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Bugatti Chiron production set back by awkward doors – report

Oddly shaped doors that make getting in and out difficult have reportedly set back the launch of the successor to the mighty Bugatti Veyron, dubbed the Bugatti Chiron.


Automobile magazine claims the introduction of the new hypercar has been pushed out from 2015 to 2016 after Volkswagen Group heavyweights Ferdinand Piech and Martin Winterkorn both complained about the Chiron’s prohibitively narrow opening angle and overly wide sills.

The door change, which may involve fixing the lower sills to the doors, is understood to require an extensive – and expensive – redesign, stretching the car’s development by a few extra months.

The latest details suggest the Chiron will be worth the wait, however.

The Veyron’s quad-turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 engine will carry over into the Chiron, but will introduce direct fuel injection and increased boost pressure to take power from its current 883kW (1200hp) peak to around 1103kW (1500hp).

Automobile claims at least two of the turbochargers will be electric turbos, helping to deliver the Chiron’s anticipated 1500Nm peak torque from low in the rev range and launch the French hypercar from zero to 100km/h in less than 2.5 seconds. CarAdvice's spy photographers caught Bugatti's engineers testing the new powerplant at the Nurburgring earlier this year, as these images show.

Bugatti is rumoured to be fitting a 500km/h speedometer in the Chiron, and it’s believed the needle will nudge that mark. A 463km/h top speed has been mooted, eclipsing the outgoing Veyron Super Sport by 28km/h.

Aiding its maximum velocity run will be an extensive array of active aero flaps and deflectors, while carbon-ceramic brakes and a big rear wing will be responsible for reining the Chiron in.

Despite being based on the Veyron’s existing carbonfibre architecture, 92 per cent of the Chiron’s construction is said to be new or modified.

The Chiron name (pronounced Shir-on) is yet to be confirmed, but is understood to be the most likely moniker for the new model, paying tribute to 1930s Monegasque Bugatti racer Louis Chiron.

The Chiron is expected to wear a two million euro ($3 million) price tag when it launches in 2016.

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