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Top Gear's Chris Harris - Bugatti Chiron vs classic Type 35

<i>Image: Youtube</i>
<i>Image: Youtube</i>

England - Top Gear's Chris Harris rolled back the years by driving a classic Bugatti Type 35 in a clip posted on YouTube. The automaker's latest model joins the epic road trip - the new Chiron hypercar.

A case of engineering brilliance

Bugatti is synonymous with breaking engineering barriers in the automotive world and Harris explains why the Type 35 was ahead of its time.

The Type 35 driven by Harris is a replica built by Argentine automaker Pur Sang, though the company says it was built with "precise specifications to the original model" with some modifications.

Harris said: "On the one hand it feels totally antiquated and old, obviously because it is. Then you imagine back to the 1930's, it must have been totally state of the art. The quality and the size, it just a beautiful piece of engineering.

"They were just light years ahead of their time. This is a demonstration of Bugatti's genius, I now understand what its all about. Everything is paired back and light. It almost looks and feels like a high quality Swiss watch than it is a car." 

A comparison of eras

The original model used a three-valve 2.0-litre overhead cam straight-eight engine first seen on the Type 29 and produced 67kW.

The latest offering from Bugatti, the Chiron, sports an 8.0-litre W16 quad-turbocharged engine and delivers a staggering 1103kW.


Check out Harris driving impression of the Type 35 below: 

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