Bugatti once again holds the record for fastest production car in the world, with a record run in August of a modified Chiron that reached 304.773 mph, 490.5 kph.
There are lots of details and a video at the link.
Interestingly, they don’t seem to have done two runs in opposite directions, which is the standard practice for land speed records.
The test driver, Andy Wallace (who has won LeMans and earned previous records), says,
(Emphasis mine.) I don’t know about you, but I’ve never driven at 150 mph, even though I drove cars on race tracks for 12 years. But I have gotten as high as 130 mph in my own car (2003 Nissan 350Z) and on one occasion took two laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a two-seater IndyCar that got up to 180 mph. (The driver was Davey Hamilton, who ran the Indianapolis 500 eleven times.) The difference between 130 and 180 was light years beyond anything I’ve experienced in any of my other track driving! Although that was mainly down to the G forces in the turns, which were incredible! Probably one of the most memorable things I’ve done in a car.
So I have a faint glimmer of what Wallace is saying about going up to 300 mph, although for the most part, he wasn’t doing any significant cornering: his record run was on a 5.5-mile straight with banked turns at each end that were only used for acceleration and deceleration. Even so, it’s an amazing achievement. The report says they had “the equivalent of the world’s largest lint roller to clean the track surface of any stones or grit prior to the run.”
Bugatti says that this is the end of their quest for speed records. “‘In future we will focus on other areas’ explained Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti.”
The video of the event is actually rather non-exciting simply because the car is moving so fast that it doesn’t seem very interesting/notable. I would have appreciated seeing the tach and the volume of fuel being consumed in real time.
It is an incredible achievement and the fact that the video isn’t more exciting demonstrates the power of the engine as well as the reliability of the car.
The 304mph speed is notable in being not 100 mph slower than the rocket car crash last week that killed Jessi Combs. (but now in reading more on that crash, it isn’t clear at what speed she was going.)
I cruise at 140-160mph on my daily work commute. I can definitely attest to the huge difference at 180+mph. I occassionally go as fast as 170-180, and its not at all the same as the difference between 60 and 80. Traffic has never allowed me to break the 200 barrier, though the car is capable. I have however gone over 190mph. I couldnt imagine doing 300. I’d love to if given the chance, though.
Finally! Just what I’ve needed! A way to spend a shit ton of money on something i can never really enjoy. Sweet! I plan on parking mine in a garage, putting a tarp on it and telling people about how fast it is!