Bugatti’s Chiron hypercar has smashed records by becoming the world's first production car to break the 300mph-barrier. On August 2, racing driver Andy Wallace hit a speed of 304.77mph in the 1,500-horsepower Chiron, becoming the first hypercar to break 300mph, reported BBC TopGear.
To set the record straight, Japan's Shinkansen bullet train normally runs at about 200 mph. According to science, at speeds faster than 150 mph, cars become aircraft first and ground vehicles second, as aerodynamic forces become stronger than gravity and friction. The record-setting Chiron is faster than many small, Cessna-like aircrafts, and it can outrun a majority of the helicopters in the skies, commented autoblog.com.
The speed was verified by the TÜV—Germany’s Technical Inspection Association, the report said. With the new speed, Chiron has superseded previous fast runs from SSC (256.18mph two-way average, 2007), Hennessey (270.49mph two-way average, 2013) and Koenigsegg (284.55 vmax, 277.87 two-way average, 2017).
However, everyone is not buying Bugatti's new above 300mph record. In fact, it is public domain that in March, a 2005 Ford GT went slightly slower than the Bugatti and hit 300.4 pmh. But that was a modified car, and factually speaking, Bugatti remains the first production car to break the 300mph barrier.
With the new feat, Bugatti has reclaimed the world speed record for production cars with a run of 304.773 mph. The coveted place had gone to Bugatti's Swedish rival Koenigsegg with a run of 284 mph in the Agera RS in 2017.
A team of engineers from Bugatti, Michelin and Italian IndyCar constructor Dallara was working for six months to achieve the feat. Reportedly, the record-setting car drew its power from an 8-litre, W16 engine.
At 25cm longer, the Chiron has been purposefully designed for speeding. Its features have been amplified by laser-controlled ride height, set significantly lower to reduce drag, giving the impression that the car is melting into the tarmac. At the rear, the long tail with its reduced cross section (to aid aero and minimise drag) is punctuated by a pair of over-and-under shotgun tail-pipes. And to reduce drag, the rear wing and airbrake have been removed and replaced with a static unit recessed into the tail.
Inside, the high-speed Chiron has been stripped of a passenger seat, replaced with myriad computer systems. “Bugatti has once again shown what it’s capable of. With this new record of the Chiron we enter again uncharted territory. Never before has a series manufacturer reached this high speed,” said Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti.
