A pencil line drawn in the Mojave sand, Avenue A outside Rosamond, California, appears to be auditioning for a John Ford Western. Discovered by former editor-in-chief Csaba Csere in the 1980s after the section of Sierra High-way previously used for testing became too busy, the road remains lonesome. Ruler straight and mostly devoid of houses, cars, and humans, this spot served as an unofficial test site for years.
Things have changed a bit. The six-mile portion formerly used for straight-line testing now skirts the edge of a solar farm on the north side of the road. In the right light, the farm's mirrored panels shimmer like a sequined dress. Employees regularly rumble by in a Ford F-150, making speed runs impossible. Back in the '80s,testers befriended the Dennis family, some of the only nearby residents.
A 1578-hp engine will make anything, even the 4587-pound Super Sport, seem as light as a Mazda Miata. But remarkably, the Chiron loves to turn. Light and fluid steering, a carbon-fiber structure that's unfazed by everything short of an off-road trail, and 1.05 g's of grip on the skidpad make for a multimillion-dollar car that's as at home in the canyons as it is flossing outside Nobu.
Though we beg for more time, this version of the Chiron will be the last, a parting shot before electric motors join in on the fun. What comes next will probably outperform our $4,301,450-as-tested Chiron, but there's something captivating about an unapologetic nonhybrid 16-cylinder engine with 64 valves and four turbos. There's no denying the next version will better answer the question of how to go really, really fast.