Bugatti Chiron Super Sport: We are driving the fastest car in the world

Ettore Bugatti was a visionary. Since 1928 he has offered his customers the opportunity to feel the spirit of the brand and to experience firsthand what a Bugatti is made of, long before other brands offered the possibility of a factory tour or collection. When Bugatti celebrated its rebirth under the leadership of the VW Group in 1998, Ferdinand Piëch reintroduced this tradition. Then as now, the so-called “Molsheim Experience” offers customers – and in this case journalists – an arc of suspense in which the best, in the truest sense of the word, comes at the very end.

So it doesn’t start with the test drive itself, but with a visit to the famous Château St. Jean at the Bugatti company headquarters in Molsheim. None other than Pierre-Henry Raphanel, a former pilot and now official test driver, guides me through an exhibition on the history of the brand, which includes precious artefacts and memorabilia from the Bugatti family. Then we look into the northern depot, where classic vehicles and historic models such as a Tipo 35, Tipo 51 or Tipo 41 Royale Coupé are 6.40 meters long on display. In a guide through the studio – as Bugatti calls production or manufacture – I can watch live behind employees as they assemble, among other things, one of the Bugatti Centodieci, which is limited to just ten pieces. Lunch is eaten in perfect style next to a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport.

Here I meet Andy Wallace, who knows the Chiron like no other and will accompany me on the test drive. The former Le Mans winner and now chief test driver at Bugatti has already driven thousands of kilometers with the Chiron and three years ago was the first person to cross the 300 mph mark in a car of series. He reached the incredible speed of 490.48 km / h on a closed test track in northern Germany.

The Chiron also impresses with superlatives in other respects: eight liters of displacement, 16 cylinders, 1600 hp and as many Newton meters as well as a limited 440 km / h for the road are figures from another world. So that customers can experience the potential of the Chiron only to a limited extent, Bugatti uses various routes around Molsheim that Andy Wallace knows thoroughly: the winding mountain roads of the Vosges are part of it, but also the German motorway on the other side of the Reno and Bugatti can also use Colmar Airport when no private jet is taking off or landing.

That’s why Andy leads the first few meters. And he proves that even half an accelerator is enough to draw 800 hp, more than other super sports cars can reach. After a few minutes the tires have reached 25 degrees – now I can go, change driver! First I press the accelerator carefully, after all the Chiron Super Sport costs 3.8 million euros. Over time I become more and more confident, I enjoy the hiss of turbochargers with each intermediate sprint and how it literally pushes me into the seats. Time flies too fast. Because, as is well known, the best comes at the end, at the end of the day I am not allowed to take my Chiron home like Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylie Jenner, but I can still test all 1600 hp on the last intermediate sprint of the day.