First Drive: 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

As exciting as the prospect of driving the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport can be, it’s difficult not to have a sense of melancholy about it as well.

While there is another variant of the Chiron coming, the track-only Bolide, it’s very much the end of an era for the brand and the car. Now that electric supercar startup Rimac holds a controlling stake in the company, this is no doubt the last Bugatti powered purely by an internal combustion engine.

But don’t too despondent — this is a hell of a way to go. 

Overview

The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is more powerful, more expensive version of the already powerful, already expensive Bugatti Chiron, this car is all about performance, the penultimate expression of internal combustion powered cars; one last howl of unearthly, audacious delight as gasoline-powered cars begin their denouement into history.

Want Apple CarPlay? You’re not getting it. Infotainment touchscreen? Hey, are you here to drive or not? And driver-assistance systems? Forget it. You should be able to handle this car without them. Then again, one suspects few of the Chiron’s owners can handle its full, unbridled fury.

Exterior

Its body is built for sin, an indelible dosage of eyeball, full exquisite detailing no matter where you look. The Super Sport’s body is 10 inches longer for better aerodynamics at high speed and features a spoiler that deploys at different levels and angles depending on your speed.

The front half of the car is painted and is encapsulated by the carbon fiber rear half with radical art deco side arches that recall the epic Bugatti GTs of the 1930s. This allows for an endless array of color combinations guided only by an owner’s taste — or lack of it.

Every part of this car’s exterior maximizes airflow; even the windshield wiper arms are made of carbon fiber. And there are six exhaust outlets. Six. Oh, and the Chiron Super Sport’s shoes, bespoke Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, are good for 310 mph, although top speed is a mere 273 mph.

Interior

Inside, you’ll find a cabin for two designed to comfort you while you pilot this massive machine. The bucket seats are firm but not unyielding. The flat-bottomed steering wheel is welcome, as is the clearly designed instrument cluster. No flashy graphics here to distract you from the business of driving.

Cast your gaze to the center console, and you’re greeted by four knobs to control the climate, but no infotainment screen to distract you from the business of driving. It’s welcome. After all, this cabin is filled with a mechanical symphony at speed; music isn’t necessary. That said, pack lightly. The front trunk is large enough to hold a briefcase at best.

Powertrain

Nestled behind the driver, mounted mid-ship is an 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged 64-valve W-16 that produces a massive 1,578 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque fed to all four wheels through a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. 

Bugatti also fits the car with several driving modes. Standard driving mode is EB mode, but there are Autobahn and Handling driving modes as well, the last one best suited for track use, as it lowers the car’s ride height. Thankfully, there’s also a Lift mode that raises the car’s ride height for traversing speed bumps and aggressively sloped driveways.

Safety and Technology

If you’re expecting any driver-assistance safety systems, don’t expect to find any. Similarly, there’s no infotainment screen, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto capability.  

Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have crash tested the Chiron Super Sport.

Driving Impressions

OK, you’d expect the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport to possess positively brutal acceleration. Reaching 60 mph takes 2.3 seconds, and generates g-forces that feels as if your eyes are being pressed rearward in your sockets. The amount of speed and power is almost unfathomable. Pass someone driving 30 mph in a 45-mph zone, and you’re at 80 mph without realizing it. 

Yes, it’s full of the sound and fury you’d expect of a Bugatti, and engineers have wisely permitted the mechanical symphony to be heard in the cabin. It’s the sound of internal combustion that controlled explosion that results from the ingestion of air and gas followed by a controlled explosion. It’s a malevolent melody, one that entrances the soul to an extent that an EV can’t match. 

The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport won’t surprise you with its ability to remain flat while cornering, or the character of its sharp, light steering. What will surprise you is how easy this car is to drive — something you’d never expect.

Some supercars put you through the wringer to extract their performance, no matter what the speed. But you never do that in a Bugatti. Driving this super sled is pure pleasure and unbelievably effortless. It is perhaps this vehicle’s biggest surprise.

2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport specifications

Wrap Up

That the 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is a rarified beast is beyond question. That its abilities are among the best you can buy is expected given its price, and also beyond question.

Starting at $3.8 million, with our test car coming in at $4.3 million, its list of $476,450 worth of options is enough to buy a 2022 Lamborghini Huracán STO. And even the richest among us will have difficulty finding space where its full horsepower can be legally unleashed.

Then again, most will end up in collections undriven. They be held as investments, garage art meant to appreciate and be appreciate before being sold. That so few will truly get driven is a shame. 

It’s like a child’s toy that’s never been played with. Sad.

2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport ­— Frequently Asked Questions