Land speed records don’t come along very often, so when they do it’s worth making a fuss. Earlier this month, a version of the iconic Bugatti Veyron set a new marker for production cars. At the wheel of the orange and black monster (above), was the French firm’s test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel. On the first run he peaked at 266mph, on the second 271mph. The average, witnessed and verified by officials from Guinness World Records, was set at 268mph. The record-breaking runs were carried out at parent company VW’s test track at Ehra-Lessien, near its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. The final figure was a surprise to the Bugatti engineers on site, as they believed only 265mph was possible. The car in question is the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, and signals the final production models of a car which has done much to push the barriers of automotive technology and luxury in the five years it’s been on sale. Its 16-cylinder engine delivers up to 1,200bhp through a seven-speed transmission. Only a handful of SuperSports will be made and the first five – each badged as World Record Edition – will be finished in black and orange. Not surprisingly, they have already been sold.
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