The one-of-a-kind Bugatti Chiron Profilée has just become the most expensive new car ever sold. At a Sotheby’s auction in Paris, the car was sold for approximately $10.7 million. The car was envisioned as a less radical interpretation of the Pur Sport. Christophe Piochon, President of Bugatti Automobiles, said: “Taking customer wishes to explore a less radical version of the Pur Sport seriously into consideration, we started with the design and development of the Bugatti Chiron Profilée in Autumn 2020. By the time we saw the pre-series vehicle coming out of production, all Chiron slots limited to just 500 were assigned for. But we knew that what we had created was too beautiful to be hidden away. It is – in every sense – a unique piece in Bugatti’s history and a true collector’s item. And we wanted to give a fair chance to any devotee of the Bugatti brand to acquire this unique car, so we decided to partner with RM Sotheby’s to auction it.”
The Bugatti Chiron Profilée is a bespoke design featuring a sweeping fixed tail at the rear, which carries out two crucial functions. Firstly, the wing ensures stability and control right up to the Profilée’s 380 km/h top speed by increasing downforce over the rear axle, and secondly, it uses negative pressure to suck hot air out of the engine compartment via two interior tunnels in the high-temperature carbon wing. Air flows both over the top of the wing to generate downforce, but also under the wing to draw air from the engine compartment. At the front of this unique hyper sports car, the Bugatti Chiron Profilée was given wider air inlets and an enlarged Bugatti horseshoe grille to help funnel more cooling air into the radiators. A revised front splitter works in tandem with a sculpted underbody to further increase downforce and maximize airflow. As with any Bugatti, the mastery of airflow for both cooling, drag reduction and downforce is fundamental in delivering the extraordinary performance that has become a hallmark of modern Bugatti cars.
In character, the Bugatti Chiron Profilée maintains much of the purity of the Pur Sport; designed for lateral grip and ultimate acceleration. It is powered by the same 1,500 PS development of the Bugatti W16 engine, with 15 per cent shorter transmission ratios than the Chiron Sport. The Profilée accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.3 seconds and up to 200 km/h in 5.5 seconds. It has a top speed of 380 km/h compared with the Chiron Pur Sport’s 350 km/h.
Images courtesy of Bugatti
