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Video of the week: Bugatti Chiron breaks 300mph record

This week’s video comes from Germany where a pre-production Bugatti Chiron derivative has been driven into the record books with a top speed of 304.773mph (490.484km/h).

The record-breaking run was certified by SGS-TÜV Saar after Bugatti test driver and Le Mans winner Andy Wallace pushed the car to the record on the test track at Ehra-Lessien on August 2, 2019.

“It’s inconceivable that a car would be capable of this,” said Wallace, who reached a record-breaking 234mph (391km/h) in a McLaren F1 on the same track in 1998. “But the Chiron was well-prepared and I felt very safe - even in these high speed ranges.”

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According to Bugatti, Wallace worked his way up to the top speed from 300 km/h in 50km/h increments to make sure the Chiron was optimally balanced. After one lap to condition the car, Wallace accelerated from the north curve to 200km/h to reach top speed on the 8.8km straight.

Record-breaking pre-production Bugatti Chiron derivative (Image: Bugatti)
Record-breaking pre-production Bugatti Chiron derivative (Image: Bugatti)

“I went at full throttle from the start for approximately 70 seconds,” Wallace said in a statement. “It was important for me to be out of the bend at 200km/h in order to reach top speed on the straight. That required the very highest level of concentration.”

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