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At top speed the contemporary Bugatti Chiron burns through approximately 130 litres of fuel every 12 minutes.
00:0627 April 2021
Bugatti – which is famous for producing high-performance fuel-guzzling hypercars – has given the strongest indication yet it plans to go all-electric in the not-too-distant future.
In an official statement released earlier this week, the Volkswagen-owned French manufacturer’s CEO Stephan Winkelmann said: "With regard to carbon emissions, there’s a simple order that applies to us all – first avoid them, then reduce them, and then offset any remaining emissions… For this reason, we at Bugatti work hard to avoid emissions and other environmental impacts wherever possible.
"With its initiatives and endeavours, Bugatti makes a commitment to the Volkswagen Group’s environmental mission statement ‘go to zero' ... The company aims to reduce the carbon footprint of its vehicle fleet by 30 percent over the entire life cycle by 2025 compared to 2015 and have made the entire Group carbon-neutral by 2050," the statement continued.
The iconic high-performance marque’s existing Chironvariant (shown above) currently derives power from an 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine, which sends a mammoth 1103kW/1600Nm to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
During city driving, the car uses a claimed 29.4 litres per 100km. When traveling at its top speed of 480km/h, approximately 130 litres is reportedly sucked through the engine every 100km.
However, last year rumours emerged Volkswagen was looking to palm-off the jewel in its prestige crown to Croatian electric vehicle manufacturer Rimac Automobili.
Meanwhile,in February 2021 Porsche – which is also a Volkswagen subsidiary – increased its stake in the Rimac brand to24 per cent, indicating a wider partnership could already be in the works.
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William Davis has written for Drive since July 2020, covering news and current affairs in the automotive industry. He has maintained a primary focus on industry trends, autonomous technology, electric vehicle regulations, and local environmental policy. As the newest addition to the Drive team, William was brought onboard for his attention to detail, writing skills, and strong work ethic.Despite writing for a diverse range of outlets – including the Australian Financial Review, Robb Report, and Property Observer – since completing his media degree at Macquarie University, William has always had a passion for cars.
