2006 Bugatti Veyron. 980 Miles. Black/red Black Interior. San Diego on 2040-cars

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Bugatti is planning several additional variants of the Chiron

Bugatti confirmed it's done trying to build the fastest car in the world, but that doesn't mean it will shift its focus away from performance. The company's chief executive confirmed additional high-performance variants of the Chiron are on the way, and they'll each explore different ways to go fast. Speaking with Roadshow, Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann admitted putting such a big emphasis on top speed was a mistake. "If you look back at the 1920s and the 1930s, Ettore Bugatti has never done only top speed," he pointed out. "Performance is not just going straight and going very fast." Bugatti started moving way from jaw-dropping top speed figures when it introduced the Divo, a Chiron-based model developed with handling in mind, in 2018. Looking ahead, the company will continue to release different variants of the Chiron developed to excel in other performance realms. That seemingly means the 304-mph Chiron Super Sport 300+ will remain the company's fastest car. While he stopped short of laying out the company's product plan, Winkelmann outlined a variant with an impressive power-to-weight ratio, and one that puts an unprecedented priority on handling. There will be others, too; he predicted the Chiron's basic platform can soldier on until about 2025, though production is strictly limited to 500 examples, and a good chunk of the run has already been claimed. Bugatti has time to figure out which direction the Chiron's successor should go in. In the meantime, its research and development department has already started thinking about a second model that will, in Winkelmann's words, be a different type of car. While rumors point to an SUV, he hinted the model could arrive as a "two-plus-two for daily use, with more room and more luggage compartment," and it might receive some form of electrification to keep fuel economy and emissions in check.

Bugatti confirms new Chiron to debut in Geneva

Few followup acts have ever been as highly anticipated as the successor to the Bugatti Veyron, but the wait will be over in a few months. Bugatti confirmed Monday that the new supercar will be called the Chiron, and it will debut next year at the Geneva Motor Show. Bugatti did not announce specifications, though the Chiron is sure to be a technical tour-de-force and a world-beating supercar. It is widely expected to further evolve the package developed for the Veyron. That will center around the 8.0-liter W16 engine, this time expected to use electric turbochargers for a mild hybrid setup, little to no turbo lag, and an output anticipated to approach 1,500 horsepower. Combined with lower weight (thanks in part to the more widespread use of carbon fiber), all that muscle is tipped to rocket the Chiron to 62 in less than 2.5 seconds and on to a top speed of around 288 miles per hour. All the automaker will confirm at the moment, however, is that the "Bugatti Chiron will be the world's most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production super sports car." Expect the design to closely mirror that of the company's Vision Gran Turismo concept, albeit in a more elegant and less racy form. The lines are anticipated to be dominated by the semi-circular curve encompassing the main rear vent and the trailing edge of the greenhouse. The front end will be more angular with sharper headlights, but still dominated by the signature horseshoe-shaped front grille. As for the name, Bugatti has – as expected – drawn once again from its illustrious pre-war racing history to name the supercar after one of its most legendary gentleman drivers. Louis Chiron remains the only Monegasque driver ever to win the Monaco Grand Prix, counting it among his numerous career victories. Those included more grands prix before and after World War II, as well as the Spa 24 Hours and the Monte Carlo Rally. Bugatti previously applied his name to the 18/3 Chiron concept that previewed the Veyron with an even larger 18-cylinder engine at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1999. It only strikes us as fitting, then, that the name now be resurrected for the Veyron's successor. Read more about Louis Chiron's life and career – including an interview with his descendant and biographer Lydie Barre-Chiron – in the press release below, accompanied by the images in the gallery above.

Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon puts a mini W16 engine in motion inside a watch

In early 2019, Bugatti ended its 15-year watch partnership with Swiss watchmaker Parmigiani Fleurier and inaugurated a new collaboration with New York watchmaker and jeweler Jacob & Co. — the latter firm once known for helping define the bling-bling era in American music. When announcing the new tie-up at the global timepiece showcase Baselworld in March last year, Jacob debuted two new limited-edition watches, both based on extant Jacob models. The $545,000 Twin Turbo Furious Bugatti Edition reworked the watchmaker's Twin Turbo Furious timepiece, and the $37,000 Bugatti Chrono Edition Limitee 100 Ans celebrated Bugatti's 110th anniversary and was based off Jacob's Epic X Chrono. Yet, as the partnership promised to push "the limits of what seems mechanically possible," a new and incredible watch would be needed, so Jacob spent a year developing this, the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon. Behind its sapphire crystal there's an automaton suspended inside the case mimicking the movement of the Chiron's W16 engine.               View this post on Instagram                   [Sound On] Capturing the #Chiron. Ever since the first automobiles competed for the fastest laps and times, watches and cars have been inexorably linked. Car aficionados love watches, reveling in the mechanical precision, beauty, and performance of both. But watches could never capture the feel, energy, and power of a high-performance car engine.? ?? That is... until today. Introducing the new Bugatti Chiron 16 Cylinder Tourbillon from @jacobandco. #jacobandcochiron? .? .? .? .? .? .? .? .? #jacobandco #jacobandcowatches #hautehorlogerie #hautehorology #inspiredbytheimpossible #bugatti #bugattichiron A post shared by Jacob & Co. (@jacobandco) on Apr 8, 2020 at 7:59am PDT The animated engine serves no timekeeping purpose, it's there for show — and it's quite the show. Pressing the pusher crown at the base of the case sets the engine in motion for about 20 seconds; a stainless steel crankshaft milled from a single ingot pushes stainless con-rods and pistons inside a sapphire crystal block, and two spinning turbochargers can be viewed through a window on the side of the case. After three runs, the engine's barrel needs to be recharged by turning the center crown counterclockwise, then it's ready for another three goes.