The Bugatti Divo. If you already own a Bugatti Chiron or a Chiron Sport I am sorry to say that your cars are not slower. Bugatti has just revealed a new model called the Divo that doesn’t get up to 400 km/h! It can only do 379 km/h, so be aware that someone will be able to overtake you!
Although it is a new variantion of Chiron, the Divo still uses a historic piece in the form of a W16 engine that is largely based on the VW VR6 engine from the late 1990s. It still produces 1500-HP from its 8-lt W16 engine and costs €5-million. This time Bugatti decided to make a car that is designed to handle.
The Divo is 35kg lighter and has 90kg more downforce than the Chiron. The wide front splitter guides more air to the cooling system, and the rest of the vents are designed to create an air duct. The rear spoiler is 23% wider than the Chiron (1.83-mt) and is there to increase the aerodynamic force in order to increase the car’s handling.
Veyron and Chiron are not very well known for their cornering abilities. Due to their heavy engine, heavy gearbox and luxury items, the Veyron and the Chiron are as agile as a castle on a curvy road.
Bugatti realised this problem and decided to reduce the weight of the Chiron and re-engineer the aero dynamic structure of the vehicle so as to improve the handling and, as a result, we have the Divo. However, when you play with aero dynamics for better handling, you scrap your top speed.
You might be saying 1500-HP is a lot. However, the aero dynamic friction is really high at higher speeds and to increase the top speed beyond 300 km/h you need lots of horsepower!
Long story short, the Divo is a hardcore version of the Chiron, and shows what it really can do. It handles better, is track focused and more aggressive.
How has this happened? Bugatti’s current CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, used to be Lamborghini’s CEO. He was the person behind the Reventón, the Gallardo as the Sesto Elemento and the Aventador as the Veneno and Aventador J.
He knows how to impress customers and make their wallet lighter by offering a lighter car. We can see the same strategy with the Bugatti.
As Bugatti stated when the Chiron was released, there won’t be any cabrio versions, so we have to be ready for more aggressive Chiron derivatives.
Honestly, I like the Divo and the story behind making a Bugatti that can’t achieve 400 km/h. Winkelmann showed that Bugatti is not just all about the top speed, and I am glad he did it, because it was getting ridiculous. The Veyron was a great masterpiece for its time! The early 2000s was the era of top speed and we were all really impressed with the Veyron. However, the world has changed and Bugatti needed to change to survive, and to avoid being stuck in 20th Century.
Will I be able to let you see any photos of this car? Unfortunately not. As the London Bugatti dealer is no longer part of the Bentley dealership, I can’t get inside the HR Owen Bugatti showroom and take photos. I have tried my luck a couple of times and it didn’t work. As I understand it, since HR Owen moved the Bugatti into a separate branch, they want to attract real clients instead of people like me. As a result, I unfortunately won’t be able to post any close-up photos of the Divo.
Photo credit // Bugatti