Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+: The 304 MPH Record That Was Never Actually Official
Every hypercar in this series so far has chased a number set by one car: 304.773 mph. That's the speed Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace hit in a Chiron Super Sport 300+ on 2 August 2019, becoming the first production-based car in history to break 300 mph. Six years and two other hypercars covered on this site later — one uncertified, one meticulously verified — it's worth going back to where the modern speed race actually started, and being just as rigorous about what that famous number does and doesn't mean.
Because here's the twist most coverage glosses over: the car that most people still call "the world's fastest production car" doesn't actually hold that title under the rules that matter most. This guide explains exactly why, alongside everything else worth knowing about the car, its 30-unit road-legal successor, and where Bugatti's speed obsession goes next.
Quick Specifications
| Spec | Record prototype (Aug 2019) | Chiron Super Sport 300+ (production, 2021–22) |
| Engine | 8.0L quad-turbo W16 | Same 8.0L quad-turbo W16 |
| Power | ~1,600 hp (tuned for the run) | 1,578 hp (1,177 kW) |
| Torque | Not separately published | 1,600 Nm (1,180 lb-ft) |
| 0–100 km/h | Not the focus of the run | 2.3–2.4 s |
| Top speed achieved | 304.773 mph (490.484 km/h), one-way, TÜV-verified | Electronically limited to 273 mph (440 km/h) |
| Body | Stretched "longtail" prototype, lowered ride height, no rear-view mirrors | Longtail bodywork, road-legal ride height and mirrors |
| Production | 1 car, not sold | 30 units, all built and delivered |
| Starting price | N/A | ~€3.5 million / ~$3.9 million |
Figures sourced from Bugatti's own announcements and contemporary reporting from Carscoops, Motor1, Hagerty and Top Speed, as cited throughout.
What Actually Happened in August 2019
Bugatti spent roughly six months secretly developing a modified Chiron with Michelin and motorsport engineering firm Dallara, working toward a single goal: breaking 300 mph. Michelin developed bespoke tires for the attempt — using a test rig originally built to validate Space Shuttle tires — because standard tires can't survive the rotational forces generated above 300 mph. The car itself was stretched roughly 10 inches longer than a standard Chiron, lowered, and had its mirrors and other drag-inducing elements removed, with the W16 engine tuned to add roughly 78 hp over the standard car's output.
On 2 August 2019, at Volkswagen's private 12-mile Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany, Le Mans-winning test driver Andy Wallace took the car to 304.773 mph (490.484 km/h) — the first time any production-based car had exceeded 300 mph. The speed was independently measured by Germany's TÜV technical inspection body, and Bugatti's then-president Stephan Winkelmann told Top Gear this would be the company's last dedicated speed-record chase.
The Asterisk Almost No One Mentions
Here's the detail that separates careful reporting from the marketing version of this story: Bugatti's own materials at the time acknowledged the record was "unofficial," because the run was made in one direction only. Most internationally recognized speed records — including the Guinness World Records production-car category previously held by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport — require the average of two runs made in opposite directions, specifically to cancel out any advantage from wind or track gradient. The Chiron's 304.773 mph run never attempted the return pass.
That doesn't make the number fake — TÜV's verification of the single run is real, and no credible source disputes that the car genuinely hit that speed on that day. But it does mean the Chiron Super Sport 300+ cannot claim, and has never actually held, the formal Guinness World Records title for fastest production car — a distinction that outlet after outlet has blurred in the years since, including some that still describe it as the "official" record. If you're the kind of reader who cares about the fine print behind a headline number, this is exactly the kind of fine print worth knowing.
The Road Car: 273 mph, Not 304 mph
Bugatti built 30 production examples of the Chiron Super Sport 300+, each starting around €3.5 million (roughly $3.9 million), and delivered the final unit in an event covered by multiple outlets. These road-going cars share the longtail bodywork and W16 engine of the record prototype, but come with a road-friendly ride height, functioning mirrors, and — critically — an electronic speed limiter set at 273 mph (440 km/h), not the 304 mph the name implies. That's still a genuinely enormous number, and higher than the standard Chiron's 261 mph limit, but owners of the actual "300+" road car will never see the number on its own badge on the speedometer.
The Chiron range as a whole was capped at 500 total units across all variants, and by the mid-2020s Bugatti had wound down Chiron production entirely as the lineup transitioned to its hybrid V16 successor, the Tourbillon.
How It Compares to the Rest of This Series
Set against the two electric hypercars covered previously on this site, an interesting pattern emerges: every headline "fastest car" claim in this space seems to come with its own asterisk. The Yangwang U9 Xtreme's 496.22 km/h run in 2025 beat the Chiron's raw number outright, but like the Chiron, it hasn't received formal Guinness or FIA adjudication. The Rimac Nevera R's records, by contrast, are more consistently independently verified, and the original Nevera's reverse-speed record is one of the few figures in this entire category to carry an actual, documented Guinness World Records title.
