sports will be some of the last examples to be built. With Bugatti now under the stewardship of Croatian electric vehicle company Rimac, future models will likely ditch the W-16 in favor of electric propulsion.