How should we put this? Well, there’s only one way, really: we all knew this was coming, but the real secret was how Bugatti would wrap it up. After the Veyron, it’s time for the Chiron to receive the distinguished Super Sport badge from Bugatti, following a speed record that’s both spectacular and a tad controversial to some extent. That’s something we’ll look at on another occasion, though, because today our attention will be wasted on one car and one car only: the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+.

Once again, Bugatti shows the world that it knows how to throw a party, especially one that celebrates the company’s 110th anniversary. The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ joins the carmaker’s fantastic-three - Divo, La Voiture Noire, and Centodieci - with at least the same amount of flair and plushness underlined by what could very well be today’s industry spearhead in automotive performance. Read on.

2020 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2020 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+
  • Engine/Motor: W16
  • Horsepower: 1578
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Exterior

- Special attention to aerodynamics - Longtail rear end - Aggressive diffuser, Centodieci-like final exhausts - Naked carbon fiber body
Black Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300
Bugatti 

The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ might be a Chiron, but its outer shell has been seriously altered to serve a whole different purpose than what it was initially built for - that is, smashing the 300 mph (483 km/h) barrier. Now, from the off, there’s impossible not to spot the exposed, jet-black carbon fiber that runs throughout the car’s whole body. Bugatti says that’s exactly what the Super Sport’s customers will get, which is extremely cool. Moreover, the carmaker designed the Chiron Super Sport as a complementary piece next to your Veyron Super Sport, hence the decision to keep the exposed carbon fiber as well as the Jet Orange stripes. It’s certainly nice to be filthy rich and a gearhead, matching super-expensive cars like they’re pairs of socks, we’ll tell you that much.

Moreover, Bugatti manufactured the famous Macaron logo from what it calls “genuine silver” and black enamel. The wheels are made of magnesium and are finished in Bugatti’s Nocturne paint that matches every other trim part found on the outside of the Chiron Super Sport 300+. The finishing touch is added by the LED lighting that illuminates the “Super Sport 300+” lettering whenever the doors are open.

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We mentioned earlier that the Bugatti Chiron Super Sports 300+ sports a very distinct shape when compared to the regular Chiron. That came out of necessity rather than vanity, as this is a car that had to cut the air like a hot knife through butter while also generating enough downforce to remain glued to the ground at extreme speeds. Now, about the longtail approach, Bugatti says it was concocted with laminar flow in mind. Laminar flow, unlike turbulent flow, sees a liquid or gas travel smoothly and in regular paths over a surface, without mixing and without showing irregular fluctuations. Here’s where the elongated rear end comes into play - such a structure allows the said laminar flow to spend more time on the car’s body, which in turn cuts down on aerodynamic stall (by more than 40 percent in the Bugatti Super Sport’s case).

Significant changes can be spotted when it comes to the final exhaust pipes and the menacing rear diffuser. Bugatti tells us that the amount of negative lift generated by that alien-looking part is enough to make the rear wing redundant, so it can stay retracted when the car is in Top Speed mode. All in all, the rear end is 10 inches longer (that’s around 25 centimeters) than on a regular Chiron, but it also serves another purpose: it shrinks the Chiron Super Sport’s rear end width and height - pretty much like a torpedo or a fish - to add even more aerodynamic prowess.

The car’s front corners are fitted with what Bugatti calls “Air Curtains.” Their purpose is to guide the excess pressure that would normally develop around the front air inlets towards the sides of the car. Subsequently, the air outlets you see on the wheel arch and behind the front wheels take extra air pressure from the wheel arches. This, in turn, creates negative lift in the front; not too much though, says Bugatti, but enough to reduce the drag and give the Chiron Super Sport the extra edge when battling it out with air at higher speeds.

Interior

- Beluga Black Alcantara (not from the actual whale) - Cabin flooded in carbon fiber - Jet Orange accents match the exterior stripes - “Super Sport 300+” lettering around the cockpit

Again, you’re looking at your typical Chiron interior but with a couple of extra safety-related add-ons. We’re not sure whether the 30 cars that are set to reach affluent customers will feature such a spartan interior - we presume not, but that’s to be seen - however, the record-setting car didn’t come with all the luxury you’d expect from a Chiron. In fact, its interior is very similar to what fully-fledged race cars use to keep their drivers safe and weight in check.

As a side note, this is Sparco’s latest product, and it features a CAD-designed fiberglass shell and a DTC head restraint system with removable head protection. The seat is also available in three sizes that dictate its weight - S (17 pounds), M (16.5 pounds), and L (18.3 pounds). That aside, the passenger side in the record-setting Chiron Super Sport 300+ was completely stripped off, so there’s no seat and no door panel, which leaves that area pretty naked, except for the measurement instruments that were fitted to document the run. Other than that, the cockpit was also reinforced with a full-steel roll cage.

Now, if you care for our two cents, Bugatti won’t sell any stripped out Chiron Super Sports to its picky customers. Remember, those lucky enough to drive the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ won’t go hunting for speed records, so plushness and utmost comfort are crucial.

