Bugatti Chiron Is World’s Coolest Lifesize Model Kit
Behind-the-scenes look at building a Bugatti Chiron is a truly breathtaking marvel.
The Bugatti Chiron is a god among hypercars. Its eight-liter, quad-turbo W16 delivers nearly 1,500 horses to the pavement via its seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, good to snap your neck from zero to 60 in 2.4 seconds. It’s held back from its full potential of nearly 300 mph because no tire currently on the market can handle what it has to offer. And it’s been immortalized as a LEGO Technics set, too.
But have you ever wondered how such a beast as the Chiron is put together? Autocar’s Ronan Glon did, so he headed down to Molsheim, France to witness the magic at Bugatti’s glass-walled factory, The Atelier.
In this wonderland, Bugatti orders everything it needs to build a Chiron three months in advance, from the carbon fiber monocoque from Dallara and the Sparco seats, to the W16 carefully assembled inside one of Volkswagen Group’s special factories. Once all the pieces are together, workers in the Atelier go to work on the world’s most awesome model kit, hand-assembling the Chiron in a 12-step, two-month long process.
After a week spent attaching the W16 and gearbox to the chassis, the Chiron is bolted to the ground for testing on a dyno custom-built to handle the sheer power of the hypercar, then spends another three days getting its haute couture on as workers install and adjust the fit of its pre-painted carbon fiber body panels.
The Chiron then goes out for a couple of test drives on public roads, including a high-speed run at Colmar-Houssen Airport in nearby Colmar, France, in between take-offs and landings. Finally, the car is cleaned and inspected for flaws so thoroughly it would make NASA jealous before it leaves the Atelier for its new home.
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