Yahoo Autos 2021 Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport Goes to Extremes
The Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport isn't just a slight variation of the regular Chiron. It's the raw-nerve version of Bugatti's 1479-hp ground-bound missile. It's less isolated, more direct, more tightly wound, and more engaging than both the Chiron and Chiron Sport. It's also slower. But it may be quicker.
There are a few obvious, visible tweaks to the $3.6 million Pur Sport that separate it from lesser Chirons. There are larger air intakes and a differently shaped nose over an expanded front splitter. The horseshoe-shaped grille is a bit wider, too, and there are new air extractors built into the tops of the slightly reshaped front fenders. In back, a massive diffuser is there to intimidate whoever the Pur Sport has just passed, as well as an utterly spectacular titanium exhaust outlet that could stand as sculpture on its own. Finally, there's the fixed rear wing atop the tail that replaces the motorized unit on lesser versions.
Every Chiron makes a statement even when viewed from orbit. But some elements seem discordant in the Pur Sport. First is that rear wing, which seems like it belongs aboard a spacecraft in a Star Wars movie. Emphasizing the wing's presence is the "BUGATTI" script that was painted atop it on the example we drove in California. Maybe that's so there's no confusion when the owner's security detail is tracking the car from a helicopter. The second questionable design element is the number painted on the front grille—in the case of our example, 16, for the engine's number of cylinders—which just seems unnecessary. Fortunately, a Bugatti's appearance ultimately is at the whim of its buyer. Don't want the lettering on the wing or the number in the grille? Just order it your way. This is a $3.6 million car of which only 60 will be built, and Bugatti wants you to be happy.
Inside the Pur Sport, the relatively plush seats of the Sport are replaced by thinner thrones that may as well super glue your butt to their carbon-fiber shells. Alcantara covers the steering wheel, flat-black trim replaces machined aluminum bits on the center dial controls, and a slash of red leather on the dash adds a distracting reflection in the windshield. The decoration here is still mostly carbon fiber and leather so supple that it's almost erotically satisfying to stroke. There's still no touchscreen, the instrumentation maintains an analog appearance (although a third of the display turns into the rearview camera when reverse is engaged), and the seating position is all luxury bunker.
While visibility out the front of the Pur Sport is fine, the rear wing virtually eliminates seeing out the back. The rearview mirror is more of a taunt than a useful device. Press the start button and the starter motor whirs in dramatic anticipation. Then the quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W-16 barks to life with an exhaust growl that's deeper than before. It's more engaging, vastly more mechanical, and highly involving. Even before the Pur Sport moves, its driver risks sensory overload.
The Pur Sport's removal of the regular car's complex electro-hydraulic wing and some of its sound insulation, plus the fitment of thinner seats, knocks about 110 pounds off the Chiron's curb weight. But that diet only goes so far when the Chiron Sport we previously tested weighed 4544 pounds. What the weight reduction really does is immerse the cockpit in a louder mechanical symphony. Turbos spool, intakes whoosh, and the exhaust roars. It's a level of engagement some Chiron buyers will crave.
