Following the triumph of the Bugatti Chiron Sport, world’s first production vehicle to have hit 490+ km/h (304 mph), the French hypercar maker says it could have done better than that.
According to Bugatti, the car could have accelerated by a further 25 km/h (15.5 mph) if the test crew took it to a different location on the globe. Two years ago, a Koenigsegg Agera RS scored 446.97 km/h (277.7 mph) on the State Road 160 in Nevada, USA. Bugatti R&D Director claims the Chiron could go as fast as 515 km/h (320 mph) on that highway.
The reason, allegedly, lies in the different aerodynamics of the two locations. The Ehra-Lessien Test Track where the Chiron Sport set its record lies only 50 meters (164 feet) above sea level, whereas the State Road 160 rises 1,036 meters (3,399 feet) above it.
Alright, but why didn’t Bugatti just go to the States for the record-breaking run? The official answer goes: safety first. Apparently, the Nevada highway is just too long and isolated, meaning rescue teams would have trouble arriving on the spot in time if an accident occurred.
Besides, the Nevada road sports a considerable 3% inclination, which means gravity assists acceleration all the way, rendering the whole test non-representative and simply unfair.
Yes, Koenigsegg. Bugatti wants you to know you have cheated. Tsk tsk.