The Bugatti Chiron is one of the fastest hypercars that has ever been produced and is the only car to date to officially clock a top speed of over 300 miles/hour (482.8Km/h).
So when Bugatti was conducting straight-line aerodynamic testing at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, the French hypercar marque decided to invite a few lucky customers to join in on the fun.
The resulting once-in-a-lifetime customer experience event dubbed ‘Finding 400’ saw 18 Chirons and their owners blast across the length of the runway at Kennedy Space Centre. The 4.8-kilometre-long runway was once used as the landing strip for the Space Shuttle.
All the 18 lucky Chiron owners invited to the Finding 400 event were required to turn up with their speed key in hand. The Bugatti Speed key unlocks the top speed mode in both the Veyron and Chiron.
Before they headed out to experience the Chiron’s 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine vent all of its 1,578bhp on the road, the customers were given tips about what to expect from a Bugatti test driver.
When it is travelling 400km/h, the Bugatti Chiron covers about 1.25 football fields every second and those behind the wheel experience 1G of longitudinal force at full throttle.
At those speeds, the horizon is coming at you so fast that you’ll have to look further down the road. However, the eyes of those behind the wheel will struggle to pinpoint the braking boards among the heat haze rising from the runway, which could mess up braking points.
Thankfully, the instructions of the Bugatti test driver ensured that drivers remained focused on the task ahead. One rather unusual piece of advice that was passed onto the drivers was to let the Chiron wander at high speeds instead of fighting it.
After the instruction on what to keep in mind, all 18 Chirons and their pilots lined up on the end of the 4.8km long runway at the Kennedy Space Centre for a series of runs that saw them push the hypercar to the limit.
With the throttle pushed down to the floor, the Chirons launch into the horizon, reaching 300km/h in around 11 seconds. However, the next 100km/h takes quite a bit longer and by the time they hit the speeds, the braking spot at the end of the runway is approaching fast.
After several goes up and down the runway, the 18 owners left for their homes. However, as they left the Kennedy Space Centre, each participating owner was handed their tailored Bugatti race suit, embroidered with their name, and a unique Bugatti race helmet inscribed with the top speed they achieved.
Thoughts About Bugatti’s Finding 400
The Finding 400 customer event at the Kennedy Spacesaw 18 lucky Chiron owners (out of the total 500 that will be made) take the Bugatti hypercar to 400km/h in a controlled environment. If customer events were ever a flex, Bugatti’s Finding 400 just took the gold frosted cake.
