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After one of its cars made a high-speed run on a German test track, Bugatti says it is the first production auto manufacturer to make a car that exceeded 300 miles per hour.
A specially modified Bugatti Chiron, driven by Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace, went 304.8 miles per hour on a 5.5 mile straightaway on Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany, the company said. Bugatti is owned by the Volkswagen Group (VLKPF), which also owns Lamborghini and Bentley.
Bugatti is a "production auto manufacturer," meaning it makes multiple copies of the same car for use on public roads albeit, in Bugatti's case, in low numbers and at very high prices. But this was not the ordinary sort of Chiron one can buy for $3 million from the Bugatti factory in Molsheim, France. This record was set by a prototype Chiron that Bugatti developed in cooperation with the Italian race car manufacturer Dallara. (Cars built solely to compete for speed records have gone as fast as over 500 miles per hour.)
In addition to making safety alterations for such high speeds, the companies modified the car's body to improve aerodynamics. The tires were also specially developed by Michelin, which makes the tires for regular Chiron cars as well. The tires are still legal for road use but they were reinforced to withstand these extremely high speeds.
A specially modified Bugatti Chiron, driven by Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace, went 304.8 miles per hour on a 5.5 mile straightaway on Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany, the company said. Bugatti is owned by the Volkswagen Group (VLKPF), which also owns Lamborghini and Bentley.
Bugatti is a "production auto manufacturer," meaning it makes multiple copies of the same car for use on public roads albeit, in Bugatti's case, in low numbers and at very high prices. But this was not the ordinary sort of Chiron one can buy for $3 million from the Bugatti factory in Molsheim, France. This record was set by a prototype Chiron that Bugatti developed in cooperation with the Italian race car manufacturer Dallara. (Cars built solely to compete for speed records have gone as fast as over 500 miles per hour.)
In addition to making safety alterations for such high speeds, the companies modified the car's body to improve aerodynamics. The tires were also specially developed by Michelin, which makes the tires for regular Chiron cars as well. The tires are still legal for road use but they were reinforced to withstand these extremely high speeds.
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