You'd think it would be an uncomplicated question. What is the fastest car in the world? Far as I know, there's only one world, right? However fast any bunch of cars can go, presumably, at some point, one is going to be the fastest. At worst, maybe there might be a couple tied for fastest? Right?
However, it turns out to not be anywhere near that straight forward at all. Crowning an automobile the fastest car in the world it turns out involves a number of considerations you might not have expected. As it happens, it was precisely ambiguity about the definition of what constitutes a "car" in the phrase, "what is the fastest car in the world" that led to quite a bit of controversy in 2013.
We should, though, start at the beginning. And that will be identifying the players in this kerfuffle. We have three cars particularly to introduce and that will play a part in the tale we tell. The first of these is the Bugatti Veynon Super Sport. If it helps, think of it as the European Union style car, a product of a Franco-German enterprise. Volkswagen owns the Bugatti, while it is assembled in Molsheim, France. The Bugatti Venyon Super Sport accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds, thanks to an 8.0 liter W16 engine which allows it to generate 1,200 bhp. The good folks at the Guinness Book of Records have certified it as recording a track speed of 267.8 mph. This is the reigning champ.
Bugatti's competition is, on the one hand, the Hennessey Venom GT. This car hits a speed of 265.7 mph under the drive of its 7.0 liter V8 twin turbo engine producing 1,244 bhp. Its acceleration speed of 0 to 186 mph in 13.63 seconds has been certified. On the other hand, we have the SSC Ultimate Aero. This car has been crowned the world's fastest on two separate occasions. In 2007 it recorded a certified speed of 256.18 mph, earning its first title, which it kept for almost three years. However, its second crowning proved to be rather controversial. Before turning to the controversy, though, in addition to identifying the players, we should know the rules of the race.
These claims about being the fastest car in the world are actually claims about being the fastest "production" car in the world. What this means is that the only cars which qualify are those that customers can actually buy on the commercial market. There may be vehicles, you might call cars (though they might resemble spaceships), that can only drive on the Utah salt flats. Those don't count. Only a car that is legal, and available, to purchase (admittedly for a somewhat hefty price) and can be legally driven on the road counts as a production car.
We should understand than that only the cars which can be bought and driven in this manner qualify for the race, as it were. Cars that are modified from their commercial form to amplify their race track speed would naturally be disqualified. That makes sense, right? One would hardly quibble with that regulation if the point is to evaluate production cars. Surely that's a straightforward matter. Well, as it turns out, not so much.
The story begins in 2010. It was then that Bugatti first took the crown as the world's fastest car away from the then reigning champ, the SSC Ultimate Aero. And Bugatti remained top of the hill, until April of 2013. In the early days of April, John Hennessey, proprietor of the Venom GT, announced that his car had set the production car record with a dizzying speed of 265.7 mph, back in February. This though had not been a certified test. As a consequence, such a run posed no threat to Bugatti's record. And, anyway, the Venyon Super Sports speed record was officially higher than the Venon GT, at 267.8 mph. So, what was the big deal? The big deal turned out to be, Hennessey also remarking that in fact his speed did made his the fastest production car in the world. His reasoning was that, as he pointed out, Bugatti placed a speed limiter in their commercially purchased cars.
It turned out that this was true. Bugatti Venyon Super Sports that were bought commercially had a safety system in place to prevent them travelling in excess of 258 mph: pretty much a full 10 mph below the track recorded record speed. When the folks at the Guinness Book of Records got wind of this bit of information a whirl wind of controversy ensued. They concluded that this constituted the kind of modification for speed testing purposes which disqualified a candidate as a production car. Consequently, the Bugatti's crown was revoked. However, since the Hennessey's speed had not been officially certified the crown reverted back to the prior fastest car in the world, the SSC Ultimate Aero.
A strange situation this one surely was: the point of a rule against modified cars was, one would understand, to disqualify cars not sold commercially. For instance, cars taken off a commercial production line, and modified specifically for racing purposes where intended to be excluded. The present situation, though, was a little more difficult to align with the rules. The Bugatti, after all, wasn't modified for advantage on the track, but for safety on the street. This was certainly a modification that made the car faster on the track than on the street, yet the production car hadn't been modified to be faster, but rather to be slower. Clearly this was an unusual situation; how exactly was the rule to be applied?
Auto aficionados remain somewhat divided about the correct interpretation of the rule: whether the limiter-less car being allowed to compete constituted a rule violation. The Guinness officials though decided that such a ruling would contravene the spirit of the rule. Just a few days later they took a sharp U-turn and reinstated Bugatti as reigning king of the world's fastest cars.
Whichever way you cut it, though, it seems a bit odd calling such cars production cars. They are assembled from a variety of system sources, hand assembled in craftsman-like processes and result in a very small handful of the cars only ever being on the market. All this just goes to show that the definition of "production car" may very well just be in the eye of the beholder. But who can deny that rules are made to be broken?
