Bugatti’s New Limited Edition Hypercar Honors Automaker’s Fighter Pilot Roots
The latest W16-powered Chiron Sport is limited to just 20 examples.
Bugatti is building 20 limited-edition Chiron Sport hypercars inspired by the brand’s intimate relationship with early aviation. Ettore Bugatti witnessed the birth of the airplane before he founded the namesake hypercar marque, and his racing drivers benefitted from their background as fighter pilots in a nascent French Air Force.
The Les Legendes du Ciel edition is accordingly dressed in a matte-gray “Gris Serpent” paint job, an interpretation of 1920s-era aircraft schemes.
A base coat contrasts with a high-contrast, white gloss racing stripe and black gloss radiator grille, which is laser-cut from aluminum. Look closely at the car in profile, and you’ll see a motif in blue, white and red—the colors of the French flag—on the front area of the side sills.
A unique “Les Legendes du Ciel” logo with hand-written text surrounding a single-blade propeller appears on the front wings and side sills, while the thunderous quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 is guarded by more black carbon fiber.
The interior is almost entirely covered in tan Guacho leather, with an aluminum armrest tray and center console insert adorned with the same Les Legendes logo.
The most eye-catching detail is another hand-sketched racing scene that appears on door sills. The plane is a Nieuport 17, a single-seater French biplane built in 1916 that was known for being reliable, speedy and agile. The car is a Type 13, the very first Bugatti that debuted in 1910 and went on to claim numerous race victories.
The Les Legendes du Ciel doesn’t get any boost in performance over the Chiron Sport… not that it needed one with nearly 1,500 horsepower, a 2.4-second zero-to-60 mph time and a top speed of 261 mph.
Each costs a whopping $3.4 million, and they’ll still probably sell out.
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