Tires at 14,000 euros for around sixty kilometers? If the data may seem provocative, it especially illustrates the technical constraints of a vehicle designed only for track efficiency.
On April 29, 2025, several specialized publications relayed a figure that arrests: equipping the bugatti racing tires adapted to circuit represents an expense of around 14,000 euros… for only 60 kilometers. Behind this spectacular amount hides a radical approach to automotive engineering, specific to a model designed without compromise. Back on the technical, economic and sporting reasons that explain this cost level.
A design dictated by performance
The Bugatti Bolide is a hypercar strictly reserved for a circuit use. It does not aim for comfort or versatility, but absolute performance. Its W16 Quadriturbo engine develops 1,600 horsepower, for a mass of only 1,450 kg. With an extraordinary weight/power ratio, the entire vehicle is subject to extreme mechanical constraints, particularly in terms of adhesion.
In order to make the most of these dynamic capacities, Bugatti has developed a tailor -made tire train in Michelin. This type of tire, identical in its approach to those used in competition, offers maximum grip on dry surface but has a very short lifespan. On the car, a 6 -kilometer driving is enough to make them inoperative for the expected performance.
Why 14,000 euros?
The figure put forward by collector Manny Khoshbin, owner of several Bugatti, in a video published at the end of April, reports an expense of $ 16,000 to replace all tires, or around 14,000 euros at the current exchange rate. This amount corresponds to the two necessary trains (front and rear), and also includes the costs linked to the assembly and specific management of these very technical components.
Unlike road tires, these models must be heated homogeneously before their use, then undergo several mounting/disassembly cycles in order to guarantee an efficient temperature rise on track. This process, similar to that applied in automotive competition, naturally increases the overall cost of the operation.
-Online costs with the Hypercars segment
If 14,000 euros may seem excessive with regard to conventional automobile standards, this amount is a logic already well established in the world of hypercars. The replacement of tires on a Bugatti Chiron is around 12,000 euros. On a Veyron, it can even exceed 35,000 euros, including the type of specific rims used.
In general, vehicles in this category require very regular and particularly expensive maintenance, especially due to the intensive use of advanced materials and custom parts. The tires are only one example among others: carbon-carbon brakes, flexible FIA approved tanks, harnesses with a limited lifespan, cockpit protective foam, on-board fire extinguishers with battery to be renewed annually … Each component is sized to meet the requirements specific to the competition.
An unknologized model, dedicated to the track
The Bugatti Bolide is not approved to circulate on open road. It is delivered with a game of transport tires, which do not allow a use on track. Only specifically developed Slicks tires allow the vehicle to be used under the conditions provided by the manufacturer. This limitation partly explains the high replacement frequency, each driving session representing maximum stress for tires.
With a production limited to 40 copies, all already sold, The racing car is intended for an informed clientele, accustomed to the constraints of this type of car. The cost of consumables, whose tires, is therefore an integral part of the global project and is integrated as soon as the vehicle is purchased, offered from 4 million euros.
The Bugatti Bolide is an engineering concentrate for extreme driving conditions. Its architecture and level of performance impose very specific technical choices, especially in terms of tires. The price of 14,000 euros for 60 kilometers is not the fruit of a commercial drift, but the direct consequence of specifications oriented towards exclusivity and performance. In this universe, each driving session is a unique experience, supervised by technical requirements comparable to those of professional motorsport.
