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FastestThings

Cars

Bugatti Chiron

Bugatti's 2016 premiere says the road-use maximum is limited to 420 km/h. That is an electronic limit, not a timed maximum run.

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Top speed

Published as 420 km/hPublished as 420 km/hPublished as 420 km/h

Electronic limit for road use. Top Speed mode, with a second ignition key, allows up to 420 km/h. Geneva 2016 premiere. Not a timed maximum run.

ClaimedBugatti (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 4.0× a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • 1.3 football fields a secondConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)
  • London to New York in 13 h 16 minConstant · London to New York, 5,570 km great-circle

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

This list

Why it's so fast

A car is fast when the force pushing it forward still beats the air, and when the tires and the gearing can use that force. A limiter is a different fact from an unlimited run.

  1. Drag and gearing

    Top speed is the balance point: thrust equals aerodynamic drag. The gearing has to still be pulling when the car gets there, or the engine falls off its power.

  2. What the sources signed

    A manufacturer claim, a magazine test and an electronic governor are not interchangeable. The measurement line says which one this page ranked.

A limited example is the Bugatti Chiron.

This is how the category works. A note written for this entry appears here once it is in the database.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 420km/h261mph117m/s227knRanked figure

    Top speed. Electronic limit for road use. Top Speed mode, with a second ignition key, allows up to 420 km/h. Geneva 2016 premiere. Not a timed maximum run.

    Claimed
    Bugatti (opens source in a new tab)
  2. 2.40sRanked figure

    0–100 km/h time. Bugatti manufacturer claim for the Chiron: 0–100 km/h in 2.4 seconds, 0–200 km/h in 6.1 seconds, 0–300 km/h in 13.1 seconds. Not Car and Driver's 2.4-second 0–60 mph test of the Chiron Sport.

    Claimed
    Bugatti (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Manufacturer
Bugatti
Limit
420 km/h in Top Speed mode

Head to head

Compare Bugatti Chiron

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Spot a wrong number?

Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.