Bugatti Test Driver Suggests The Chiron Won't Hit 300 MPH, But 280+ Might Be Possible

Hennessey wants to battle the Bugatti Chiron with its all-new Venom F5, which can reportedly reach a top speed near 300 mph (482 km/h).

The company better be paying close attention, as Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace has revealed the Chiron has the potential to exceed its limited top speed of 261 mph (420 km/h).

Speaking to Popular Mechanics, Wallace suggested the car hits 261 mph (420 km/h) with relative ease but it's unlikely the model could hit the magic 300 mph (482 km/h) mark because the forces acting on the tires and wheels are so extreme. As the magazine points out, the Chiron's valve caps each weigh 2.5 grams but that equates to roughly 16 pounds (7.2 kg) when the car is at the limit.

Wallace says there are no tires on the market that can handle the stresses of travelling at 300 mph (482 km/h), but hinted Michelin could develop tires that can sustain a top speed in excess of 280 mph (450 km/h). If that were to happen, it wouldn't be hard to imagine Bugatti rolling out a successor to the Veyron Super Sport, which set a new land speed world record for production cars when it achieved an average top speed of 267 mph (431 km/h) over the course of two runs.

In the meantime, we'll have to settle for the standard Chiron that's powered by a quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine with 1,500 PS (1,103 kW) and 1,600 Nm (1,180 lb-ft) of torque.