Built for speed, the Bugatti Chiron is the fastest street-legal passenger car in the world.

But that doesn’t mean it looks ugly.

Costing $3 million (R40 million), you might think with a 1 500 horsepower engine, a zero-to-sixty time under 2,5 seconds, and a top speed over 260 miles (420 km) an hour, it’s a little naf on the eye.

Nah, because it actually looks really, really good – basically, everything you need in one package:

I told you it’s pretty, but that’s the French for you.

CNN took a ride and this is what Peter Valdes-Dapena thought about it:

There are no large computer screens inside, only tiny round ones that fit inconspicuously inside knobs. Bugatti wants this car to be enjoyable decades from now and computer interface design ages about as well as cottage cheese, so there is almost none of it inside the Chiron.

From the outside, the French-built Bugatti is an artistic exhibition of curves flowing into and out of other curves. There are, indeed, enormous air vents. They’re needed to cool the huge engine and to feed it the enormous quantities of air needed to make 1,500 horsepower. The vents are housed within big swirls just behind the Chiron’s side windows.

And there is, indeed, one large wing that rides out over the back of the car. It raises, lowers and changes its angle depending on the needs of the moment, such as how fast the car is going or how quickly the driver is trying to slow down.

Sit inside, pull back the shift lever, and off you go. It’s that simple. Then you just take it onto the highway, find some open road ahead, and hit the gas. No, you’re not going to get anywhere near the Chriron’s top speed but, even so, that sound! Sixteen pistons banging out a rapid fire drumroll, four turbochargers sucking in air by the gallon. Your back is pinned to that expensive leather seat.

But, at the same time, it’s weirdly calm. The steering wheel’s not twisting in your hands. The tires aren’t screaming for want of traction. You’re just going very, very fast. And it’s so easy.

Very soon, it’s too fast. So you let up on the gas pedal.

The noise, the acceleration, that gorgeous body. That is what Bugatti buyers are getting for $3 million.

Now that we’re seeing the performance potential of electric cars, my bet is that the Chiron is the last such car we’ll see. For a few more years, and for just $3 million, you can buy the internal combustion era’s awesome grand finale.

Convinced? Perhaps one day, but for now you’ll need some serious cash or contacts to take a ride in one.

[source:cnn]