Vehicle Description
Chassis No. VF9SC3V35NM795031
As with many great automotive marques, the history of Bugatti is as
convoluted and compelling as it is illustrious. Formed of pre-war
racing exploits and handcrafted road cars the company was
successful as it was world-famous. However, by the late 1930s,
Bugatti were in decline; their fortunes were dealt a hefty blow by
state-funded teams from Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union and, more
worryingly, by the looming threat of war. Bugatti's passing in 1947
hastened the end for the company that battled on valiantly for a
further five years before Bugatti car production ended in 1952.
After an intermission of some 35 years, Italian entrepreneur Romano
Artioli acquired the rights to the Bugatti name in 1987 and a new
entity, Bugatti Automobili S.p.A, was established just outside
Modena, Italy. The company's spectacular new V12-engined, 212 mph
EB 110 was unveiled in 1991 to widespread acclaim, but perpetual
disagreements between the car's designers and Artioli blighted the
project. Around 135 cars were constructed, although an ill-judged
move by Artioli to acquire Lotus Cars in 1993-not to mention a
global recession-hastened the company's descent into bankruptcy in
1995.
In 1998, the Bugatti name was acquired by Volkswagen Group in a
move which led to the formation of an entirely new
French-registered company, Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. Fittingly
headquartered once again in Molsheim, the company would enjoy
financial stability for the first time since the 1930s; a factor
critical to the development of a new standard-setting supercar.
Although apocryphal, incumbent Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech
reputedly decreed that the company's new model should fulfil three
criteria: to produce more than 1,000 PS (986 horsepower), to
accelerate to 60 mph in under three seconds and to achieve a top
speed in excess of 250 mph.
Powered by a ground-breaking 8.0-liter, 16-cylinder engine arranged
into four separate cylinder banks, the new car boasted four-wheel
drive transmission, four turbochargers, no less than ten radiators
and, crucially, some 1,001 horsepower. Dubbed Veyron, in honor of
Bugatti's illustrious former test driver and Le Mans winner, it
redefined supercar parameters and in 2005 became the fastest
production car in the world with a top speed of 253 miles per
hour.
After ten years in production, and the construction of some 450
chassis, the Veyron was replaced in 2016 by a new model, the
Chiron. Deriving its designation from the marque's most illustrious
former pilot, it retained the same carbon fiber monocoque and
powerplant as its predecessor, albeit with the latter now
significantly uprated to produce an incredible 1,479 horsepower and
1,180 lb-ft of torque. Predictably, its performance was truly
eye-watering, with 60 mph and 186 mph achieved in 2.4 and 13.6
seconds respectively, en route to an electronically limited top
speed of 261 mph.
Following the introduction of evolutionary and limited-edition
models such as the Chiron Sport, Chiron Super Sport 300+ and Chiron
Noire, March 2020 witnessed the introduction of the new Chiron Pur
Sport, the rarest of all four models. In contrast to most, if not
all, of its predecessors, the car's focus was less on absolute
straight-line performance, and more on greater driver involvement
and optimized handling. Some 110 pounds was pared off the weight of
a standard Chiron, principally by fitment of new 10 spoke magnesium
wheels and replacement of the hitherto retractable-and hence
relatively heavy-rear wing with a lighter fixed item. Furthermore,
the car's gear ratios were shortened by roughly 15 percent to
maximize acceleration, and its coil springs stiffened
significantly; the latter modification being made in conjunction
with revised damper settings, new carbon fiber anti-roll bars and
optimized suspension geometry. In addition, the car benefitted from
heavily re-worked carbon fiber front bodywork to improve both
downforce and cooling, while a new ESC Sport+ driving mode enabled
greater drift angles to be generated prior to the car's Stability
Control software being triggered. Finally, new, bespoke Michelin
Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires were fitted, reputedly affording a 10
percent increase in lateral grip.
In performance terms, the Pur Sport represented a significant step
forward relative to the standard Chiron; itself hardly slow. The
modest weight reduction resulted in a staggering power to weight
ratio of 690 horsepower per ton, and if the shorter gearing limited
the car's top speed to 218 mph, a comparatively modest figure for
any 21st century Bugatti, then it was more than compensated for by
further incremental gains in acceleration; the car's zero to 186
mile per hour time now reduced to under 12 seconds. Yet it was in
its dynamic performance, front end grip and driver "feel" that the
Pur Sport offered the most significant advances; such progress
rendering it arguably the most involving and accomplished
modern-generation Bugatti yet.
One of just 60 Chiron Pur Sports constructed, this particular
chassis was configured with the desirable Pur Sport Exterior and
Interior packages, as well as the distinctive Pur Sport "Exterior
Split" option; the latter evoking the magnificent two-tone,
coach-built Type 55 and 57s of the 1930s. Further augmented by
contrasting brake calipers, Italian Red seat belts and a leather
steering wheel, the car's option package alone amounted to some
$392,400. Delivered to the consignor via Bugatti St. Louis of
Chesterfield, Missouri 2022, it has remained in his custody since
and has been fastidiously stored, occasionally used, and recently
exhibited in the "Hypercars: The Allure of the Extreme" exhibition
at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Showing a
recorded odometer reading of just 393 miles at the time of
cataloging, the car remains in practically "factory fresh"
condition and is accompanied by its original factory documentation,
handbooks and factory accessories. Additionally, the car has just
returned from a service at Bugatti St. Louis ahead of sale.
A technical tour de force, an object of beauty and one of the most
accomplished performance cars ever produced; the Chiron Pur Sport
is all of these things-and so much more. "Nothing is too beautiful;
nothing is too expensive" wrote Ettore Bugatti in the 1930s,
possibly in the context of his masterpiece, the Royale. The same
may be said of the Pur Sport; a car in whose design, development
and execution simply nothing was left to chance, and nothing was
too much trouble.
