Bugatti has taken the wraps off its new two-seater Bolide, a track-focused hypercar based on the Chiron and boasting 1 361 kW and a top speed of “well above 500 km/h”.

Before we go any further, let us point out the French firm says it “has not been decided yet” whether the Bolide will go into series production.

So, what do we know? Well, the familiar 8,0-litre W16 engine has been tuned to deliver 1 361 kW and 1 850 N.m (using 110 octane racing fuel), with Bugatti saying it has “optimised the engine and gearbox in particular for higher engine speeds”.

Four newly developed turbochargers have been fitted, while the oil circuit, oil pressure, check valves, baffles, oil tanks, oil reservoirs and pump design of the dry-sump lubrication system have been “optimised”. Instead of water-to-air intercooling, the Bolide employs air-to-air intercooling with water pre-cooling.

The new Bolide has a wheelbase of 2 750 mm and a width of 1 990 mm, standing a mere 995 mm tall. According to the company, the newcomer weighs just 1 240 kg dry, which combined with all that oomph would result in a lap round the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 5:23,1 (according to "simulations").

Weight saving measures include a carbon monocoque and the fashioning all screws and fastening elements from titanium, with “many” functional components also made from an aerospace titanium alloy. Stopping power comes from ceramic discs, with the brake callipers weighing just 2,4 kg each.

“Bugatti stands for the continuous quest for technological innovations – in alignment with the company’s brand values of excellence, courage, dedication. And Bugatti never stands still. We are perpetually aiming for new and exciting goals, and the question that we always keep in mind is: what if?” says Stephan Winkelmann, president of Bugatti.

“We asked ourselves how we could realise the mighty W16 engine as a technical symbol of the brand in its purest form – with solely four wheels, engine, gearbox, steering wheel and, as the only luxury, two seats. Important aspects of our considerations were fine-tuning our iconic powertrain without any limitations as regards the weight-to-power ratio.

“These considerations resulted in the Bugatti Bolide. An uncompromising experiment, a thoroughbred, a Pur Sang that, in its brute exclusivity, impresses above all with high performance, low weight, and a driving experience in a whole new dimension. Driving the Bolide is like riding on a cannonball,” Winkelmann said.

Original article from Car