While most supercar manufacturers boast about top speeds in the 300km/h-plus region, Bugatti plays in a different league.

Its standard Chiron is capable of 420km/h, and now the French firm has unleashed a faster, long-tail Chiron Super Sport which runs to 440km/h ¯—useful, should you find yourself late for an appointment and your route is the German autobahn.

The car is based on the long-tail Chiron Super Sport 300+ that Andy Wallace drove to a top speed of 490.5km/h in 2019, the first hypercar to break the 300mph (482.8km/h) mark.

With aerodynamic fettling and extra power, the new Super Sport accelerates from 0 to 200km/h in just 5.8 seconds and to 300km/h in 12.1 seconds. It also takes 7% quicker to reach 400km/h than a regular Chiron, though Bugatti doesn’t say how many seconds will tick by.

To achieve these stupefying performance figures, Bugatti extracted an extra 75kW from the 8.0l  W16 mid-mounted engine to boost power to 1,176kW (torque stays the same at 1,600Nm) and reduced the car’s weight by 23kg.

A new, streamlined body with optimised aerodynamics includes a rear extended by 25cm to give the car more high-speed stability and a distinctive design. It rides on special Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres rated up to 500km/h.

To cope with the car’s high speeds and new aerodynamics, the Super Sport adopts harder springs and a retuned electronically controlled chassis, but Bugatti engineers developed the new hyper sports car for top speed while embracing both luxury and comfort.

Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti, calls the Chiron Super Sport the ultimate grand tourer, a counterpart to the more track-focused Chiron Pur Sport which was made for cornering and lateral agility.

“With the Chiron Super Sport, we are following our long-standing tradition of combining top speed with absolute luxury,” he says.

Deliveries of the car will start in early 2022 at a price of €3.2 (R52.8m).