The Bugatti Chiron needs precious little introduction. It’s one that spawned the infamous ”what color is your Bugatti line?”
It’s the rare motor vehicle that offers the whole package – while many luxury car manufacturers may offer incredible performance, ostentatious interiors, or slick chassis, it’s the rare company that’s able to combine them all into one spectacular package. For those with the funds, however, the Bugatti Chiron checks all of those boxes – and then some.
Not content to rest on their laurels with one of the most powerful and luxurious supercars ever built, however, Bugatti pushed their creativity and engineering genius to the limit by producing not one variant of the Chiron, but seventeen.
If you’re anything like us, you’re probably wondering what the Bugatti Chiron variants are. While it’s beyond the remit of this article to cover all 17, we can count down 8 of the best.
2016 Bugatti Chiron
In 2016, Bugatti was already at the top of the pile with the formidable Veyron. However, company president Wolfgang Dürheimer —a man who arguably saved Porsche from irrelevance and eventual obsolescence when he rolled out the Cayenne—was determined to aim ever higher. The end result was the inaugural 2016 Chiron.
Named for Bugatti Grand Prix driver Louis Chiron—one of the interwar period’s greatest race-car drivers and the only Monaco native to win that country’s Grand Prix—the Chiron debuted in 2016 to much fanfare and pre-release buzz.
Such was the faith of the Bugatti customer base in the as-yet-unproven vehicle that more than 100 were sold before release. It even had a virtual debut before the real thing, appearing in Sony’s acclaimed motor-racing videogame franchise Gran Turismo.
While undoubtedly overshadowed by later iterations, the OG Bugatti remains a beast of a supercar, with its speed electronically limited to 260mph. This is 7mph lower than its predecessor, the Veyron.
While this might seem like a strange decision given Bugatti’s reputation for unrestrained indulgence, it boils down to a matter of safety—the Bugatti is so powerful that going any faster would shred its large tires—not something that even the most hedonistic of supercar drivers would enjoy at 260mph!
Chiron Sport
The Chiron Sport was introduced two years after the original, at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. It’s even rarer than the 2016 model, with only 60 units ever produced. The question is – does what’s under the hood match that level of rarity?
The simple answer is: not really. On an engineering level, it’s virtually identical to the vanilla Bugatti, with the same W16 engine and the same horsepower. Despite the fact that it weighs 40 lbs less, it still hits 60mph in the same 2.4 seconds as its predecessor.
Despite the fact that it’s more or less the same as the 2016 model, it goes for $400,000 more. Part of this is due to rarity (again – only 60 exist), but it is an indisputable fact that the Sport handles better than the bog-standard (if such a term can be applied to such a vehicle) Chiron.
With torque vectoring, a hardier suspension, and an unrestrained exhaust system, the Sport is a smoother drive overall. Whether that merits another $400k is a matter for the customer.
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport
Remember that 260mph electric limiter in the 2016 Chiron? Bugatti engineers examined it in the post-mortem period and thought that, while an electronic limiter might still be warranted (nobody wants those tires shredding at that speed), they decided to see how far they could push things while retaining the high-end luxury for which they were known. The result is the Super Sport.
While still electronically limited, the Super Sport is nevertheless an absolute beast of a sports car. This is reflected in its smooth and aerodynamic chassis, which results in a sleeker and more imposing profile than most other Bugattis.
But aesthetics ultimately take a backseat to ensure that the Super Sport hits those top speeds, and it does this with panache—you’ll be hitting 100mph in a mere 4.1 seconds.
The Super Sport is not as fast as the next item on this list, but there is a very good reason for that – it’s the fastest you can go in a Bugatti without sacrificing the plush, luxurious interiors that make the brand what it is.
For those who want speed without letting go of luxury, it’s hard to go wrong with the Super Sport.
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+
When it comes to sheer, unadulterated speed, there’s simply no beating the Bugatti Super Sport 300+. It’s not only the fastest Bugatti in the world, it’s also one of the fastest production vehicles ever built, period.
