[imagesource: Bugatti]

The coveted title of ‘World’s Fastest Production Car’ once again changed hands earlier this month, and despite many predictions, it wasn’t snapped up by a Bugatti.

The company didn’t lick its wounds for long, though. It had more important things to focus on.

You might recall that last year the Bugatti Chiron smashed through the 482km/h speed barrier, cracking 489km/h and setting a world record.

Not satisfied with leaving it there, Bugatti has just announced its latest addition to the family – a track-only hypercar packing a power to weight ratio of 0,67 horsepower per pound, and designed to “lap the Le Mans racetrack faster than any car in history”.

Over to CNET:

Bugatti says the Bolide is “the most extreme, uncompromising, fastest and lightest” car it has ever made. Yes, I said fastest — according to Bugatti the top speed is “well over” 310 mph, making it faster than the record-setting Chiron Super Sport.

The Bolide has 1 825 horsepower, weighs just 1 240kg, and sports a W16 engine.

Bugatti also says that according to computer simulations the Bolide can lap the Nürburgring in 5 minutes 23.1 seconds, putting it just 4 seconds behind the record-holding Porsche 919 Evo, and that it will lap Circuit de la Sarthe in 3 minutes 7.1 seconds, nearly 8 seconds quicker than the record qualifying lap of the Toyota TS050.

The premiere video is long and covers just about everything that you need to know about the car, which is great for the enthusiasts out there, but a little tedious for those who just want to watch it tear up the tarmac.

If you’d like to go straight to the car in action skip to the seven-minute mark:

Did you spot the Baby Bugatti II in the background at the start of the video?

For those of you who skipped straight to the good part, here’s a breakdown of the specs.

The heavily vented front fenders and quarter panels pay homage to F1 cars. The cockpit is low and narrow with a wraparound windshield, and the rear deck has more cutouts to show off the engine.

While the Bolide’s quad-turbo 8,0-litre W16 engine and all-wheel-drive system are similar to that of the Chiron, everything has undergone some radical changes.

The 1 825 horsepower engine boasts over 200 horsepower more than the Chiron SS’ motor and its 1 364 pound-feet of torque makes it almost 200 lb-ft torquier.

Bugatti says the powertrain’s overall weight has been “significantly reduced.” All four turbochargers are new and feature different blades for more boost pressure at high speeds, the intake and exhaust systems have been “dethrottled” for better response and there’s an air-to-air intercooling system with two water precoolers that Bugatti says is more effective than a Formula 1 car’s radiator setup.

This will be the last W16 engine to grace a Bugatti, as the company is being forced to downsize and will likely go electric.

CEO Stephan Winkelmann says that the Bolide really pushed the W16 engine to its limits, making it the perfect car to retire the engine.

“We have freed the vehicle of all baggage and have illustrated and combined the engine with the lightest possible chassis to create the ultimate Bugatti and to ensure the ultimate driving experience,” he said.

“With the Bolide, we are presenting our interpretation of a Bugatti track car of modern times to Bugatti enthusiasts all over the world and finally make their most fervent wishes come true.”

Not a bad way to go out.

[source:cnet]