Bugatti Chiron reaches 300mph+

On the 2^nd of August 2019 Bugatti made history as they broke ‘the record’ for the fastest car in the world and the first car to break the 300-mph barrier as the driver Andy Wallace peaked at 304.77 mph in the slightly modified Bugatti Chiron at Ehra-Lessien.

The Bugatti Chiron that broke the 300-mph barrier was equipped with a massive 1,578 horsepower 8.0 litre quad-turbo W16 engine that is nicknamed ‘Thor’, which is only 99 bhp more than a stock Chiron.

The Bugatti however did not break the record for the world’s fastest production car as the car used to reach 300+ mph is a “near production ready prototype”. The car also has modifications that allow it to reach such a speed such as the additional 25cms to the length of the car and the lowered ride height to reduce drag. The car’s passenger seat was also removed and replaced with computers to aid the 300+ mph run and fitted with a roll cage for the driver’s safety. Another reason the 304.77 mph run didn’t break the Guiness world record for the fastest production car is because in order to set the record you need to drive the car in both directions of the road you are trying to set the record on. The Bugatti only did one run in their attempt to break 300 mph because of an odd quirk of the Ehra-Lessien circuit. The Ehra-Lesssien was built during the cold war and after years of testing there with cars running clockwise around the track allegedly has resulted in the road surface that having a grain going in that direction and going the other direction at high speeds would have caused excess heat to build up in the tyres which would have caused a hazard.