New Bugatti Hypercar Emphasizes Agility, Handling Performance
The new Bugatti Divo concept was recently unveiled on August 24, 2018, at ‘The Quail – a Motorsport Gathering’ event taking place in Monterey, California. Three very important things to note about the car: purchasing one will cost $5.8 Million USD, only 40 are being produced, and they’re already sold out.
Unless you’re one of those hopefuls still waiting in line with your cheque book open, the rest of the details are perhaps just semantics, which I’m happy to get into. For starters, the Bugatti Divo is based on the Bugatti Chiron, and is certainly no less over-the-top. The Divo shares most of the important mechanical features with the Chiron; most notably the same quad-turbocharged 8.0L W16 engine which produces an extravagant 1,500 horsepower.
According to Bugatti President, Stephan Winkelmann, the goal of the Divo is to be “the most agile and dynamic car Bugatti has ever created – a perfect homage for the 110th anniversary, which will be held in 2019”. In order to achieve this, many changes to the Chiron were made to its bodywork and chassis to amp up its aerodynamic efficiency and handling.
Such drastic changes ensured that the Divo and Chiron are easily distinguishable, visually. Functional air inlets were added to the front bonnet, along with a NACA duct on the roof, and a larger adjustable rear spoiler. The headlights and tail lights were reimagined for further effect, while its lower stance suggests added performance purpose. The interior is mostly unchanged, with some finishing touches added to make it distinctive.
Overall the Divo also has sharper angles and more aggressive looking body lines, with the horseshoe shaped grill, centre line running over the top of the car, and scoop-shaped doors being the only truly pronounced Bugatti features. The remaining design elements seem fairly reminiscent of present day Lamborghinis – and the fact that Mr. Winkelmann is the former Automobili Lamborghini CEO, leads me to believe this may not be much of a coincidence.
In performance metrics, the changes allow the Divo to produce 198 additional pounds of downforce, and lap the Nardò circuit in Italy a significant eight seconds faster thanks to the improved chassis redesign.
“Happiness Isn’t Just Around The Corner. It Is The Corner.” – The Bugatti Divo