Against the Chiron specifically: the Yangwang beats it by roughly 192 km/h in outright top speed and the Rimac beats it comfortably in every acceleration and braking metric, reflecting the fundamental torque advantage electric motors have over even a 1,578-hp W16. What the Chiron retains is history — it was first, it forced every rival on this list into existence, and its combustion-engineered 300 mph run remains one of the most photographed and referenced moments in automotive history, regardless of which certification box it does or doesn't tick.
What Replaced It: The Tourbillon
Bugatti's current flagship, the Tourbillon, moves away from the pure-combustion approach entirely: a naturally aspirated V16 paired with three electric motors for a combined output reported around 1,800 hp, a claimed 0–60 mph time of roughly 2.0 seconds, and an electronically limited top speed around 277 mph. Notably, Bugatti has not signaled another dedicated run at the 300-plus mph mark with the Tourbillon, suggesting the Chiron Super Sport 300+ may remain the brand's high-water mark for outright top speed for some time, asterisk and all.
Pros and Cons
Advantages:
- A genuinely independent, TÜV-verified 304.773 mph run — the real number is not disputed, whatever its certification status
- The first production-based car in history to exceed 300 mph, a genuine historical milestone regardless of the one-way asterisk
- Road-legal production version actually exists and was delivered to 30 real owners, unlike some rivals' concept-only record cars
- Combustion-engine theatre and W16 sound that no electric hypercar on this list can replicate
- An enormous, well-documented engineering story — bespoke Space-Shuttle-tire-rig-developed tires, a stretched aero body, years of Bugatti/Veyron speed-record heritage behind it
Disadvantages:
- Never actually held the formal Guinness World Records production-car title, despite years of coverage implying otherwise
- The one-way-only record run means it doesn't meet the two-direction standard most serious speed records require
- Road-legal customer cars are limited to 273 mph, well short of the number in the car's own name
- Outpaced in outright top speed by the Yangwang U9 Xtreme and in every acceleration metric by the Rimac Nevera R
- Production is finished — all 30 units delivered, and Bugatti's current Tourbillon flagship hasn't repeated the attempt
Who Should Care About the Chiron Super Sport 300+?
Nobody is buying one today — production ended years ago, and all 30 cars are already in private hands. Where this car matters is as the fixed point every subsequent hypercar speed claim on this site has been measured against, directly or indirectly. Understanding exactly what its record does and doesn't certify is the single most useful piece of context for evaluating every "world's fastest" headline that's followed it since, including the Yangwang and Rimac stories covered previously.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ hold the official Guinness World Record for top speed?
No. Its 304.773 mph run was independently verified by TÜV but made in one direction only, not the two-direction average format Guinness's production-car speed category requires. Bugatti itself described the record as unofficial at the time.
How fast can you actually drive a Chiron Super Sport 300+ on the road?
The 30 road-legal production cars are electronically limited to 273 mph (440 km/h) — still extraordinary, but well short of the 304 mph the record-run prototype achieved and the "300+" name implies.
Is the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ faster than the Yangwang U9 Xtreme?
No — the U9 Xtreme's independently timed 496.22 km/h beats the Chiron's 490.484 km/h (304.773 mph) record run. Neither car's top-speed claim carries a formal Guinness or FIA certification.
How many Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ cars were built?
Exactly 30, each starting around €3.5 million (roughly $3.9 million). All were delivered by the time Bugatti wound down Chiron production.
What replaced the Bugatti Chiron?
The Tourbillon, a hybrid combining a naturally aspirated V16 with three electric motors for roughly 1,800 hp combined output. Bugatti has not repeated a dedicated 300-plus mph record attempt with it.
Final Verdict
The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ deserves its place in automotive history — it was the first production-based car to exceed 300 mph, verified by an independent technical authority, using engineering (bespoke tires included) that pushed the entire industry forward. What it doesn't deserve is the "official world record holder" label that's followed it around for six years, because the run that made it famous never met the two-direction standard that title actually requires. That's not a knock on the achievement; it's just the more accurate way to tell the story — and, after covering an uncertified Chinese hypercar and a Guinness-titled Croatian one in this same series, the honest through-line worth drawing is that "world's fastest" almost always comes with fine print worth reading before you repeat it.
Watch: Bugatti Chiron Breaks the 300 MPH Barrier
Sources
- Bugatti official record-run footage — youtube.com/watch?v=FuS_bXJNync
- Carscoops — original 304.77 mph record coverage and one-way-run detail (Sept 2019)
- TopSpeed.com — technical breakdown and Guinness-eligibility analysis
- Motor1.com — final Chiron Super Sport 300+ production delivery coverage
- Hagerty.com — 2022 Chiron Super Sport ownership review and road-legal limiter details
- Hotcars.com — road-legal vs. record-run speed comparison
- SlashGear.com — production-car record context and rival hypercar comparison
- Fox News — original record announcement and pricing coverage
- The Speed Journal — final production unit delivery details
- Bugatti/Andy Wallace interviews via DuPont Registry and SupercarBlog
