UK-based tuning firm Lanzante has been converting race cars into road-legal rides for a while now, but pulling the same stunt with the Bugatti Bolide just might be its most ambitious undertaking so far.
The track-only vehicle is rumored to start from $3 million before options, so only select few will dare modify it for the road. The company reckons it will have to replace the transmission and the exhaust system, as well as make numerous changes to the drivetrain. It’s still too early to say whether the stock output of 1,600 PS (1,578 hp / 1,177 kW) will be affected.
Commenting on the project, company founder Dean Lanzante emphasized that he never agreed to attempt street-legal conversions of race cars where the odds of success were low. Some vehicles, according to him, are simply too track-focused and would take too much to rebuild. Furthermore, even if done properly, such a conversion might ruin the original quality of the car or its unique character.
For example, there are coupes that require their engine and/or tires to be preheated before driving. Others can only be kick-started. Others still go through one-third of their total battery charge when started, meaning you can’t just afford to stop and then restart more than three times without zeroing the battery. In an urban driving scenario, this is simply unacceptable.
In contrast, the Bugatti Bolide is largely based on the street-legal Chiron model, so it should be viable.
