Bugatti is a luxury hypercar company that doesn’t do things in half measure, just as founder Ettore Bugatti would’ve wanted. This goes for the company dealing with customer’s issues with the car, whether it’s as tiny as spilling their drinks in it due to a lack of cupholders. Or whether it’s how their multi-million dollar cars are tested before they go out to lucky customers. The $4.7 million Bugatti Bolide, Molsheim’s track-only hypercar, involves a rigorous shakedown at the very place these cars are meant to be driven: the racetrack.
Bugatti has revealed the intensive pre-delivery inspection that each of the 40 units of the Bolide go through. For starters, the Bolide is shipped out to the Circuit de Mirecourt in France, along with a team of eight Bugatti specialists from drivers, technicians, and engineers. The team monitors and analyses every aspect of the Bolide’s low-speed performance from steering to braking to make sure it all functions as expected. Next up, the fun part.
The Bolide is then pushed to the limits on the racetrack to ensure that all its mechanical components get up to temperatures it’s expected to work at while owners are at a track day. This includes taking the Bolide up to speeds as high as 186mph to test that its ABS, traction control, and braking systems are on point.
As excessive as that sounds, the Bolide is limited to a top speed of 236mph in its low downforce setting. That’s a few miles per hour faster than the fastest an F1 car has been clocked at on a race circuit, and those go through months of testing throughout the year.
Getting technical for a moment, drivers aim to clock braking forces over -2.5G and brake temperatures as high as 1,800°F, collecting invaluable data the entire time. No wonder the brand has the confidence to deliver its track-only hypercar to lucky owners who jump straight into a track-day experience.
