On the surface, the question is preposterous, maybe even a little blasphemous. Bugatti struggling to sell its new Chiron supercar sounds like the backbone of a not-so funny joke. Haha, right? Here’s the thing, though. There might be some layer of truth to it, now that no less than Bugatti’s own CEO, Wolfgang Durheimer, admitted that the French supercar brand has received a total of 220 confirmed orders for the Chiron so far. Considering that Bugatti has plans to build 500 units of the Chiron over a span of eight years, 280 unaccounted for units seem a lot for a car that’s succeeding the Veyron, one of the most iconic performance cars of this generation.

There are, of course, a number of ways to interpret Durheimer’s comments. On the one hand, it is possible that Bugatti is taking its time accepting new orders for the Chiron now that production for the car has started. According to GT Spirit, Bugatti has even increased production capacity in order to build 65 models for 2017, a sign that the company is going to be up to its head next year building all these units without any delays. The capacity also means that there’s a three-year wait for new orders, which would explain why the Chiron has yet to sell out despite its overall awesomeness.

On the other hand, even Durheimer himself seems to think that the Chiron isn’t selling as well as Bugatti expected. In the conversation with GT Spirit, the Bugatti boss expressed “hope” that new orders for the Chiron will come in once prospective customers see for themselves the surreal experience of driving one of the fastest and most powerful cars in the world. “I’m confident the customers who have not yet decided to order a Chiron will do so when they have had a chance to drive it,” Durheimer added.

Color me skeptical, but that sounds like a man who’s still trying to sell the merits of the Chiron to would-be customers. The supercar’s $2.6 million price tag certainly doesn’t help its cause. Nor does the $200,000 deposit that Bugatti is asking to secure a reservation for the supercar. These factors could have played significant roles on why Bugatti has yet to find owners for more than half of the Chirons it plans to build.

So while it’s not entirely accurate that Bugatti is “struggling” to sell the Chiron, the fact the model has yet to sell out is pretty surprising.

GT Spirit

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I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself because I know that there are different means and methods by which a company like Bugatti can sell its cars. It’a also important to remember as well that the Veyron didn’t sell out that quickly either. In fact, it took Bugatti a few years to lineup all models of the Veyron it built with new and sometimes multiple owners.

I agree though that it’s jarring to hear that Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Durheimer is “hoping” that the remaining Chirons sell quickly. It doesn’t sound right coming from somebody in charge of Bugatti, even if the Durheimer’s context is different from how it appears on the surface.

As for the 220 customers who already made the massive deposits to secure their slots, the automaker has instituted a delivery plan that gives existing Bugatti owners, particularly those with multiple vehicles, priority in getting their Chirons over “new customers.” That’s apparently Bugatti’s way of rewarding brand loyalty. These long-time Bugatti owners should expect to see their Chirons as early as the start of 2017 and from there, the company estimates that it could deliver a little over five units per month as part of its delivery timetable.

In related news, Durheimer also shot down rumors that Bugatti was already planning to build special edition versions of the Chiron. While that certainly is expected given how many of those SE units Bugatti made for the Veyron, the Bugatti boss made it clear that the focus for the time being is “on building and delivering the Chirons for customers who have placed an order so far.”

On that end, there’s no reading between the lines there. That’s about as direct and as straightforward a statement can be.

Read our full review on the Bugatti Chiron here.