Not even four years after it was initially unveiled in concept form, the Bugatti Bolide is just months away from being delivered to customers. Bugatti describes the car as being “finely tuned for circuit dominance, a track-only hyper sports car that invites drivers to explore their limits.” As the French brand is wrapping up the Bolide’s development, Bugatti says that not only will the Bolide out-drive Formula 1 cars, it’ll be too fast for most FIA-approved race tracks.
In case you need a refresher, the Bolide will be Bugatti’s final car with the quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 that was first seen in the Veyron, here producing 1,578 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque. Unlike most other track-only hypercars the Bolide is all-wheel drive, and it uses a carbon-fiber monocoque developed with Dallara that helps give the Bolide a total curb weight of just 3,197 pounds — over 1,000 pounds less than a Chiron. It’s supersonic jet–like bodywork looks like nothing else, with aerodynamics that provide three tons of downforce and help the Bolide achieve up to 2.5 g laterally.
The Bolide’s top speed is 236 miles per hour in its low-drag configuration, 5 mph faster than the in-race Formula 1 top speed record and 1 mph faster than the overall record, both of which were set by Valtteri Bottas in 2016. Bugatti says the only problem is find a track where you can even do those speeds, as FIA-approved tracks can’t have straights that exceed 1.2 miles long.
Not only that, the Bolide will out-drive Formula 1 cars in general. Triple Crown winner Andy Wallace, who set the McLaren F1's top speed record, has been Bugatti’s official test driver since 2011 and was the first person to break the 300-mph barrier in a production car. This is what he has to say about the Bolide:
Everything about the car is on a completely different level to what I have driven before. All cars are difficult to drive at their limit, but even at the limits of its capabilities, the Bugatti Bolide remains remarkably easy to drive. When you have a car with this much capability, and this much downforce, not many people would believe that is possible. Even I found myself in a state of disbelief after my initial stint driving the Bolide.
The feeling when you come out of a corner, press the throttle, and experience that relentless surge of power is incomparable. You come out of that corner at 100km/h, and from there to 200km/h and then 300km/h is an absolute revelation. In that specific scenario, the Bolide would pull away from a Formula 1 car.
Despite its extraordinary capabilities, the Bolide has been designed to be as approachable to drivers as possible, which Bugatti wouldn’t really be able to do if it was restricted by LMH or LMDh regulations. The driver seats in a reclined position similar to an F1 car, and the Bolide has air conditioning and power steering.
Only 40 Bolides will be built at a cost of €4 million each, and Bugatti says first deliveries will start in just a few months. Hopefully once development is done Bugatti will go after some lap records with the Bolide — in simulation the concept would beat the Toyota TS050's Le Mans record and come close to the Porsche 919 Evo’s Nürburgring time.
