2022 Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport

Chassis No. VF9SC3V35NM795031
As with many great automotive marques, the history of Bugatti is as convoluted and compelling as it is illustrious. Formed of pre-war racing exploits and handcrafted road cars the company was successful as it was world-famous. However, by the late 1930s, Bugatti were in decline; their fortunes were dealt a hefty blow by state-funded teams from Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union and, more worryingly, by the looming threat of war. Bugatti's passing in 1947 hastened the end for the company that battled on valiantly for a further five years before Bugatti car production ended in 1952.
After an intermission of some 35 years, Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli acquired the rights to the Bugatti name in 1987 and a new entity, Bugatti Automobili S.p.A, was established just outside Modena, Italy. The company's spectacular new V12-engined, 212 mph EB 110 was unveiled in 1991 to widespread acclaim, but perpetual disagreements between the car's designers and Artioli blighted the project. Around 135 cars were constructed, although an ill-judged move by Artioli to acquire Lotus Cars in 1993–not to mention a global recession–hastened the company's descent into bankruptcy in 1995.
In 1998, the Bugatti name was acquired by Volkswagen Group in a move which led to the formation of an entirely new French-registered company, Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. Fittingly headquartered once again in Molsheim, the company would enjoy financial stability for the first time since the 1930s; a factor critical to the development of a new standard-setting supercar. Although apocryphal, incumbent Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piëch reputedly decreed that the company's new model should fulfil three criteria: to produce more than 1,000 PS (986 horsepower), to accelerate to 60 mph in under three seconds and to achieve a top speed in excess of 250 mph.
Powered by a ground-breaking 8.0-liter, 16-cylinder engine arranged into four separate cylinder banks, the new car boasted four-wheel drive transmission, four turbochargers, no less than ten radiators and, crucially, some 1,001 horsepower. Dubbed Veyron, in honor of Bugatti's illustrious former test driver and Le Mans winner, it redefined supercar parameters and in 2005 became the fastest production car in the world with a top speed of 253 miles per hour.
After ten years in production, and the construction of some 450 chassis, the Veyron was replaced in 2016 by a new model, the Chiron. Deriving its designation from the marque's most illustrious former pilot, it retained the same carbon fiber monocoque and powerplant as its predecessor, albeit with the latter now significantly uprated to produce an incredible 1,479 horsepower and 1,180 lb-ft of torque. Predictably, its performance was truly eye-watering, with 60 mph and 186 mph achieved in 2.4 and 13.6 seconds respectively, en route to an electronically limited top speed of 261 mph.
Following the introduction of evolutionary and limited-edition models such as the Chiron Sport, Chiron Super Sport 300+ and Chiron Noire, March 2020 witnessed the introduction of the new Chiron Pur Sport, the rarest of all four models. In contrast to most, if not all, of its predecessors, the car's focus was less on absolute straight-line performance, and more on greater driver involvement and optimized handling. Some 110 pounds was pared off the weight of a standard Chiron, principally by fitment of new 10 spoke magnesium wheels and replacement of the hitherto retractable–and hence relatively heavy–rear wing with a lighter fixed item. Furthermore, the car's gear ratios were shortened by roughly 15 percent to maximize acceleration, and its coil springs stiffened significantly; the latter modification being made in conjunction with revised damper settings, new carbon fiber anti-roll bars and optimized suspension geometry. In addition, the car benefitted from heavily re-worked carbon fiber front bodywork to improve both downforce and cooling, while a new ESC Sport+ driving mode enabled greater drift angles to be generated prior to the car's Stability Control software being triggered. Finally, new, bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires were fitted, reputedly affording a 10 percent increase in lateral grip.
In performance terms, the Pur Sport represented a significant step forward relative to the standard Chiron; itself hardly slow. The modest weight reduction resulted in a staggering power to weight ratio of 690 horsepower per ton, and if the shorter gearing limited the car's top speed to 218 mph, a comparatively modest figure for any 21st century Bugatti, then it was more than compensated for by further incremental gains in acceleration; the car's zero to 186 mile per hour time now reduced to under 12 seconds. Yet it was in its dynamic performance, front end grip and driver “feel” that the Pur Sport offered the most significant advances; such progress rendering it arguably the most involving and accomplished modern-generation Bugatti yet.
One of just 60 Chiron Pur Sports constructed, this particular chassis was configured with the desirable Pur Sport Exterior and Interior packages, as well as the distinctive Pur Sport “Exterior Split” option; the latter evoking the magnificent two-tone, coach-built Type 55 and 57s of the 1930s. Further augmented by contrasting brake calipers, Italian Red seat belts and a leather steering wheel, the car's option package alone amounted to some $392,400. Delivered to the consignor via Bugatti St. Louis of Chesterfield, Missouri 2022, it has remained in his custody since and has been fastidiously stored, occasionally used, and recently exhibited in the “Hypercars: The Allure of the Extreme” exhibition at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Showing a recorded odometer reading of just 393 miles at the time of cataloging, the car remains in practically “factory fresh” condition and is accompanied by its original factory documentation, handbooks and factory accessories. Additionally, the car has just returned from a service at Bugatti St. Louis ahead of sale.
A technical tour de force, an object of beauty and one of the most accomplished performance cars ever produced; the Chiron Pur Sport is all of these things–and so much more. “Nothing is too beautiful; nothing is too expensive” wrote Ettore Bugatti in the 1930s, possibly in the context of his masterpiece, the Royale. The same may be said of the Pur Sport; a car in whose design, development and execution simply nothing was left to chance, and nothing was too much trouble.