Bugatti started development of the Bolide with a question ‘what if we build a radically light, completely new concept around the 8.0-litre W16 engine?’ The answer is what you are looking at right now. At the moment we type these letters, Bugatti is busy with the latest developments and tests before the Bolide goes into production.
The production version is slightly less intense than the study model that was initially shown. Can Bugatti Bolide customers complain about this? Judge for yourself, but what we want to give you is that there is still plenty to enjoy. You will find out with these eight facts about the Bugatti Bolide.
1. The Bolide weighs 1,450 kilos
This means that the production version of the Bugatti Bolide weighs 200 kilos more than the prototype. Bugatti tells us that this is because the Bolide has to meet some customer requests for comfort and some rules from the FIA. That 200 pounds is like strapping a piano to the prototype. Despite the increased weight, we are still talking about 0.67 kilos per horsepower.
2. The Bolide produces 1,600 horsepower from a four-turbocharged W16 engine
The concept version achieved an output of 1,850 hp and was therefore even lighter. It’s great that Bugatti manages to make 1,600 hp feel like ‘there could have been more’. According to the French car brand, driving continues to “feel like a cannonball.”
3. The Bolide produces three tons of downforce
The front diffuser you see above guides the airflow and provides suction. It works together with an adjustable diffuser on the back. In total, up to 3,000 kilos of downforce can be produced. The main factor in this is the splitter under the front bumper. This creates a spiral airflow that pushes the back down.
4. The suspension rods weigh only 100 grams
The rods of the pushrod suspension come from the 3D printer and are made of titanium. Each weighs 100 grams – the same as two large eggs. Yet these rods remain intact with a braking force of 3.7 tons. A structure in the hollow bar (that you cannot see) provides this incredible strength.
5. The rear tires are 400 millimeters wide
That doesn’t say much right away. The strange thing about the width of the rear tires is that they are not the widest in the Bugatti range. The Veyron got rear wheels that are 540 millimeters wide. The tires are wider than those of the Chiron. It had 285 millimeters in front and 355 millimeters behind. With the Bolide this is 340 millimeters and 400 millimeters. So a few millimeters can make all the difference.
6. The prototype Bolide is eight seconds faster at Le Mans than a 2020 LMP1 car
In the simulation that is. There the Bugatti Bolide set a time of 3 minutes and 7.01 seconds on the Circuit de la Sarthe. With that he would have taken pole position in 2020 with eight seconds difference. Bugatti has not yet done a simulation with the weaker and heavier production Bolide.
7. The Bolide can pull 2.5 G in the corners
It is indeed not surprising that a downforce monster like the Bugatti Bolide is incredibly fast in the corners. That is why it is wise to ask Max Verstappen’s training schedule before you take the Bolide onto the circuit for a fast lap. In the corners you can get up to 2.5 G on your neck.
8. Only forty copies of the Bolide will be built
The last of the eight facts about the Bugatti Bolide is a painful one. Only forty of this excellent machine will be built. Bugatti asks every buyer to deposit four million euros for the circuit animal. From next year you can, with a lot of luck, spot one on the circuit. Then the deliveries begin.
