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Bugatti is extracting all it can from its W16 engine. Yes, the Bugatti Mistral hypercar is coming out soon, and the Chrion is setting red carpets on fire across the globe. But the upcoming Bolide sets enthusiasts’ hearts on fire with an exotic motor and the latest technology. What makes this track-only, $4.4 million beast so special?

What is the Bugatti Bolide?

A black Bugatti Bolide on a race track
A black Bugatti Bolide testing on a race track | Bugatti

What, your 300 mph Veyron or Chiron isn’t enough? What do you do when you want to experience the ultimate Bugatti? Well, you look towards renting a race track for a day and taking your Bolide our for a few laps. The Bolide takes the W16 motor, so named because it has four four-cylinder motors arranged in a W configuration, and ramps it up. Then, Bugatti wraps the whole thing in minimal body work designed for ultimate downforce.

The Bolide has 1,824 horsepower thanks to new turbos that build more pressure at higher engine speeds. It weighs 2,700 pounds, which is about as much as a Miata with a driver. Everything is carbon fiber or lightweight aluminum and designed for a race track, only, like the integrated air jack.

Is the Bugatti Bolide the fastest car?

The back end of the Bugatti Bolide in blue and red
The rear of the 2024 Bugatti Bolide | Bugatti

Bugatti hasn’t done a top-speed run of the Bolide. Yet. But the car was designed to generate 5,700 pounds of downforce, so if you’re keeping score that means it could, theoretically, drive upside down. It’s also only 39 inches tall, which makes it lower than a 2020 Ford GT.  This car is basically an LMP1, or a Lemans race car, that you can buy for $4.4 million. It could be one of the world’s fastest cars, though, because it’s essentially a 300 mph Chiron with a lot more power and a lot less weight.

A detail image showing the slick front tire of the 2024 Bugatti Bolide
The Bugatti Bolide comes with slick Michelin racing tires | Bugatti

The Bolide is not street legal. Bugatti designed it for track use only, which means it comes with slick racing tires and a power-to-weight ratio that is similar to a Formula 1 cars, according to Bugatti.  The first deliveries of the Bugatti Bolide will begin in 2024, but it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever see one. The production run is limited to just 40 cars for the world. Like the kind of extra bright meteor the car is named for, they will be rare.

Bugatti became famous for making racing cars

A 2023 Bugatti Mistral
The upcoming Bugatti Mistral roadster | Bugatti

Today we know Bugatti for its Veyron, Chiron, and upcoming Mistral hypercars. Though the company has been through a nightmare of ownership groups, it was started by Italian racer Ettore Bugatti. He built the company in Molsheim, France, built a series of French Racing Blue cars that one the first Monaco Grand Prix, Targa Florio, and many other races. The Type 35 is the most famous Bugatti racing car.

The Volkswagen group bought the brand in 1998 and n 2005 started building its first modern hypercar, the Veyron in 2005. Though the Bolide will likely not compete in any sanctioned races, maybe just maybe we’ll hear one storming up the Nurburgring Nordschleife some day.

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Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.