Bugatti has outfitted a Chiron Pur Sport with some visual enhancements and sent it packing down the world’s first hill climb racing track.
The hill climb race was held on the road stretch between the city of Nice and the Mountain of La Turbie in France in the distant year 1897. A quarter of a century later, pilot Jean Mabille drove a Bugatti Type 13 to victory in another such race. Bugatti has now decided to reminisce about his accomplishment.
The route was approximately 6.3 km (3.9 miles) long with the altitude rising by 450 m (1,476 feet) from start to finish. Back in the early 20th century, the racers drove on sand and gravel, and had to pay attention to numerous potholes along the way.
Mabille drove a car with a 1.3-liter engine rated at 50 horsepower (37 kilowatts). It featured quite a few technological upgrades considered groundbreaking at the time, such as a cylinder head assembly with four valves per cylinder. This and other innovations enabled the talented driver to score silver at the Le Mans Gran Prix in France in 1911 and win gold at the post-WWI Brescia Gran Prix a decade later. Once fully upgraded, his compact car could accelerate to a truly frightening top speed of 150 km/h (93 mph).
Mabille completed the hill climb route in 6 minutes 24 seconds. Bugatti has now retreaded that route with a Chiron Pur Sport finished in vintage grey and darn green with some themed graphics on the door panels inside.
The Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport (see video) has been designed specifically with racing applications in mind. It features revised aerodynamics and stiffer suspension along with a standard W16 quad-turbo churning out its usual 1,500 PS (1,479 hp / 1,103 kW) and 1,600 Nm (1,180 lb-ft) of torque.