Bugatti’s Divo is a road-legal but racetrack-bred $8m supercar

Bugatti’s new Divo is made for turning corners as well as heads, but despite the near-$7 million price tag and a production run limited to just 40 of these slipstreaming supercars, every single one of them has already been sold.

The Divo will be ever rarer than the Bugatti Chiron, which saw its production run limited to 500 cars. And it'll be slightly slower in a straight line than the Chiron, with an electronically limited top speed of 380km/h (the Chiron redlines at 430km/h).

But for this car, straight lines aren’t the point. Around a track, the Divo will beat the Chiron all day long.

“The Divo has significantly higher performance in terms of lateral acceleration, agility, and cornering,” says Stephan Winkelmann, president of Bugatti. “The Divo is made for corners.”

Changes in the car’s aerodynamics program, modifications to the chassis, and suspension upgrades see the Divo 35kg lighter to match substantially more downforce with better lateral acceleration.

It maintains the massive 8-liter, 1,500-horsepower, 16-cylinder engine and the wide, low footprint of the Chiron and Veyron.

But new inlets, vents, and edges carved out of its slimmer body increase airflow for downforce and keep the brakes and engine cool – a constant challenge in the world of hypercars.

Along the top, the roofline with a drastic dorsal fin forms a uniquely shaped duct to optimize air intake.

In the back, a new spoiler acts as a brake and can be set to varying angles for different driving modes.

And a newly designed, wide front spoiler guides more air to the front inlets that help cool the car at high speeds.

Engineers saved weight by adjusting the front diffuser flaps, reducing the amount of insulation, and installing a lighter sound system. In addition, as Bugatti puts it, “stowage compartments on the central console and in the door trims have also been omitted.”

in other words: Goodbye, cup holders.

On the front end, daytime running lights set on the outer edge give the car a wide, menacing look. The front splitter has an upper section in matte silver that makes the Divo look lower and underlines the optical illusion created by the wide-set headlights.

At the outer edge, the fins look wider and brighter; toward the center of the car, they look narrower. The effect looks like a gradual light fade across the back of the car.

According to Bugatti, all 40 Divos have already been purchased, which is not surprising. The brand has said its average owner has, statistically speaking, 2.5 Bugattis in the garage: one to drive, one to preserve, and one placed on order.

Brett David, chief executive officer of Miami’s Prestige Imports, confirms that purchase mentality among the world’s most wealthy.

“It is becoming increasingly easier to do deals on seven-figure cars rather than US$200,000 to US$300,000 cars,” he says.

“People realize it’s an appreciating asset. They’re having opportunities to see increased value and increased profitability in these cars – and they want something they can really drive, rather than just let sit in a garage."

Hannah Elliott

Hannah Elliott is the resident motoring writer at Bloomberg.