Bugatti once again makes the fastest production car in the world. The Veyron held that title until 2007 when the little-known SSC Ultimate Aero TT proved it was quicker on a deserted stretch of American highway. Now the latest Bugatti, the 1200hp Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, has won the record back.
At the weekend Bugatti test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel performed two timed runs in opposite directions, the first at 427.933km/h and the second at 434.211km/h, to record a two-way average of 431.072 km/h (267.86mph). The record was verified by representatives of the German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) and the Guinness Book of Records.
"We took it that we would reach an average value of 425 km/h," said Bugatti chief engineer Dr Wolfgang Schreiber, "but the conditions today were perfect and allowed even more."
Bugatti tester Pierre Henri Raphanel prepares for the record run.
The Super Sport's extra power comes from bigger turbochargers and bigger intercoolers. The suspension has also been revised, with longer wheel travel, stiffer anti-roll bars and complex race-style dampers, which Bugatti claims provides 'noticeably more precise control of the wheels and the car as a whole'.
Bugatti has delivered 249 Veyrons and has 11 orders to fulfill, plus 13 orders for Grand Sports (22 delivered so far). The Super Sport will begin production at the company's Molsheim factory in the autumn. The first five cars, to be known as the 'World Record Edition', will be finished in a special black exposed carbon and orange finish and have already been sold.
The Super Sport will make its public debut at the Pebble Beach Concours in California in mid-August.
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is officially the world's fastest production car.