Last August, Bugatti unleashed a souped-up version of its Chiron supercar on the Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany, with factory test driver Andy Wallace behind the wheel. Epic does not begin to describe what happened next. Not only did the car break the mythical 300 mph barrier (304.773 mph, to be exact), it inspired the French carmaker to build the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, a production model available in a limited edition of 30 examples—which now, thanks to Jacob & Co., has its own commemorative watch, the Twin Turbo Furious Bugatti 300+.
Hyper-complicated yet sporty, the ultra-exclusive timepiece is offered in just three pieces, each priced at US$580,000 (about RM2.5 million).
What, pray tell, is worth all that money?
Start with the fact that the watch, which is encased in an asymmetrical tonneau-shaped frame made of forged carbon and black titanium (to match the car’s exposed carbon-fibre bodywork), houses a grand complication movement composed of 832 parts, in addition to the 88 parts that comprise the case.
As functionality goes, the Twin Turbo Furious Bugatti 300+ has some pretty unconventional bells and whistles. It features not one, but two accelerated triple-axis tourbillons made of black titanium. Then factor in its rarefied take on the minute repeater: Unlike traditional versions of the chiming mechanism, which sound on the hours, quarter-hours and minutes, the one inside the Twin Turbo Furious Bugatti 300+ is a decimal repeater, which chimes the number of 10-minute intervals after the last hour followed by the minutes.
The model also boasts a monopusher chronograph equipped with a “reference time” indicator in the centre of the dial that displays the difference in seconds in comparison to a reference time—an homage to the pit boards in motor racing.
Finally, the watch offers 50 hours of power reserve, evident in a display at 6 o’clock labeled “300+.”
