From the moment the Bugatti Chiron was launched, we’ve been waiting for a willing owner to take the French hypercar to a drag strip. The owner of this Chiron recently did just that and was able to lay down some impressive times.
The following video from Drag Times on YouTube shows the Chiron making two different runs down the drag strip. For the first run, the owner decided not to engage the vehicle’s launch control system, while for the second run, all the aids were engaged to make for the best possible time. The differences between the two runs were dramatic.
Without launch control enabled, the driver was only able to manage a measly 3.84 second sprint from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h). The hypercar then continued through to 100 mph (160 km/h) in 6.2 seconds, and 150 mph (241 km/h) in 10.71 seconds. The 4.8 time needed to travel from 60-130 mph (96 km/h – 209 km/h) is also a little slower than we would expect from the Bugatti. The car ultimately finished with a time of 11.04 seconds at 151.72 mph (244 km/h).
For the second run, launch control was enabled and to say it made a huge difference would be an understatement. With all systems engaged, the hypercar rocketed off the line and reached 60 mph in just 2.66 seconds before hitting 100 mph in 5.1 seconds. After just 9.72 seconds, the car was running at 150 mph and after 9.9 seconds, it had completed its blistering quarter mile run.
What lessons can us mere mortals take from seeing a Chiron race down the quarter mile? Not much, really. However, if you like to think you can driver quicker with performance aids disabled, you’re probably mistaken.