Bugatti Chiron Hits 257 MPH on the Autobahn Like It's No Big Deal

...without breaking any laws.

Bugatti Chiron Sport

Adrian Padeanu

By: Adrian Padeanu

May 29, 2024 at 4:03am ET

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The Autobahn remains the last bastion of ultimate speed where you can drive without risking jail time. There is a misconception the German highway doesn't have speed limits at all. In reality, about 30 percent of its total length restricts drivers from testing the full capabilities of their cars. There's been constant pressure to put speed limits across the entire 8,073 miles of highway. Until that happens, we get videos like this.

The owner of a Bugatti Chiron Sport took the W-16 machine early in the morning on an empty stretch of the Autobahn. He did what most of us can only dream of: Go flat out in a quad-turbo 8.0-liter hypercar that has nearly 1,500 horsepower. He proceeded to get close to the electronic top speed limiter, which is programmed to kick in at 261 mph. The driver "only" did 256.6 mph in Molsheim's monster.

It's not just outright speed that impresses the most. The Chiron Sport appears to have endless power resources regardless of gear and rpms. It continues to pull strongly even while it's doing above 200 mph, while remaining perfectly civilized. This isn't even the fastest or most powerful version Bugatti sold. The unrestricted 1,580-horsepower Super Sport 300+ did 304.77 mph a few years ago. However, the subsequent production model was limited to a still-insane 273 mph.

Eagle-eyed readers will notice the gas light coming on, which is hardly a surprise considering the car is rated by the EPA at a measly 9 miles per gallon in the combined cycle. Suffice it to say, fuel economy is even worse when you're pushing it to the maximum on an unrestricted Autobahn section. At maximum speed, the 26-gallon gas tank is depleted in just nine minutes. That's even worse than the Veyron as the preceding "French" hypercar was able to last for 12 minutes.

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Bugatti is weeks away from introducing its all-new model with a naturally aspirated V-16 engine part of a hybrid powertrain that uses Rimac know-how. Could it be even faster? It just might. There was an allegedly leaked image floating around social media with an analog speedometer going all the way up to 550 km/h (342 mph). The Chiron's maxes out at "just" 500 km/h (311 mph). It would make sense for the new model to be faster given the higher top speed displayed, provided that photo was legit. We should learn more about how fast it goes in June when the official premiere is scheduled to take place.

Meanwhile, it's worth mentioning this is not the first Chiron to hit 257 mph since real estate mogul Radim Passer did the same in late 2021. In case you've missed the top-speed run, which sparked a lot of controversy, we've attached it below.

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