Whatever powers this Bugatti, whatever it looks like, whatever wondrous things it’s capable of, we know with absolute certainty that it won’t be the fastest Bugatti and conversely, won’t be close to being in contention for the title of fastest car in the world, as Bugattis always were. Because of course, Bugatti announced in no uncertain terms, that it’d be bowing out of the top speed wars with its 300mph Chiron SuperSport.
Why does that matter? Well, I happen to feel that the uppermost vmax achievable by road cars is the final fantastical frontier in terms of spec sheet appendage waving. Acceleration by stark contrast is the definition of the democratised performance metric.
Where once hypercars blew our minds getting the 0-62mph sprint done in under 4 seconds, as much is achievable today in a mass production Hyundai EV. Going back over the last decade, the amount of dealer-bought, five-figure cars that could scran a Carrera GT to 62mph has ballooned. It’s a pursuit at which one need only throw wide tyres, driven wheels and torque, to get results once the preserve of seven-figure exotica. VW Golf Rs and RS Audis will DSG fart and crash their way from kerb to kerb outside Ace Cafe from a standstill quicker than a Ferrari Enzo. But you try and get any of those cars or their like to 300mph, or even 200. The laws of nature will coalesce much more decisively in defiance.
Until Mr Musk’s vaporware Roadster shows us 0-62 in under two seconds, with a splash of VTOL capability, acceleration figures won’t amaze like they used to and truthfully, they haven't for some time.
Even Nürburgring laps don’t really feel like they have the substance they once did. If you’ve got the power-to-weight ratio, enough downforce, enough tyre and the right geometry, pipping the last pretender to Green Hell glory is almost a formality these days.