Bugatti loves to be in close contact with its customers, often through exclusive driving events held around the world. The event is organized by the automaker who handles all the logistics for the customer’s car and ensures each car is running in optimum condition.
The most recent of these events was the Bugatti 400 Drive 2023 which was held recently at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds, located at the Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s Merritt Island. This site was actually the original landing strip for the space shuttle program, and consists of three miles of straight lines.
In 2018, a Chiron owner accelerated to the car’s regulated top speed of 261 mph during a Straight Line Aerodynamics Testing event open to the public. For the Bugatti event itself, the targeted top speed is 400 kph, or approximately 248 mph.
The 400kph speed was chosen by Bugatti for the event in recognition of Ferdinand Piëch, whose initial challenge to a supercar that could “drive 400kph in the morning and accompany its owner to the opera in the evening” led to the development of the Veyron. According to Bugatti, at such speeds the wheels spin so fast that the sensor, which weighs only 44 grams, is equivalent to 132 kg or 291 pounds.
There are various Bugatti models out there, including the Divo and Chiron Super Sport 300+, a customer example of a car that achieved a top speed of 304,773 mph in 2019. Every modern Bugatti is powered by the same turbocharged 8.0-inch. the W-16-liter engine, whose output reaches 1,577 hp on models like the Super Sport 300+ and 1,480 hp on the standard Chiron.
Before they hit the tarmac, customers were given instructions on what to expect and how to handle the high-speed cars. One of the odd rules is to let the car travel at high speed instead of trying to steer it.
One of the participants is not a customer but a dealer from Bugatti Greenwich. He was invited as a reward for his strong sales performance in 2022, said Bugatti.
