Bugatti: Chiron to make profits as well as break records

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Bob Murray
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The Chiron is going to be the fastest, the best and – perhaps the biggest surprise of all – is going to make money for Bugatti. So says Dr Stefan Brungs, Bugatti’s board member for sales, marketing and customer service. GRR sat down with Stefan in Bugatti’s new London showroom to get his take on the rarified world of ultimate speed, money and luxury…

Bugatti has done more than anyone to develop the super-sports market over the past 10 years but aren’t other high-end companies now muscling into your territory?

Ten years ago we went into a price segment that no one had been in before with a sports car. We delivered a 1,000hp car for a million euros when the Ferrari Enzo cost €620,000. Today there is not really a serial production car over a million – and there’s a big gap between €2.4million (the Chiron’s sticker price) and one million.

Even so many hypercars seem to be coming out now that cost two or three million; are there customers for all of them?

Our experience is that this is really driven by the offer. If you have a great product there is a market for it, whether it is one, two or three million. With new product the market rises and then when the product is gone - when the LaFerraris are all sold or all the Bugattis sold – the market goes down again.

And there are more potential buyers for you now?

The number of billionaires in the world has more than doubled in the past 10 years. We now have 1,800 billionaires globally, and 28 per cent of them are in Europe.

You have 200 orders for the Chiron, are they all existing Bugatti owners?

Half of them are new customers for us. It is great for us to get some fresh people to the brand. The Chiron has done that. In every dimension it is better than the Veyron. We have had 10 years of research and development, 10 years of new materials and new computer technology to put into it. The ride, suspension, power, performance – all are a completely different dimension.

Why choose all black for your demonstrator? Is the two-tone look a bit passé now?

We had a blue car at the world premiere (at the Geneva show this year). And of the first 20 orders for the Chiron, 10 at least are in one form of blue or another. The black car is in a very masculine, sporty, aggressive configuration. The two-tone look is (still) very Bugatti, 70 per cent of the Chirons will be two-tone.

What do you say to people who expect a more innovative drivetrain, with a hybrid element to it?

We have spoken to our customers and they say the 16-cylinder combustion engine is the heart and soul of this car. Our customers really love this engine. They are car collectors and this engine is their choice.

How important is it that you beat your own top speed record?

I think it is important to evolve and be better than you have been in the past. We will beat our (top speed) record. We are planning to do this is 2018. (The record currently stands at 431km/h, 267mph – ed).

So how fast will the Chiron go?

The Chiron is homologated for road use at 420km/h (261mph) but at Ehra Lessien (the VW group test track) it will go faster than that. It is important that the Bugatti is the fastest car in the world. Our goal is always to be the fastest road car. The Chiron is the only car with a speedometer calibrated to 500km/h (310mph). And it is an analogue speedo, a dial with a needle, so you always see it.

Why do you think other companies haven’t chased your top speed? Isn’t the world changing in this regard?

Many have tried. Others are more interested in laptimes. The Chiron is not a track car. Top speed is one dimension of a car only. But if you look at the 100m race, there are always people who want to be faster than anyone else. Fastest is always best.