Despite being a single-product carmaker ever since it was taken over by the Volkswagen Group back in the late 90s, Bugatti has been on a roll developing various versions of its models that keep the company in the spotlight, and then some.
The Molsheim supercar/hypercar builder was the first automaker to pass the 400 kph (248.5 mph) mark with a production vehicle, and that feat certainly put it on the map of modern times, while its latest speed record in 2019 cemented Ettore Bugatti’s legacy well into the future.
With a specially modified Bugatti Chiron, Le Mans winner and Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace reached a speed of exactly 490.484 kph (304.773 mph) on August 2, 2019 on the test track at Ehra-Lessien, in Lower Saxony.
In other words, the Chiron became the first road car to not only break but demolish the magic 300 mph (482.80 kph) barrier.
Coincidentally, that record came approximately 21 years after Andy reached 391 kph (243 mph) in the original modern hypercar, the McLaren F1, on the same track, likewise setting a world record.
“Our goal was to be the first manufacturer ever to reach the magic 300-mile-per-hour mark. We have now achieved this – making ourselves, the entire team and myself, incredibly proud.” said Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti, immediately after the event.
“We have shown several times that we build the fastest cars in the world. In future we will focus on other areas,” Winkelmann continued by lying in 2019.
Why do we say this? Well, the record car will not remain a one-off, with Bugatti choosing to develop and manufacture a limited series of 30 so-called Chiron Super Sport 300+, with the first units to be delivered in 2021.
Our collaborating spy photographers recently caught a pre-production version of the car testing in southern Europe and apart from the distinct lack of orange stripes, the matte black hypercar is pretty much identical to the record vehicle from 2019.
Powered by a quad-turbocharged W16 developing 1,176 kW/1,600 hp, the Chiron Super Sport 300+ exceeds the Chiron by 100 hp. With a much longer rear overhang and redesigned front- and rear-ends, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ should have probably taken the ‘Longtail’ moniker as well.
That doesn’t, though, because the 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million at current exchange rates) hypercar will still make 30 future owners extremely proud of their fortune. Sadly, most cars will probably remain hidden indoors once bought, in climate-control garages.
With a specially modified Bugatti Chiron, Le Mans winner and Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace reached a speed of exactly 490.484 kph (304.773 mph) on August 2, 2019 on the test track at Ehra-Lessien, in Lower Saxony.
In other words, the Chiron became the first road car to not only break but demolish the magic 300 mph (482.80 kph) barrier.
Coincidentally, that record came approximately 21 years after Andy reached 391 kph (243 mph) in the original modern hypercar, the McLaren F1, on the same track, likewise setting a world record.
“Our goal was to be the first manufacturer ever to reach the magic 300-mile-per-hour mark. We have now achieved this – making ourselves, the entire team and myself, incredibly proud.” said Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti, immediately after the event.
“We have shown several times that we build the fastest cars in the world. In future we will focus on other areas,” Winkelmann continued by lying in 2019.
Why do we say this? Well, the record car will not remain a one-off, with Bugatti choosing to develop and manufacture a limited series of 30 so-called Chiron Super Sport 300+, with the first units to be delivered in 2021.
Our collaborating spy photographers recently caught a pre-production version of the car testing in southern Europe and apart from the distinct lack of orange stripes, the matte black hypercar is pretty much identical to the record vehicle from 2019.
Powered by a quad-turbocharged W16 developing 1,176 kW/1,600 hp, the Chiron Super Sport 300+ exceeds the Chiron by 100 hp. With a much longer rear overhang and redesigned front- and rear-ends, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ should have probably taken the ‘Longtail’ moniker as well.
That doesn’t, though, because the 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million at current exchange rates) hypercar will still make 30 future owners extremely proud of their fortune. Sadly, most cars will probably remain hidden indoors once bought, in climate-control garages.