Throwback Thursday: The Original Bugatti Veyron Top Speed Test

Just the other day, we saw a Bugatti Chiron managed to take down the 300 mph marker. It will become the first hypercar of its kind to ever accomplish such a feat. Many people might not know just how impressive 300 mph is, let alone in a road car. To put everything perspective, today, we take it back to the Bugatti Veyron top speed test.

The year was 2008. Top Gear presenters with a little bit more hair on their heads than they have now were ready to set the world on fire. The Veyron was the hottest thing on the scene with just a touch over 1000 hp. It was then that Top Gear would take the car on a journey to reach out and touch its top speed.

Keeping in mind that this was 11 years ago now, we could see just how hard companies have had to work to eek out that last 50 mph. 50 mph doesn’t seem like much. However, when adding it on top of an already accumulated 250 MPH, things get a bit testy. After watching this one, we see that the Veyron was just about done with accelerating when it reached the landmark.

Now, there have been major advancements in the way that we drive our cars since 2008. With every high-performance manufacturer jocking it out with one another to reach 300, it took 11 years to do so. This means that nobody, even the most well versed in performance, could manage an additional 47mph in over a decade. Knowing that really helps our appreciation for this new record grow.

Back in those days, the Veyron was really the top dog in town. It may have been knocked off its podium since then, however, it’s still a machine that will outperform just about anything that we come across. There is really something to be said about this company and their pursuit of speed.