Having bid goodbye to the Veyron at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, Bugatti has returned with a successor that faithfully carries on the proud heritage of performance fanaticism. Espousing a design philosophy of “form follows performance,” the new Chiron was built with speed and driving pleasure as its foremost considerations, though opulence isn’t a very distant third on that list. This car’s reason for existing is to allow its owners the peace of mind that they truly have the best production sports car anywhere. That’s what the Veyron did for many. We’ll see how the Chiron lives up to expectations once deliveries start in the autumn.

The new Chiron turns the Veyron’s extreme specs up another notch: 0 to 100km/h in less than 2.5 seconds, four enlarged turbochargers, and a total power output of 1,500hp. Maximum speed is limited to 420km/h for road use, the tires have been specially developed by a Bugatti-Michelin partnership, and the 8-liter W16 engine of the Veyron has been completely redesigned. Only 500 Chirons will be produced, and a third of them have already been sold for €2.4 million apiece. The Geneva Motor Show will play host to many debuts this week, but none will outdo the Bugatti Chiron’s combination of performance, luxury, and exclusivity.

“Bugatti has tested the limits of physics,” says company president Wolfgang Dürheimer. “The Chiron is the result of our efforts to make the best even better.” With that in mind, Bugatti has constructed a new carbon fiber monocoque, which serves a dual purpose: communicating Bugatti’s new, more aggressive design language and also enabling the car’s fierce performance numbers. The Chiron has a new titanium exhaust system and the first airbag to shoot through a carbon fiber housing. Its array of eight LED headlights is complemented by what will likely become the Chiron’s visual signature: a single rear light spanning the car’s width. The one tantalizing omission from Bugatti’s Chiron announcement is the car’s absolute top speed — the company just says that the Chiron is ready to set a new record for production sports cars.

The Bugatti Chiron is ready to claim the title of world’s fastest car, declared Bugatti President Wolfgang Durheimer at the unveiling of the car today at the Geneva Motor Show.

Though the Chiron is electronically limited to 261 mph in road mode, with all the restrictions lifted the car should go considerably faster — though Bugatti won’t share what it thinks that highest speed will be.

The Chiron will produce 1,500 horsepower from its 8-liter, W16 engine, and will move from 0-60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds. And it’ll do all that with diamonds in the speakers, so your tunes will sound good as you tear across the planet at mind-boggling speeds.