However, it turns out to not be anywhere near that straight forward at all. Crowning an automobile the fastest car in the world it turns out involves a number of considerations you might not have expected. As it happens, it was precisely ambiguity about the definition of what constitutes a "car" in the phrase, "what is the fastest car in the world" that led to quite a bit of controversy in 2013.
We should, though, start at the beginning. And that will be identifying the players in this kerfuffle. We have three cars particularly to introduce and that will play a part in the tale we tell. The first of these is the Bugatti Veynon Super Sport. If it helps, think of it as the European Union style car, a product of a Franco-German enterprise. Volkswagen owns the Bugatti, while it is assembled in Molsheim, France. The Bugatti Venyon Super Sport accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds, thanks to an 8.0 liter W16 engine which allows it to generate 1,200 bhp. The good folks at the Guinness Book of Records have certified it as recording a track speed of 267.8 mph. This is the reigning champ.
Bugatti's competition is, on the one hand, the Hennessey Venom GT. This car hits a speed of 265.7 mph under the drive of its 7.0 liter V8 twin turbo engine producing 1,244 bhp. Its acceleration speed of 0 to 186 mph in 13.63 seconds has been certified. On the other hand, we have the SSC Ultimate Aero. This car has been crowned the world's fastest on two separate occasions. In 2007 it recorded a certified speed of 256.18 mph, earning its first title, which it kept for almost three years. However, its second crowning proved to be rather controversial. Before turning to the controversy, though, in addition to identifying the players, we should know the rules of the race.
These claims about being the fastest car in the world are actually claims about being the fastest "production" car in the world. What this means is that the only cars which qualify are those that customers can actually buy on the commercial market. There may be vehicles, you might call cars (though they might resemble spaceships), that can only drive on the Utah salt flats. Those don't count. Only a car that is legal, and available, to purchase (admittedly for a somewhat hefty price) and can be legally driven on the road counts as a production car.
We should understand than that only the cars which can be bought and driven in this manner qualify for the race, as it were. Cars that are modified from their commercial form to amplify their race track speed would naturally be disqualified. That makes sense, right? One would hardly quibble with that regulation if the point is to evaluate production cars. Surely that's a straightforward matter. Well, as it turns out, not so much.
The story begins in 2010. It was then that Bugatti first took the crown as the world's fastest car away from the then reigning champ, the SSC Ultimate Aero. And Bugatti remained top of the hill, until April of 2013. In the early days of April, John Hennessey, proprietor of the Venom GT, announced that his car had set the production car record with a dizzying speed of 265.7 mph, back in February. This though had not been a certified test. As a consequence, such a run posed no threat to Bugatti's record. And, anyway, the Venyon Super Sports speed record was officially higher than the Venon GT, at 267.8 mph. So, what was the big deal? The big deal turned out to be, Hennessey also remarking that in fact his speed did made his the fastest production car in the world. His reasoning was that, as he pointed out, Bugatti placed a speed limiter in their commercially purchased cars.
It turned out that this was true. Bugatti Venyon Super Sports that were bought commercially had a safety system in place to prevent them travelling in excess of 258 mph: pretty much a full 10 mph below the track recorded record speed. When the folks at the Guinness Book of Records got wind of this bit of information a whirl wind of controversy ensued. They concluded that this constituted the kind of modification for speed testing purposes which disqualified a candidate as a production car. Consequently, the Bugatti's crown was revoked. However, since the Hennessey's speed had not been officially certified the crown reverted back to the prior fastest car in the world, the SSC Ultimate Aero.
A strange situation this one surely was: the point of a rule against modified cars was, one would understand, to disqualify cars not sold commercially. For instance, cars taken off a commercial production line, and modified specifically for racing purposes where intended to be excluded. The present situation, though, was a little more difficult to align with the rules. The Bugatti, after all, wasn't modified for advantage on the track, but for safety on the street. This was certainly a modification that made the car faster on the track than on the street, yet the production car hadn't been modified to be faster, but rather to be slower. Clearly this was an unusual situation; how exactly was the rule to be applied?
Auto aficionados remain somewhat divided about the correct interpretation of the rule: whether the limiter-less car being allowed to compete constituted a rule violation. The Guinness officials though decided that such a ruling would contravene the spirit of the rule. Just a few days later they took a sharp U-turn and reinstated Bugatti as reigning king of the world's fastest cars.
Whichever way you cut it, though, it seems a bit odd calling such cars production cars. They are assembled from a variety of system sources, hand assembled in craftsman-like processes and result in a very small handful of the cars only ever being on the market. All this just goes to show that the definition of "production car" may very well just be in the eye of the beholder. But who can deny that rules are made to be broken?
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To keep up on the buzz on the raciest auto action, keep tabs on us at the What is the Fastest auto in the World site. Samson Altrus' article on the unique production qualities of the Bugatti, click here , is not to be missed reading for big-time auto aficionados.
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