Bugatti Chiron Super Sport Revealed As The Ultimate 273-MPH Grand Tourer

304.773 mph (490.484 km/h) - this is the impressive speed achieved by Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace in 2019 behind the wheel of a Chiron Super Sport 300+. A production version limited to 30 examples followed shortly to mark the occasion, and now the folks from Molsheim are introducing a new flavor of their long-tail W16 hypercar. Meet the Super Sport, which will be even rarer as production will be capped at just nine examples.

While the Super Sport 300+ was molded after the record-breaking car driven at Volkswagen Group's Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany, the new Super Sport has a different finish. It retains the reworked body stretched by 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) compared to the standard Chiron for optimal airflow at high speeds. Stacked double exhausts provide a deeper and richer soundtrack courtesy of the quad-turbo 8.0-liter engine producing an immense 1,577 horsepower and 1,600 Newton-meters (1,180 pound-feet) of torque.

Compared to the Super Sport 300+, the new Chiron special edition has redesigned aluminum wheels with a five Y-spoke design and an optional diamond-cut finish. Alternatively, customers can order the magnesium wheels originally seen on the Pur Sport to further cut weight beyond the 23-kilogram (51-pound) diet over a normal Chiron.

The new shoes are wrapped in the only tires available on the market that can consistently withstand speeds of up to 311 mph (500 km/h). It's a bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tire that is x-rayed to make sure it doesn't have even the smallest irregularities. The tires boast reinforced belts to cope with the huge forces and were verified on the same test bench initially conceived for the Space Shuttle.

The performance numbers are nothing short of amazing. The new Chiron Super Sport hits 124 mph (200 km/h) in 5.8 seconds and 186 mph (300 km/h) in 12.1 seconds. From 0 to 249 mph (400 km/h), it's seven percent quicker than a standard Chiron. The seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission has been modified and now has a 3.6 percent longer seventh gear. Fun fact – the SS switches from sixth to seventh at 250 mph (403 km/h).

Much like the Super Sport 300+, the latest Chiron is electronically capped at 273 mph (440 km/h), at which Bugatti claims the hypercar is still "effortless and safe to control." It's billed as being the ultimate grand tourer by offering comfort and luxury even at record-breaking velocities. Production is scheduled to commence soon and customer deliveries will start in early 2022.

Price? €3.2 million, which works out to about $3.9M at current exchange rates. That's somewhat of a "bargain" considering the one-off La Voiture Noire is roughly three and a half times more expensive while being less powerful.