The Bugatti Chiron is a $2.5 million dollar, 261 mile per hour hypercar, unless you pay even extra, in which case Bugatti will deem you worthy of doing 285 mph.
That is what Dr. Willi Netuschil, Head of Bugatti’s engineering department, told Autoblog today, not exactly saying that 285 is even the top limit of what the car can do:
While other hypercar speed demons like the Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 Spyder, and McLaren P1 employ some form of hybrid electrification, Bugatti has forgone that route again in favor of sheer old-school grunt. Topping out at 261 mph with the use of a second “speed key,” it can actually go up to about 285 mph if you want Bugatti to electronically unlock the Chiron’s full insanity. However, there are only a few places on Earth where that can be done.
“You have to remember how much greater the braking distance needed is at those levels. The Volkswagen Group’s track near Wolfsburg has a specially designed long straight that can be used for these type of high-speed stunts,” says Dr. Netuschil. “There’s also a military base in Germany we can get access to that has a long enough runway.”
Willi is talking about Ehra-Lessien, their secret weapon in getting these huge top speeds.
Pish posh, Willi. I’ve seen a single-turbo Supra do a solid 300 on the Merritt Parkway with my own two eyes.
UPDATE: Willi said that the Chiron will do more than 420kp/h (nice) but only on a Bugatti-controlled top speed run. Customers won’t get to do that speed. And any specific speed is speculation. Read the whole thing here.