This company has two cars in the 2nd & 3rd place of the fastest car list
Hennessey Venom GT (270 mph)
Hennessey Venom GT
The combination of a Lotus Elise chassis and 1,244-hp 7.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 gives us the fastest production car in the world. Depending on your definition of “fastest” and “production car,” that is.
Hennessey recorded a 270.4-mph run at the Kennedy Space Center last year, but only in one direction. To be considered legitimate, record attempts usually require one run in each direction. An average is then taken to account for wind conditions.
Because of its hand-built nature, there’s also some debate about whether the Venom GT qualifies as a production car. While it can claim the highest recorded speed, Hennessey’s monster isn’t recognized as the world’s fastest car by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Bugatti Chiron (261+ mph)
bugatti chiron image
The Bugatti Veyron was a monumental feat of engineering, a supercar whose performance was so marvelous, Top Gear presenter James May compared it to the automobile equivalent of the Concorde. After ten years of production, the Volkswagen Group has unveiled the Veyron’s successor, the Bugatti Chiron.
Named for a famous centaur in Greek mythology, the Chiron is intended to improve upon the Veyron in every way. Hitting 261 mph using street legal settings, the 1500 hp Chiron is like a beast in chains. On the racetrack, Bugatti aims to break those chains as well as the current speed record (271 mph) held by the Hennessey Venom GT. For now, its top speed remains a mystery to the public. Although the Chiron is built like a racecar, one needn’t be a professional to operate it; the car is engineered to automatically adjust its machinery as the speed increases or decreases, ensuring optimal performance.
The Chiron will not be a mere speedster, but a comprehensive luxury vehicle as well. Beyond a beautiful leather interior, the car also sports a decadent sound system, with a diamond diaphragm inside each speaker. The dashboard features high-resolution digital displays that will adjust as the car’s speed changes, showing only crucial information at higher speeds. The Chiron looks to be a king among supercars, which is fitting, as kings will be among the few to obtain one; only 500 will be released for the first generation, and they cost a staggering $2.6 million.
When Volkswagen purchased the Bugatti brand, it had one goal: build the fastest production car in the world. The original Veyron achieved that goal, and with a price tag of $1.7 million and a quad-turbocharged W16 engine producing 1,000 hp, it also boasted the most superlatives of any production car.
Yet the Veyron was soon dethroned by the SSC Ultimate Aero, so Bugatti came back with the Veyron Super Sport. This Veyron-plus has 1,200 hp, and numerous aerodynamic changes meant to help gain a few extra miles per hour.
With a top speed of 268 mph recorded at Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessein test track, the Veyron Super Sport is still recognized as the world’s fastest production car by Guinness. The related Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse is also the world’s fastest open-topped car, with a top speed of 254 mph.
