I believe you know that I am still in mourning over the production of the last Bugatti Veyron. HERE
However, one of you alert readers sent me a piece from Car and Driver about the next Bugatti project. HERE
Chiton
Perpend:
Bugatti decided that the Chiron should carry over the Veyron’s 8.0-liter W-16 engine, adding direct injection and electric assistance for at least two of its four turbos to bring output to an estimated 1500 horsepower and 1100 lb-ft of torque. The transmission will be a seven-speed dual-clutch and, like the Veyron, it will distribute its power through an all-wheel-drive system, this time with torque vectoring. Zero to 62 mph should take less than 2.5 seconds, allegedly. We reported earlier this year that the Veyron’s successor might be a hybrid in the vein of the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918, but this report mentions nothing of the sort.
The Chiron’s “unconfirmed” top speed, according to the report, would be 288 mph thanks in part to active air deflectors, while the rear spoiler will help the carbon-ceramic brakes bring the car to a halt, just like its predecessor.
A Greek chiton is, by the way, a garment, a loosely fitting tunic like affair held at the shoulders with pins. You see lots of this in ancient statuary. And, if memory serves, it’s a kind of shell. UPDATE: Okay, fine. CHIRON. I read it wrong. And I posted this from an airplane….
if speed is what you need :
http://koenigsegg.com/regera/
but if its style:
http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/aero8/
Yes, it’s a shell. Chiton ==> chitin ==> hair, fingernails and insect shells.
Wasn’t Bugatti the guy who dreamed up the new Mass?
Chiton is also where we derive the word cotton.
Not sure I believe we got the word cotton from “chiton”. I understood it coming from Arabic. We got cotton from North Africa I think, and it came to Europe through Muslim traders and invaders. In Spanish this etymology is more obvious “algodon”: al godon. In Arabic that would be “al qutn.” A search suggests that “cotton” came into Middle English via French: “coton.”
This post immediately reminded me of a commercial we have in Detroit-“I know you’re mad Jake -but you got to get your own”.
Chitons are indeed small to large marine molluscs (in about 940 extant species) having a single articulated shell on their upper sides. Image: http://tinyurl.com/p546lwp
Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer
Did I miss a reference to chiton or did it get misread? The car’s name is Chiron – king of the centaurs in Greek mythology.
There’s also a very sparse belt of asteroids out past Saturn called centaurs, one of the most prominent of which is accordingly named Chiron.
The electrically assisted turbocharger idea is interesting – basically a hybrid electric turbocharger. I’m sure that helps with low end power and throttle lag quite a bit.
Unless my eyes deceive me, I think it’s called a ‘Chiron’ (no ‘t’), after either the wise centaur or a far-flung planet.
Wikipedia says that Bugatti says that the Chiron 18/3 is named after Bugatti race driver named Louis Chiron. (And the number of cylinders they have, and their arrangement.) He was their winningest driver, so it’s nice.
Of course, I’m sure that “sounds kinda like Veyron” was also a reason.
Held at the shoulders with pins? Pallium? Quite the car for an archbishop to be driven around in. Beats a fiat for sure.
then there’s the Bugatti Charon, which is generally only good for one way travel.