Bugatti’s new Divo is a reworked Chiron promising improved handling and agility

If you didn’t think Bugatti couldn’t make anything more insane than the Chiron, then think again. Because the French automaker just upped its own ante with the all-new Divo. Named after legendary French racing driver, and two-time Targa Florio winner, Albert Divo, it was revealed at The Quail during Monterey Car Week as another testament to the automaker’s reputation for being an exclusive coachbuilder of ultra-luxurious and high-end supercars.

“The Divo has significantly higher performance in terms of lateral acceleration, agility, and cornering. The Divo is made for corners” said Bugatti president, Stephen Winkelmann, at the event’s reveal at The Quail.

Based on the 1000-plus horsepower Chiron, the Divo is more focused on handling agility and cornering abilities. Weighing 77 lbs less than the Chiron, the slight diet is said to significantly improve handling characteristic and overall performance. But it doesn’t stop there.

Previous Next

1 of 10

The Divo’s exterior was designed specifically for improving aerodynamics and increasing downforce. So when the Divo is charging down an empty stretch of racetrack or road at high speeds, it produces around 198 lbs more downforce than a Chiron in a similar situation.

Because of the weight reduction and improved dynamics, along with a significantly revised suspension system, Bugatti claims the Divo lapped the Nardo handling test track eight seconds faster than the Chiron.

“The modern interpretation of coachbuilding gave us engineers new freedom,” Stefan Ellrott said, Bugatti’s chief of technical development. “The step that we have taken with the Divo in terms of agility and high-performance cornering dynamics can be compared with the overall development from the Veyron to the Chiron.“

Otherwise, the Divo remains powered by the same quad-turbocharged sixteen-cylinder engine serving up over 1,500 horsepower. Though due to it having less weight to haul around, the Divo is expected to be a tad faster than the Chiron in a straight line.

“The Divo is a further example of our design philosophy ‘Form follows Performance‘. In this case, the engineers and designers aimed to create a vehicle focusing on cornering speeds and lateral dynamics,” said Achim Anscheidt, Bugatti’s director of design.

Only 40 models will reach production, all of which were already claimed for immediately following its reveal in Monterey. At around 5 million British pounds, each car sold for roughly $6.5 million U.S. dollars.