Bugatti christens the Veyron replacement 'Chiron'

Bugatti has confirmed something we already knew: the Veyron’s replacement will be called the Chiron.

And be excited, for it will be revealed in little over three month’s time, making its grand entrance at the Geneva motor show at the beginning of March.

Bugatti claims the Chiron will be “the world’s most powerful, fastest, most luxurious 
and most exclusive production super sports car.” So bet on at least 1,400bhp, a minimum of 270mph, and a still-hefty kerb weight given luxury is high on the agenda.

More than 100 orders have already been received, all from ‘selected customers’ which Bugatti invited to exclusive preview events, none of which involved actually driving the car. The Chiron is currently in its final stages of development, see, a process described as the most stringent and comprehensive of any supercar.

The Veyron had a testing programme so intense that Bugatti infamously lost a shedload of cash on each one. Quite how the Chiron will compare given the VW group’s current state remains to be seen, but president Wolfgang Durheimer claims Bugatti will "make the best signifcantly better".

Curious about 'Chiron'? Like the Veyron, its name pays homage to a famous Bugatti race driver of yore, more specifically Louis Chiron. His antics are pictured in black and white above.

Old Louis was Bugatti’s number one racer from the late 1920s to early 30s, winning a number of races and hillclimbs. Pub trivia fan? He’s the only person born in Monte Carlo to win its signature race, the Monaco Grand Prix. He’s also the oldest driver to compete in an F1 race, driving in his home GP at the age of 56, a whole 25 years after his famous win there.

Will the car live up to his success? With apparently world-beating performance and styling inspired by the Vision GT concept (main images), you’d be a fool to bet against it…