It sure looks like a nice place to sit in, especially since the welcoming committee inside the cabin also includes “Super Sport 300+” lettering on the carbon door sills in the same Jet Orange hue, as well as further detailing on the headrests, knee support pad on the center console, and the double-stitching on the seats. All the other elements inside the cabin were granted a black anodized finish, except the rearview mirror and the centerline - those are painted in Beluga Black to match the Alcantara bits present inside the cockpit.

Drivetrain

- 1,578 horsepower (1,600 PS) coming from the same 8.0-liter W-16 - 99 horsepower (100 PS) more than a regular Chiron - Same output as the Centodieci - Top speed could be limited to 273.4 mph (440 km/h)

The Chiron Super Sport 300+ uses the same engine as a regular Chiron, but tweaked to produce 1,578 horsepower (1,600 PS), which is 99 horsepower (100 PS) more than what you get in a standard Bugatti Chiron (which makes 1,479 horsepower / 1,500 PS and 1,180 pound-feet of torque under normal circumstances). As we said, configuration-wise, we’re essentially talking about the same 8.0-liter, quad-turbo W-16 engine that Bugatti saw fit to nickname Thor.

Now, there’s a couple of interesting details about the Chiron Super Sport 300+ that will reach 30 lucky customers. As we said, the interior won’t be a stripped out affair, but The Drive quotes Motor1, which reports that the customer-spec Super Sport 300+ will have its top speed limited to 273.4 mph (that’s 440 km/h). Will there be some sort of option that allows owners to override that threshold? It’s way too early to tell at this point, but we’re not ruling it out entirely either.

However, we now know that the Chiron Super Sport 300+ can reach a top speed of 304 mph (489 km/h), so there’s that. Otherwise, Bugatti hasn’t mentioned any other changes brought to the engine-transmission marriage, so it’s safe to assume that the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox is still in place, working under the same calibration. However, the Centodieci got more cooling gear to keep the massive engine from overheating under stress, so this is likely to be valid when it comes to the Chiron Super Sport 300+.

Pricing

While the Centodieci will only be offered as a 10-unit batch with each car priced at €8 million or $11 million, the Chiron Super Sport 300+ wears a price tag of €3.5 million, which converts to roughly $3.8 million - that’s somewhat more affordable but still untouchable unless you’re not part of the One Percent. Bugatti will make 30 units of the Chiron Super Sport 300+, with deliveries expected to reach customers in mid-2021.

Competition

Koenigsegg Agera RS

We can’t think of another rival for the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ other than Koenigsegg’s Agera RS. And yeah, that’s a rationale we came up with by weighing in the insatiable appetite for speed displayed by the two hypercars. We could also mention the Jesko, but we’re yet to see the car in action, although Koenigsegg did let out a couple of details about its latest hypercar, such as its power output (1,578 horsepower) and torque (738 pound-feet of twist or 1,000 Nm). There’s no word of a record-breaking attempt at the time of writing, so we’ll focus on the Agera RS.

As most of you know perhaps by heart, the Agera RS is Koenigsegg’s 1-MW car thanks to a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine that pumps 1,341 horsepower (that’s the optional output, as the Agera RS on standard gasoline churns out “only” 1,160 horsepower) and 944 pound-feet of torque (1,280 Nm). This setup has allowed the Agera RS to reach a top speed of 277.87 mph (447.19 km/h) in Pahrump, Nevada, on November 4, 2017, with factory driver Niklas Lilja behind the wheel of a customer-owned model, so we’re talking about a bone-stock car that didn’t suffer the mods Bugatti baked into the Chiron Super Sport 300+. The Agera RS did, however, featured a removable roll cage, for the obvious safety reasons, but according to the carmaker, that’s an option available to every Koenigsegg customer.

Read our full review on the 2015 Koenigsegg Agera RS

Final Thoughts

Just like carmakers will keep taking their cars to the Nurburgring Nordschleife in the search for the best-balanced chassis setup (and bragging rights in case the stomp on an existing lap time record), we’re likely to see this record speed battle in the future, although Bugatti has suddenly announced that’s no longer what they pursue. But as long as various companies will churn out hypercars of all shapes, sizes, and levels of insanity, being the fastest of them all will always be a goal for such brands. After all, what better way to prove a hypercar’s ludicrousness than pushing it to its limits?

Sure, there’s still the debate whether Bugatti’s record with the Chiron Super Sport 300+ is legit, but even if the car didn’t make a second run that would help homologate the record, it DID reach 304 mph. There’s no denying that feat. Will Bugatti come up with an even more insane car once the Chiron’s days are numbered? You can count on it. So will other carmakers, and keep in mind that we haven’t seen yet what Koenigsegg’s Jesko can pull off. All it all, these are great times for petrolheads to be alive, so why don’t we simply sit back and enjoy the show that’s unraveling in front of our eyes?

Further Reading

The Bugatti Chiron Has Officially Broken 300 MPH, But It's Not a Production Model

Read our full review on the 2018 Bugatti Chiron.

Read our full review on the 2018 Bugatti Chiron Sport.