Bugatti Chiron breaks 300mph barrier

Bugatti Chiron goes 304 mph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuS_bXJNync&frags=pl%2Cwn

Wut... 

More impressed with the tires than the car (/former tire engineer)

That's ludicrous speed. I wonder who will be the first to break 500kph

morello159 said:

More impressed with the tires than the car (/former tire engineer)

That's ludicrous speed. I wonder who will be the first to break 500kph

I recall from the Veyron that the tires were good for something only like a single run at full speed before needing to be replaced.  I would imagine the tires on a Chiron are the same (and you probably can't pick up a new set at your local Discount Tire store.   )

stuart in mn said:

morello159 said:

More impressed with the tires than the car (/former tire engineer)

That's ludicrous speed. I wonder who will be the first to break 500kph

I recall from the Veyron that the tires were good for something only like a single run at full speed before needing to be replaced.  I would imagine the tires on a Chiron are the same (and you probably can't pick up a new set at your local Discount Tire store.   )

Though they will sell me a full set of winter wheels and tires for an audi r8 v10. I checked. 

Wow. How many LSR classes still have world records lower than 304?

As I remember the Veyon at top speed with a full tank and new tires would run out of gas just before it ran out of tires. Assuming the calculations were correct.

morello159 said:

More impressed with the tires than the car (/former tire engineer)

That's ludicrous speed. I wonder who will be the first to break 500kph

Me too. I remember Koenigsegg saying that was the limiting factor in the Agera when they made that public road top speed run.

I'm surprised the tire tech has come that far that quickly.

I read an article on this on one of the Dutch news sites this morning:

https://www.telegraaf.nl/lifestyle/104801234/bugatti-chiron-tikt-490-km-h-aan

They said the car ran out of track.  So, 500KpH should be doable for it.  They also said that the car was speed governed to 420 KpH because of the dangers of going that fast and tires.  This one had an extra 100 HP programed in and the governor disabled.

I think I remember (so definitely don't quote me on this) that a set of tires for the Veyron was $24,000, and you had to send the wheels to France. 

Would have been nice to see more from the driver's perspective. And one camera to show the relative change as the speed increased.

I was honestly never a fan of the Veyron. The Chiron is a much more...monumental car to me. I'd still buy a koenigsegg before I'd buy a bugatti, but I drive a 1993 corolla daily, so we all know how likely any of this is. 

Mind blowing. Wow. 

It's literally more than twice as fast as I've ever driven.

The Chiron's tires benefit from quite a few years of development compared to the Veyron, they use a standard rim geometry and mounting process now which cuts costs a lot.  

I know we’re all supposed to oooh and aaah over it but i’m really left wondering why.  200 is unusable on all but the highest speed tracks.  300 is just.....pointless.  There is no trickle down tech from that to regular cars.   

A buddy of mine suggested that the autobahn would be the place.   No way, that’d Be like driving through a moving parking lot at 150 mph if the other drivers were all cranked up to 150 themselves.

KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:

I know we’re all supposed to oooh and aaah over it but i’m really left wondering why.  200 is unusable on all but the highest speed tracks.  300 is just.....pointless.  There is no trickle down tech from that to regular cars.   

A buddy of mine suggested that the autobahn would be the place.   No way, that’d Be like driving through a moving parking lot at 150 mph if the other drivers were all cranked up to 150 themselves.

Pretty much sums up exactly what I think about it.  

ultraclyde said:

Wow. How many LSR classes still have world records lower than 304?

As I remember the Veyon at top speed with a full tank and new tires would run out of gas just before it ran out of tires. Assuming the calculations were correct.

Most of them.  And I'd bet that most of the cars that have broken 304 have costed less than the Bugatti as well.

Then again, this is a forum devoted to pointless activity.

Yeah, don't ask questions like that and then pretend you DONT want a derailment into social commentary. 

I came across the vid on my youtube last night and watched with rapt attention. It's interesting if only for trying to imagine how fast the trees and road stripes would go past you at 300mph.

I was thinking about this when I was at Bonneville a few weeks ago. I asked one of the drivers if he had any sensation of speed on the flats. But if you do the math, 300 mph means a mile every 12 seconds. Quarter mile markers go past every 3 seconds. You're going to notice that.

LSR cars might be less expensive, but they're rarely road legal or useable for anything other than LSR use ;)

In reply to Vigo :

You don't need any social commentary for this- this is a one trick pony- it just goes fast.  Which isn't really helpful for driving it in the real world- be it on actual roads, or in any race, other than land speed racing.  

The only "magical" thing is that they have manged to put that much power in a vehicle that is certified in some country for sale.  

As for the sensation of speed- well, I guess there is that.  

Sorry that some view it as not a big deal- which should not be a big deal- I don't think anyone noticed when a Supra did 270 over a decade ago.

Keith Tanner said:

I was thinking about this when I was at Bonneville a few weeks ago. I asked one of the drivers if he had any sensation of speed on the flats. But if you do the math, 300 mph means a mile every 12 seconds. Quarter mile markers go past every 3 seconds. You're going to notice that.

LSR cars might be less expensive, but they're rarely road legal or useable for anything other than LSR use ;)

As, as I just posted, few here care about them, too.

I find LSR cars to be interesting. Sometimes I fantasize about building one. But then I think, what would I do with it the other 51 weeks of the year? Then I think about making one with an engine that can be easily swapped into something else for the other 51 weeks, and then I realize how ridiculous my ideas are getting...

Bugatti President:

Our goal was to be the first manufacturer ever to reach the magic 300-mile-per-hour mark. We have now achieved this – making ourselves, the entire team and myself, incredibly proud.

We have shown several times that we build the fastest cars in the world. In the future we will focus on other areas.

...Right up until somebody hits 305.

Thinking about this again. I wonder how Christian von K. reacted to the news and what shennanigans we should expect from sweden in the near future.

From a real-world standpoint it is kind of a useless thing, I guess, but I still think it's amazing.  I can build a car that'll do 200mph.  300?  No way.  I think the car looks a lot better with the longer rear end, also.  It would be nice to see what kind of craziness Koenigsegg comes up with now.