It was only a year ago that Bugatti cracked the 300-mile-per-hour barrier with a special version of the Chiron hypercar. But the French manufacturer must be smarting after SSC recently published a controversial video claiming to have crushed the Chiron's record by almost 10%. Now, amid swirling rumors that Bugatti may be sold to Croation EV manufacturer Rimac and with SSC planning a new top-speed run for the Tuatara, Bugatti has sent out a quick reminder of who sits at the top of the supercar and hypercar market by tracing the lineage that led to the newest addition to Bugatti's Veyron-derived fleet, the Bolide, which brings with it the claim that 300 miles per hour should be easily attainable for this new, lightweight variant.
Bugatti's Historical Lineup
A year is a long time in the automotive world and the Bolide represents a big step forward for Bugatti. Perhaps the only criticism that could have been levied at both the Veyron and Chiron would have been that they were quite heavy for sports cars. Of course, weight slows down acceleration but can actually be a benefit at top speed, helping to counteract wind resistance. The Bolide doesn't just trim poundage, however, also stepping up to the plate with an aggressive aerodynamic design that should pair with a 2,733-pound curb weight to render it quite impressive regardless of whether it's attempting to set new speed records or blast off from a standing start.
The First Manufacturer To Break The 300-MPH Barrier
To celebrate the new Bolide, Bugatti has traced its lineage all the way back over a century ago to 1903 when Ettore Bugatti took his De Dietrich 60 CV Course Bugatti Type 5 to over 100 kilometers per hour. By 1909, he'd cracked 150 kilometers per hour in the Bugatti Type 13. The Veyron took things to a whole new level by rocketing past 400 kilometers per hour in 2005 and now, Bugatti claims the Bolide will be able to reach 500 kilometers per hour or more, which would translate to 310 miles per hour.
Bugatti doesn't even deign to mention SSC in its literature, though a not-so-subtle line states that "...the French company became the first manufacturer to break the 300-mph barrier, highlighting the brand's technically outstanding performance. A record that has yet to be broken."
Sources: newsroom.bugatti.com and caranddriver.com.