The Bugatti Chiron is all about superlatives, but it’s built to do one superlative thing in particular: go faster than any other production car. When the French supercar maker set out to build its first derivative of the Chiron, it had a different mission in mind. The ultra-limited Bugatti Divo, which is named after French race car driver Albert Divo and debuts today at The Quail in Monterey, California, is a uniquely styled coupe that’s tuned specifically to go fast on a race track.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the Divo looks quite different than the Chiron. Though the basic shape is similar to that of the Chiron, that’s where the resemblance ends. The prominent C-shaped character line that defines the Chiron’s profile has been removed completely, replaced with a new line that bisects the doors. The second most obvious difference is the rear wing and vertical fin reminiscent of the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept. Bugatti says the central fin is inspired by the iconic Type 57 Atlantic.
Up front, the Divo gets slender horizontal headlights like the Chiron, but also a set of large curved LED accents that underline the housings and sweep back along the fenders. The hood and front fascia have been completely reworked, with the only common design theme being the horseshoe-shaped grille. In back, the Chiron’s slim, full-width taillight is replaced by two separate LED lamps with many three-dimensional elements. The rear bumper integrates a large diffuser and four square exhaust tips in the center.
Power comes from the same 1,479-hp quad-turbo 8.0-liter W-16 found in the Chiron, but the Divo has many other upgrades that differentiate it from its sibling. Bugatti shed 77 pounds off the Chiron’s curb weight, and increased downforce by 198 pounds with the help of a large front splitter, redesigned rear diffuser, and adjustable rear wing. That wing measures 72 inches wide, making it 23 percent wider than the Chiron’s, according to Bugatti. The wing also functions as an air brake and can change angle depending on drive mode.
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Since “the Divo is made for corners,” as Bugatti boss Stephan Winkelmann says, engineers tuned the suspension and chassis to increase the platform’s lateral limits. Bugatti says the Divo can hold 1.6 g on the skidpad and lap Italy’s Nardo handling track 8 seconds quicker than the Chiron. But all of those tweaks come at the cost of a lower maximum speed than the Chiron’s 261-mph electronically governed limit. The Divo doesn’t get the Chiron’s Top Speed mode, so 236 mph is the best you’ll be able to do.
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