We thought that there’s nothing more to know about the Bugatti Veyron, a hypercar that’s been around since 2005 but apparently we were wrong. Let Jason Cammisa explain why the 1200HP Super Sport version was more than just a Veyron with the boost dialed up.

The original 1001 HP Bugatti Veyron was a car engineered to the absolute limit for its era but that didn’t stop the company from further pushing the envelope during the model’s life cycle. In fact, when the time for the development of the even faster Super Sport came, they didn’t have any other choice.

Also Read: It’s Been 15 Years Since The Bugatti Veyron Smashed The 400 Km/h Barrier

While adding an extra 20 percent of power on a modern turbocharged engine shouldn’t be a problem for any respectable tuner, the same couldn’t be said for the Veyron. The Bug’s nature dictated that almost the entire car would have to be re-engineered, and that included a new carbon tub, a new cooling system, new suspension and the list goes on.

The difference between a Bugatti Veyron and a Veyron Super Sport is massive, so much so that you could say they are two different cars. When the engineers first tested a 1,200 HP engine in a normal Veyron, it accelerated so violently that it exploded the air-conditioning compressor.

The progress in carbon-fiber technology allowed Bugatti engineers to design a much stronger carbon tub for the Super Sport that was also lighter. Combined with the revised suspension setup, the Veyron Super Sport also drove like a different car than the original; one that was agile and fun on top of the manic straight-line performance and worthy of a car that broke world speed records.

A lot of people that have driven the first Veyron said it was too clinical, too safe, and even boring and that stuck with the Bug for almost its entire lifespan. Apparently the Veyron Super Sport was as far from “boring” as anyone can imagine and that is added to the list with the surprising facts we’ve learned today.