Continental has been working on high-performance vehicle safety with the development of a sophisticated electronic brake control system tailored for Bugatti’s 1,600-horsepower Bolide hypercar. Created exclusively for the racetrack, the Bolide incorporates Continental’s advanced 'Motorsports ABS Kit,' a breakthrough that integrates anti-lock braking, electronic stability control (ESC), and traction control. This innovation addresses a key challenge in making ultra-powerful vehicles accessible and safe for drivers across skill levels allowing even non-professionals to experience a hypercar on the track.
Continental Engineering Services (CES)'s expertise in motorsports technology has driven the evolution of this unique brake system which is built specifically for track conditions and optimised to handle the Bolide’s tremendous power and torque. Typical racing cars are tailored for pure speed and rarely include such comprehensive stability systems but the Bolide required CES to adapt its Motorsports ABS with added functionalities suited to the 380-kmph hypercar’s demands.
Christian Willmann, Bugatti’s chief engineer for the Bolide, noted that 'never before has an ESC system been combined with carbon-carbon brakes.” This high-performance braking arrangement, rooted in Continental’s motorsport technology, has pushed engineering boundaries to deliver unprecedented performance, stability, and safety in the Bolide.
The challenge of creating a manageable 1,600-horsepower hypercar also demanded that CES engineers balance top-tier racing performance with user accessibility. Recognising the needs of both professionals and amateurs. CES incorporated a range of control modes to allow drivers to adapt the braking and stability functions to suit their level of expertise and the track conditions. The Bolide’s driving modes can be toggled directly on the steering wheel, providing flexibility in response to variables like track surface, weather, and tyre temperature.
A particularly demanding aspect was the need to manage the intense physical forces inherent in racing. The Bolide’s weight of 1,600 kg and capacity to decelerate up to 2.5 g placed exceptional demands on CES’s brake system, especially at high speeds where aerodynamic downforce nearly doubles the weight load on the wheels. This required CES to redesign its software algorithms to handle these extreme dynamics seamlessly, allowing the system to control brake pressure with precision at speeds up to 380 kmph, even during tight manoeuvres.
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