Behold the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

Welcome to the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport – a 25cm longer, slipperier, lighter and more powerful Chiron that looks… quite familiar, don’t you think? 

Yup, you’ve seen this car before. It looks exactly like the record-breaking long-tail Chiron Andy Wallace used to hit (and exceed) 300mph back in 2019, and the 30 or so roadgoing Chiron “Super Sport 300+” Bugatti said it would build to mark the occasion. 

It’s not immediately clear whether the new Super Sport differs mechanically from the special-edition Super Sport 300+. Doesn’t look like it. 

We’re told that thanks to enlarged turbochargers and modifications made to the oil pump(s) and cylinder head, the Super Sport’s 8.0-litre W16 makes 1,578bhp – same as the 300+. It has a higher redline than a normal Chiron, up 300rpm to 7,100rpm, and a broader spread of torque, too. Seventh gear is 3.6 per cent longer. 

0-124mph (0-200km/h) takes 5.8 seconds, while 0-186mph (0-300km/h) takes 12.1 seconds. Bugatti doesn’t say how quickly the Super Sport accelerates from 0-248mph (0-400km/h) – only that it’s seven per cent quicker than a normal Chiron. The Super Sport’s top speed is “up to 273mph” – again, just like the 300+. 

The Super Sport gets new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres that can “consistently drive at up to 500km/h” (311mph), as well as specially tuned steering and suspension. Stephan Winkelmann, Bugatti’s President, says the Super Sport is “the ultimate grand tourer” – if you like corners, buy a Chiron Pur Sport instead.

Overall the Super Sport’s body is 25cm longer than a normal Chiron’s. The exhausts have been relocated to give the diffuser more room to do its thing, and there are a load of other little aero tweaks to help the Super Sport cleave more cleanly through the air at exceptionally high speeds. Check out the holes in the front wings that release pressure from the wheel arches - a nod to the EB110. 

The wheels are new and exclusive to the Super Sport, but you can have the Pur Sport’s magnesium wheels instead if you so wish. 

Price? €3.2million – or £2.75million – before options. Or, we bet, tax. Still, significantly cheaper than the £4.2million 300+. Deliveries start early next year.