Bugatti Chiron is the most powerful (and the most expensive) mass-produced vehicle currently available. In my personal opinion, Chiron is something from the early 2000s – using a W16 8.0 L engine to produce 1500-hp is a bit outdated. Chiron is an impressive car, but it doesn’t compare to the original Veyron that was the embodiment of a crazy idea brought to reality. Chiron is the polished version of the 1001-hp Bugatti Veyron.
Bugatti recently revealed an eccentric detail of the Chiron – the air conditioning unit. It is a system that cools you down when you press a button, but like everything in the Chiron, it is exaggerated. According to the press release, the air conditioning unit needs a cooling system, and that cooling system needs another cooling system! Understandably, this is due to the extensive heat generated by the W16 engine that produces 1500-hp and can travel up to 482 km/h (300 mph) Chiron Super Sport 300+ model.
As the numbers get mental, the laws of physics also start to push boundaries. To achieve the crazy speed of the Chiron, the windscreen is much larger and angled lower than an average car. Similarly, whilst the Sky View option offers two glass roofs, bringing additional sunlight to the interior, this results in a higher than average inner temperature.
Unlike regular cars, the air is not forced through the lower end of the windscreen. This action happens at speeds over 250 km/h. Therefore, the air conditioning compressor has to produce up to 10 kW to achieve cold air. As a guide, this amount of power could quickly cool down an 80 square meter apartment.
In ten years, we will see this technology downscaled to the other VW model for a more efficient cooling system. Sometimes I do wonder if VW Group is using the Bugatti brand as a testing bed and make it sellable to wealthy people so that while VW Group is doing its R&D, they recover some of the costs?
Images // Bugatti