The Chiron’s as Good as it Gets for Non-Hybrids

Mark it on your calendars, folks. We’ve reached the peak of what purely mechanical road cars can do. Or at least how Bugatti’s CEO feels.

And credit where it’s due, his company’s Chiron is a fairly impressive thing. With nearly 1,500 hp, more than 1,100 lb-ft of torque coming from a mighty 8.0-liter, 16-cylinder, W-shaped engine, and a top-speed that’s still unknown (but could someday, maybe reach 300 mph if tire technology catches up) there can be no doubt that the Chiron is on the cutting edge of automotive engineering.

So improbable are its performance numbers that CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer feels they can’t be beaten by anything without the assistance of electricity. Speaking to Autocar, he recently said that Bugatti would have to follow other supercar manufacturers and turn to hybrid technology to improve upon the Chiron.

“[There] will probably never be a car with the pure mechanical capabilities of the Chiron,” Dürheimer told Autocar. “The next car is a long way from being developed, but the way battery and electric motor technology is moving on – as well as regulations – it seems certain that the next car will be electrified in some way.”

Durheimer added, though, that a pure electric Bugatti is still not on the table. That leaves a hybrid system that could be anything from an electric turbocharger to a fully electric sub-motor, like those in the LaFerrari and McLaren P1.

Given the Chiron’s somewhat portly proportions (weighing in at just under 2,000 kg or nearly 4,400 lbs) and Bugatti’s eagerness to reign as many horses as possible, the second option seems like it would at least be a good fit.

Whatever the case, Bugatti is in no hurry to decide, as the Chiron is expected to hang around for eight years.

[source: Autocar]

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