Why Does a Bugatti Veyron Sports Car Top out at 258 Mph (415 Km/h)?

If you have a lot of excess cash and a serious need for speed, you may be in the market for a supercar like the 2011 Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. This Bugatti, renowned for once eclipsing the world record for fastest production vehicle, is electronically limited to a top speed of 257.8 miles per hour (415 km/h) to protect its ultra-soft tires. Without the built-in limitation, you could achieve an eye-popping 267 mph (430 km/h).

At those speeds, says a reviewer at TopSpeed, "this monster would rip through its $42,000 (USD) Michelin tires in just 15 minutes." But you'd also have to replace the wheels, and that would cost you about $69,000 (USD), so better to ease off the accelerator a bit.

Get your motor running:

  • The base price for the Super Sport is $2.4 million USD. On the high end, for sure, but you'd be driving a car that held the title of "world's fastest production car" for more than three years.
  • The 16-cylinder aluminum engine with 1,200 horsepower can get from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in only 2.5 seconds.
  • The 2011 Veyron SS gets about 6.32 miles per gallon (city driving) and 15.8 miles per gallon (highway). The 26.4-gallon (100 litre) gas tank will run dry after only 10 minutes of top-speed cruising.
More Info: TopSpeed

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