It’s not every day that you see a Bugatti Chiron drifting, but to celebrate reaching the halfway point of production of the Chiron Pur Sport, Bugatti sent a driver out in one to smoke some tires. On Thursday, Bugatti released the footage.
Focused more on road-course readiness than top speed, the Pur Sport was unveiled in 2020, underwent testing, and started production toward the end of that year. Bugatti said in a press release that it’s now delivered 30 of the planned 60 cars, which have an estimated price of approximately $3.5 million each. At least nine Chiron Pur Sports have been delivered to the U.S. so far.
To mark the production milestone, Bugatti had its lead development and chassis engineer drift a Pur Sport for the cameras. A short video released by Bugatti shows the driver inscribing a giant “C” in the pavement, referencing the Bugatti “C-line.” That’s the curve framing the rear of the Chiron’s doors, and also housing some of the many radiators and ducts used for engine cooling. The design feature is also meant to recall classic models such as the Type 57, according to Bugatti.
The Chiron Pur Sport gets numerous changes from the standard Chiron to make it more track-capable, including increased downforce, increased negative camber, and a 110-pound weight savings over the standard Chiron. Engineers shortened each gear ratio in the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission to bring the ratios 15% closer together. The Pur Sport also wears a model-specific version of the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tire, with a softer rubber compound.
Because of the softer tires, increased negative camber, and increased downforce, engineers capped the Pur Sport’s top speed at 217 mph, compared to 261 mph for the standard Chiron. The Pur Sport boasts quicker acceleration, though, reaching 62 mph in 2.3 seconds and 124 mph in 5.9 seconds, versus 2.4 seconds and 6.1 seconds, respectively, for the standard Chiron. Bugatti also claims the Pur Sport is two seconds quicker than the standard Chiron when accelerating from 37 mph to 75 mph.
The 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W-16 delivers the same 1,480 hp as the standard Chiron, but the power peak is 200 rpm higher, between 6,700 rpm and 6,900 rpm. The Pur Sport also has an 8 mpg city fuel economy rating, in case you were wondering.
Gas-guzzling Bugattis may soon be a thing of the past, though. The Chiron sold out at the end of 2021, and the remaining 30 Pur Sports will be some of the last examples to be built. With Bugatti now under the stewardship of Croatian EV firm Rimac, future models will likely ditch the W-16 for electric propulsion.
