An impressive order for an exceptional vehicle: Continental has developed an electronic brake control system for the Bugatti Bolide, a hypercar featuring an anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC) and traction control system (TCS), based on the “Motorsports ABS Kit by Continental Engineering Services.” This motorsports brake control system makes the 1,600 hp racing car controllable for professional racing drivers and enthusiasts alike. The Bugatti Bolide is an extremely powerful racing car from the hypercar manufacturer which is approved only for the racetrack. Originally conceived as a concept vehicle based on the Bugatti Chiron production model, the Bolide is now being built in a limited run of 40 units, with the first deliveries scheduled before year-end.
Continental’s internal development and engineering service provider, Continental Engineering Services (CES), and Bugatti have been cooperating on advanced developments for several years, particularly for the Bugatti Chiron and Bugatti Veyron models. The current project stands out due to the development and integration of hardware and software components because racing cars not approved for road use are primarily optimized for top performance and do not usually feature this type of complex driving dynamics system.
Christian Willmann, Bugatti’s chief engineer for the Bolide, explains: “Never before has an ESC system been combined with carbon-carbon brakes – until now. With the Bolide, we’ve achieved this breakthrough, creating a solution based on Continental’s motorsport brake control system that surpasses our expectations in performance, stability, and safety. Continental’s Motorsports ABS makes the Bolide even more exceptional.”
“We’re extremely proud that we were able to push boundaries with Bugatti in this extraordinary project,” adds Volker van Lier, head of the Chassis & Brake Systems business unit at CES. “Developing brake control technology for a hypercar is an exclusive discipline in which Continental Engineering Services has a great deal of experience. Making a racing car controllable not just for professional motorsport racers, but for all drivers, was a particularly interesting challenge for us.”
The challenge: to make a 1,600-horsepower hypercar controllable for anyone
CES was able to contribute its many years of experience both from its work for Bugatti and in the field of motorsports to this sports car project. The development service provider has previously developed brake control systems for the Veyron and Chiron production hypercars (the Bolide is based on the Chiron platform). Additionally, CES provides a foundational Motorsports ABS for all its motorsport clients, which has now been adapted and enhanced with new functionalities specifically for the Bugatti Bolide.
In developing the customized product, the CES Motorsports team tackled the challenge of making a vehicle with outstanding driving dynamics controllable for any driver.
