Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Top Speed
Day to day the Veyron will only do 375 km/h. To go faster you stop the car, take a second key, and turn it in a slot by the driver's seat. The car then checks itself over, drops about 90 mm closer to the ground and folds the rear wing flat. Only then does it unlock the full 407 km/h. In testing it recorded 408.47 km/h.
Full specifications
About the Veyron 16.4
When Volkswagen said it would build a road car with 1,000 horsepower that could pass 400 km/h and still be comfortable enough to drive to the shops, most people assumed it would never happen. It took years longer than planned and reportedly lost money on every car sold. But in 2005 it happened.
The hard part was never the power. It was heat. Sixteen cylinders and four turbochargers produce an enormous amount of it, so the Veyron carries ten radiators. At full speed it uses fuel fast enough to empty the tank in about twelve minutes, and it gets through a set of tyres long before that.
It also changed what people expected from a fast car. Before the Veyron, going quickly meant noise, heat and hard work. The Veyron did 400 km/h with air conditioning on and a leather interior, and every hypercar since has been measured against that.
252 coupes were built between 2005 and 2011, and roadster versions continued after that.
Specifications from Bugatti. Photography © Bugatti Newsroom.