Bugatti Chiron Has Broken 300mph Barrier

No one thought they could do it, but today, the German engineered hypercar is the first road car to beat the 300mph barrier.

Driven by Andy Wallace, the Chiron hit speeds of 304.77mph at Ehra-Lessien. Verified by the TÜV – Germany’s Technical Inspection Association – this is an official run, therefore beating Koenigsegg’s record and any previous record held by the Chiron, Hennessey, or any other car maker.

The Chiron used was purposefully built to tackle this challenge with a number of aerodynamic tweaks to reach the big 3 0 0. Laser controlled ride height sits the car lower than ever, shotgun exhaust tips project their emissions far from the rear of the car, and the rear air brake has been removed.

Frank Heyl tells Top Gear Magazine, “The biggest challenge is to get the overall package right, not only design, not only aerodynamics, not only engine, not only tyres. It’s to get everything together and working in one car.”

Inside the car it was stripped of its passenger seat, where more computers now sit, a roll cage has been added and a safety seat for the driver, and anything else that wasn’t needed for the run has been removed. The 8.0-litre, quad-turbo W16 by the name of Thor produces 1,578bhp, but the AWD system and gearbox are unchanged.

The car will surely be released as a Super Sports version, despite no confirmation from Bugatti, but future models will each improve from what they have learned here. Will Koenigsegg jump to the competition? We hope so.