London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Bugatti hits 305 mph, first supercar to break the 300 mph barrier

Bugatti became the first car maker to top 300 mph, when a modified version of its hypercar hit 304.77 mph. A Bugatti Chiron, driven by Andy Wallace, hit the top speed on Volkwagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany. It’s the first supercar to break the 300 mph barrier.

Bugatti became the first carmaker to top 300 mph, when a modified version of its hypercar hit 304.77 mph.

A Bugatti Chiron, adapted for higher speeds and driven by Andy Wallace, hit the top speed on Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany on Aug. 2. It is the first supercar to break the 300 mph barrier.

“Bugatti has once again shown what it’s capable of,” said Stephan Winkelmann, president of Bugatti. “With this new record of the Chiron we enter again uncharted territory. Never before has a series manufacturer reached this high speed.”

Bugatti, which is owned by Volkswagen, broke the record for a production car in 2005 when its Veyron model hit 254 mph. In 2010, its Veyron Super Sport set another record with a top speed of 268 mph. But Bugatti said that with its latest top speed, it is retiring from the race for numerical records.

“We have shown several times that we build the fastest cars in the world,” Winkelmann said. “In future we will focus on other areas. ... This was the last time for us.”

The record-setting Chiron is not the typical production model that customers can buy for $3 million. It’s what Bugatti calls a “pre-production vehicle of a Chiron derivative,” with a longer and more aerodynamic body and reinforced tires from Michelin. Since the tires rotate up to 4,100 times in one minute, they were subjected to extensive trials and tests, and even X-rayed to optimize the smallest details before the test run.

The car was also fitted with added safety features for Wallace, including six-point seat belts and a special “safety cell” for the British racing car driver. The track pavement was cleaned with special mats to remove any stones or grit.

Bugatti is likely hoping that the new record will end, or at least reduce, its role in the growing arms race between hypercar makers over who has the fastest. In 2017, a Koenigsegg Agera RS broke Bugatti’s record with a speed of 278 mph, leading some to question whether the Chiron could top it. Bugatti says that after shattering the mythical 300 mph barrier, it can redirect attention to the other attributes of its cars and not focus solely on speed.

“Our hypercars are capable of so much more,” Winkelmann said. “They offer absolute exclusivity, luxury, unmatched beauty and a high level of automotive craftsmanship. The Bugatti is the only hyper sports car that combined all of these characteristics in one vehicle. We will concentrate even more on this in the future in the context of further exciting projects.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×