I initially dismissed the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport when it debuted earlier this month, ignoring the idea of a Chiron (a very fast car) made marginally faster. However, after careful study and deliberation, I am happy to announce that the wheels specially designed for this car are good. I defy you to look at them and disagree.
Look at these things. They look like 1990s rally wheels. They look like Enkei NT03s! They don’t look as cool, perhaps, as the original BBS Bugatti wheels of the 1990s but hey, what could?
Here’s what Bugatti said about the Pur Sport’s wheels:
Frank Heyl and the Technical Development department teamed up to devise a magnesium wheel design featuring optional aero blades for the Pur Sport. Arranged in a ring, the blades guarantee ideal wheel ventilation while also boosting aerodynamics. While the vehicle is in motion the rings fitted to the rim extract air outwards from the wheel where it is immediately drawn towards the rear. This invention prevents adverse turbulence in the wheel area and also improves the flow across the side of the vehicle. A special cover on each of the five wheel nuts minimises turbulence and adds a final visual touch to the wheel’s design. Cutting the weight by a total of 16 kilogrammes results in a lower unladen weight and also reduces the unsprung masses of the already ultra-light Bugatti wheels. “All of the modifications make the Pur Sport’s handling more accurate, direct and predictable. Lower unsprung masses result in improved grip because the wheel maintains contact with the road surface more easily. Anyone behind the wheel will immediately feel its lightweight character through bends”, Jachin Schwalbe, Head of Bugatti Chassis Development, adds. An accomplished interpretation of “form follows performance”.
Hell yes aero wheels. We are used to seeing turbofan style aero wheels on race cars from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, to say nothing of some real high-performance machines, like E34 BMW M5s.
The Pur Sport runs 20s up front and 21s out back, and Bugatti should do the right thing and sell them on their own for people to put on their Audis.
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