Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (Bugatti)
Even the fastest car in the world has to try hard to stay ahead of the pack.
Automobile magazine reports that Bugatti is planning an even faster version of its Guinness record holding 268 mph Veyron Super Sport that could hit 288 mph.
The news comes as several automakers, including Washington State’s Shelby Supercars and Hennessey Performance from Texas, are building cars with theoretical top speeds in excess of 270 mph.
According to the magazine, the SuperVeyron would achieve this target through a combination of a weight savings of over 500 pounds through an even more extensive use of carbon fiber in the car’s construction, improved aerodynamics and a boost in horsepower from the already mind boggling 1200 hp of the current car’s quad-turbocharged 12-cylinder engine to 1600 hp, possibly by increasing its displacement from 8.0-liters to 9.6-liters.
Perhaps more impressive, with its advanced all-wheel-drive system the SuperVeyron is expected to be able to put all of that power to the ground and accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 1.8 seconds, compared to 2.5 for the existing car and quicker than just about anything short of an NHRA dragster.
The price? Figure at least $2.5 million when and if the car makes its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2013, but Bugatti may have something even more priceless than that.
The Ehra-Lessien high speed test track in Germany that’s owned by Bugatti’s parent company Volkswagen is possibly the only paved road on earth suitable for setting a record at these speeds, and it’s not about to give a free day pass to the competition.
When you want to stay on top, it always helps to have the deck stacked in your favor.