Taking over the baton.
When the 450th Veyron finally left the factory in Molshiem, France. As Bugatti only create a new model every 10 years, the new chapter must fill the void and then some.
Named after one of the most successful Grand Prix driver from the 1920-30's, the Bugatti Chiron sure beat the Veyron in the engineering game.
Italian racing chassis developer Dallara was recruited to help develop and produce a new monocoque chassis which have the same torsional rigidity of a LMP1 car and weighs 8kg lighter than the Veyron.
The engine and transmission is a brand new engineering juggle of power, weight, and durability. The specification for the engine shares with the predecessor but every component including the block are redesigned to cope with more power and do so for 10-20 years. The turbos are now 69% larger and work sequentially to deliver the new power smoothly with virtually no lag. Despite larger and beefier components, the weight for the new lump remains the same as the old engine achieved by manufacturing certain parts out of composites like the intake manifold. The transmission needs to be redesigned to cope with 1500hp and 1180lb ft of torque and have the largest clutch for any production car.
During development, the engine went through extreme tests such as being ran on a rig while being violently shaken and turned to simulate G-forces the engine would go through during hot laps of the Nurburgring, to insure no oil starvation will occur. The new engine is so powerful, Bugatti had to develop a new engine and chassis dyno to test it which can generate up to 1200 amps of electricity to be fed back to the power grid.
The brakes are enlarged by 20mm compared to the Veyron but weighs a few kilograms lighter using an organic manufacturing method where the carbon is formed in a natural way for crucial areas so less material is needed while optimizing strength. The tires are now slightly wider in the front but slightly narrower in the rear compare to the Veyron for the footprint of the car to be more balanced while ditching the old complex Michelin PAX system meaning tires will be easier and more affordable to source and replace.
All of this wrapped in a new carbon fiber body with the largest single carbon fiber panels ever created for a car, which mixes form follow function designs with elegance that makes the brand instantly recognizable.
With Bugatti, like all auto manufacturers, they always strive to improve year after year. But with a company that made something like the Veyron that was described as the Concorde moment of automobiles. It’s hard to top it. In this case, Bugatti pulled it off and for them its just the beginning.
Its safe to say Grani & Partners is the first to create a 1/64 Bugatti Chiron and probably the only 1/64 Chiron to have opening engine cover. Siku released a Chiron of their own but the scale is more 1/55 than true 1/64.
The casting is fantastic, with Kyosho level of detail. Although one slight improvement I would suggest would be a different color choice. Its hard to spec a Chiron in an ugly color and this champagne with black combo doesn’t look bad, just bland. I personally would prefer a white and blue color combo With several Chirons already delivered to their rightful owners and some have truly breathtaking specifications could be used for good references. But with the diecast have to be self assembled, its easy to take apart and put back together for custom ideas which I’m sure we’ll see some pretty astounding examples on IG.
A little teaser for the next French Friday.