The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport has regained its title of ‘world’s fastest road-legal car’, following a reversal of a decision by Guinness World Records.
The French supercar maker was awarded the title in 2010 after the firm’s test driver Pierre-Henri Raphanel managed to reach 268mph, or 431kmh. But the title had been taken away after the motoring website driving.co.uk questioned whether or not the production version should have a limited top speed in order to qualify.
The production car available to the public is the same as the version that broke the world record, but has had a speed limiter added to it in order to protect the tyres. If an owner drove the Veyron at world-record speeds for long enough, roadside assistance would almost certainly be required.
A Guinness World Records spokesman said of the new decision: "Following a thorough review conducted with a number of external experts, Guinness World Records is pleased to announce the confirmation of Bugatti’s record of Fastest production car achieved by the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport.”
The spokesman said the question was about what constituted “a modification to a car’s standard specification”. He said they had decided that the addition of a limiter did not affect the fundamental design of the vehicle.
According to Guinness World Records, production cars awarded the ‘fasted car’ title must be mechanically the same as the version that broke the speed record.
Despite the limiter, the production version can still reach speeds of 258mph. Bugatti sold 30 of the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, each costing £2.1m.