The Super Sport 300+ was originally conceived as a simple prototype for the company’s 110th anniversary and the answer to a challenge Bugatti posed to itself: breaking the 300mph barrier. You probably already know whether or not they bested that challenge: the existence of the 300+ is all the answer that’s necessary.
Bugatti knows that you don’t need to dress up a class like the 300+, and its elegant chassis is deceptive in its simplicity. It’s finished in jet-black carbon fiber, the only nod to ostentatiousness being the bright orange stripes it shares with the Veyron Super Sport.
Well, not the only nod – the iconic Bugatti logo is finished in “genuine silver” and black enamel, making for a ride that oozes understated luxury as it zips along at speeds approaching Mach 1.
Bugatti Chiron Noire Sportive & Élégance
These two limited-edition variations are what happens when you take something as inherently cool as the Chiron and make absolutely everything black (hence the name). It’s the sort of car Bruce Wayne might consider if he didn’t already have a Batmobile. If you’re looking for the absolute last word in cool, look no further than the Noires.
The chief difference between the two sister cars is, simply, their finish. The Noire Sportive sports, like the Élégance, has a carbon-fiber chassis, but unlike the Élégance, everything that’s not carbon-fiber is matte. This makes for a shadow of a car, a sleek, light-drinking silhouette that’s just as comfortable in a showroom spotlight as it is streaking down the highway.
The Élégance is functionally identical to the Sportive, except that it’s much glossier. Its carbon-fiber chassis positively gleams under the light. This makes for a flashier and far more eye-catching profile than its sister car—but every inch as cool.
Bugatti Divo
The Divo takes the Bugatti philosophy of exclusivity to the next level, with a price tag north of $5 million ($5.8 million, to be precise) and a mere 40 ever produced. Needless to say, getting your hands on a Divo is very difficult. But what can you expect from a beast as rare as the Divo?
The Divo features the same powerful engine as the baseline Chiron, but it differs in the engineer’s overriding aim of making the most aerodynamic car possible.
The changes effected to achieve this give the Divo a very distinct and recognizable chassis. Air inlets have been added to the hood to assist with airflow, and the car has a large adjustable spoiler as well as a rooftop NACA duct.
This emphasis on aerodynamics leads to a vehicle that is a smoother drive and boasts significantly better handling and performance – so much so that the car improved the Chiro’s record on Italy’s Nardo circuit by 8 seconds.
Bugatti Centodieci
One of the most expensive non-bespoke Bugattis ever made, the Centodieci goes for around $9 million – a product, no doubt, of its limited run of a mere 10 units.
While the Centodieci is built on the bones of the Chiron, there’s no doubt that it’s very much its own creature. Its impressive chassis is a tribute to the supercars of yesterday, and it combines vintage lines with the impressive W16 engine that powers the Chiron.
Similarly to the Bugatti Sport, the Centodieci is around 40lbs lighter than the OG Chiron. This doesn’t translate into faster acceleration or a higher top speed, but there’s no doubt that the car handles a little better than the Chiron—without sacrificing any of the luxury for which the brand is revered.
Bugatti Chiron Profilée
The Chiron Profilée is, like many Chiron variants, a bespoke one-of-a-kind vehicle that you’re almost certainly never going to have the opportunity to own.
For one, it’s worth more than $10 million. For another, there’s only one in existence – so you’d need its current owner to be willing to part with it.
While the Profilée is identical to the regular Chiron under the hood, the devil is in the details. And what details this unique one-off sports – with woven leather seats and a unique rear-end wing design integrated into the chassis, there’s no other Chiron on the planet that looks quite like this one. It’s also painted in a singular color named Argent Atlantique (Atlantic Silver).
If you’re looking for a Chiron that is truly unique, look no further than the Profilée.
So, Have You Been Inspired?
While by no means an exhaustive list of the many, many variations of the Bugatti Chiron, we hope that we’ve opened your eyes to some of the most impressive variants that exist on (or off) the market – and that we’ve inspired you to look into acquiring your very own Bugatti.
And if you’re still hungry for more insights into some of the world’s most luxurious cars, don’t forget to check out our other guides, such as our insight into the Bentley Bentayga and some of the most formidable facts about the RR Wraith.
