Other than for manufacturer bragging rights, the top speed of most cars is meaningless because limits make sustained travel at over 161 kilometers per hour is largely impossible. The unrestricted sections of Germany's Autobahn are the major exceptions to this rule, Bugatti Veyron owner Radim Passer is responsible for pushing the opportunity that these high-velocity roads offer to the absolute limit by hitting 402.5 kph there in 2015. He now tells the story of making this incredible run on video.
Passer's goal was to break the 400-kph barrier on the Autobahn, and it took years for him to do it. The original attempt was in May 2011. Unfortunately, the temperature was too cold that day, and the Veyron's computers refused to put the car into the top speed mode.
Passer returned to the Autobahn a year later for another attempt. Unfortunately, this effort was also in vain because an issue with the transmission once again caused the car not to enter the top speed mode.
The third time turned out to be the charm. Passer took his Veyron to the Autobahn once more in 2015, and the hypercar was able to hit 250.1 mph.
Passer brushes off any concerns about these runs being unsafe because specifically picked a day and time when the road was most likely to be empty. Still, something can go wrong very quickly at such a high velocity, and we have to question the logic of potentially putting people in danger for such a feat. If Passer wants to do high-speed drives in his Veyron, there are events on closed courses that would allow him to do it.
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