Those who caught the newest episode of Top Gear this week definitely witnessed Chris Harris — “The Monkey” — heading to Dubai, where the wealthy gather, to test drive a gold-plated Chiron. The second half also featured a race across the UAE, with The Monkey driving the Chiron and Matt behind the wheel.
Without giving away too many spoilers, after a lackluster previous season, Top Gear is finally hitting its stride again. I’m sure many viewers, like me, felt just one thing after watching: pure thrill.
And of course, the most thrilling part had to be Chris Harris himself, who floored it on an airstrip in Dubai, pushing speeds close to 400 km/h.
Even Chris Harris, who has driven Bentley GT3 cars at Le Mans, was left stunned by the acceleration from 1500 horsepower: absolutely speechless.
Chris Harris made a very clear and agreeable point: the 2005 Bugatti Veyron essentially ushered in the hypercar era. Without the Veyron, there would be no “Holy Trinity” of supercars, nor today’s Aston Martin & Red Bull Valkyrie.
Many people don’t get the appeal of the Veyron: it’s insanely expensive, not particularly good-looking (its bulky roundness isn’t for everyone), and aside from speed, doesn’t have many other virtues. But that’s precisely the point of the Veyron: it’s fast, and it feels effortlessly so. Cruising at 20 km/h through city traffic is comfortable, but once you leave the urban area and floor it, glance down — the needle’s already at 200 km/h.
The Veyron’s successor, the Chiron, has received widespread acclaim from major international media, especially from evo magazine and MotorTrend. When I first saw the Chiron at the Geneva Motor Show last year, its sleek yet refined design struck me as one of the best examples in recent years — aside from Pagani — of seamlessly blending industrial precision with artistic beauty, all in the name of speed, and at any cost.
This kind of brutal beauty — calling it just “thrilling” isn’t enough. It’s downright rogue.
What I want to talk about today isn’t the test car in Dubai, but rather the silver prototype parked in the Top Gear studio — essentially a production-ready model.
The Chiron’s design brings a sense of tension and drama that the Veyron never had. Its body lines are more refined, with slight increases in all three dimensions, though the wheelbase has grown by just 1 millimeter.
The long fin-like design that splits the roof in half pays homage to the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic — perhaps the only “retro” element on the entire car.
The boomerang-shaped C-pillars separate the cabin from the engine, and can be crafted from any material based on customer preference. The carbon fiber chassis of the Chiron is designed to withstand torque rigidity of up to 50,000 Nm per degree of directional change — on par with top-tier LMP1 racers from Le Mans, like the dominant Audi V10 TDI cars from a couple of years back.
Whether influenced by corporate siblings Audi and Lamborghini or simply following trends, the Chiron’s center console, like the latest TT, R8, and Huracán, ditches the central screen. Amidst the abundance of leather and metal, it subtly exudes a restrained sense of luxury. The dial located below the left side of the steering wheel, inspired by Porsche’s 918, allows switching between four modes via rotation: Comfort, Autobahn, Handling, and Top Speed. The Top Speed mode, much like the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, requires a separate key to unlock. Once activated, the maximum speed is capped at 420 km/h.
That’s right — limited to 420 km/h, because that’s nowhere near the Chiron’s true limit.
The engine retains the Veyron’s W16, 8.0-liter, 4-turbo setup. But the Chiron features two stages of boost pressure. Below 3800 rpm, to avoid turbo lag, only two turbos are active. After 3800 rpm, the other two kick in, resulting in a massive 1600 Nm torque plateau between 2000-6000 rpm.
The taillights illuminate with a dazzling effect reminiscent of TRON. The large active rear spoiler adjusts its angle depending on the mode, automatically rising once the speed exceeds 180 km/h.
Balancing aerodynamics and cooling systems is absolutely critical for a car like the Chiron. The vehicle houses 10 radiators, circulating 60,000 liters of water per minute to cool the engine. Drink 5 liters of water a day? It circulates that amount in just one minute. I’d have to drink nonstop for a year and a month to match that.
As The Monkey mentioned in the episode, Michelin developed special tires exclusively for the Chiron — standard Pilot Sport Cup 2s just couldn’t handle that level of brutality. Since Michelin lacks a track capable of 400 km/h speeds, they conducted max-speed tests right on their own airstrip.
At 400 km/h, every gram of rubber on each Chiron tire is subjected to a crushing centrifugal force of up to 3800G.
Like the Veyron, production is limited to 500 units globally, with 200 already sold. The first batch deliveries have begun. Aside from the limited numbers, both the Chiron and Veyron feature full carbon fiber exteriors. The final polishing gives the car a refined look while creating a sense of ceremonial luxury that spares no expense in materials and structure. Of course, this sense of ceremony doesn’t come cheap — the starting price is €2.4 million, excluding tax. Want better specs, more customization, or unique paint? Sure, just fork out a few hundred thousand euros more, at least.
Chris Harris noted that the average Chiron owner owns 42 cars, 1.5 yachts, and 1.6 helicopters. This car will almost certainly be the fastest in their garage.
The bionic-structured brakes are forged from alloy, with carbon-ceramic brake pads to prevent heat fade. The front brakes feature eight titanium pistons, while the rear have six. The front wheels measure an astonishing 42 cm in diameter, while the rears are 40 cm.
The 285/30 and 355/25 tires on the front and rear provide relative stability, though they can’t stop The Monkey from drifting on the track. After all, the AWD system leans slightly toward RWD. The Chiron can’t achieve a true 50:50 front-rear torque split — it can only send up to 30% of torque to the front wheels.
The Bugatti emblem on the front is crafted from solid silver and enamel, contributing a mere 155g to the car’s 1995 kg overall weight.
I think the most absurd thing about this car isn’t the price, the horsepower, or the meticulous handcraftsmanship — it’s that the top speed is capped at 420 km/h. Absurd, yet undeniably exhilarating. It’s a pseudo-limit imposed by the electronic system. The real question is: how much does your courage limit you? How fast can you go before fear creeps in and you lift your foot off the pedal? Perhaps we’ll never truly know.
After all, as long as you’re alive, that’s what matters.
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