Bugatti Veyron no longer world's fastest car

The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is no longer the world's fastest car, after the Guinness World Records stripped it of the 'fastest production car' title due to a technicality.

The record top speed of 431.072km/h was originally set in July 2010 and gained notoriety after being featured on entertainment program Top Gear, but because the Bugatti on test had its speed limiter deactivated, Guinness World Records has revoked its 'fastest production car' status, citing a breach of the rules.

Powered by an 883kW quad-turbo 8.0-litre W 16-cylinder engine, the Veyron should have been restricted to 415km/h, like the 30 examples made available to the public.

Ironically, even a speed of close to the restricted 415km/h would have earned the all-wheel drive machine the title of world's fastest production car, as the previous highest speed recorded by Shelby SuperCars' Ultimate Aero was 412km/h.

Guinness World Records released a statement last week, with the British company's spokesperson Jaime Strang, confirming the news.

"It has come to the attention of Guinness World Records that there was an oversight in its adjudication of the 'Fastest production car' which was set in 2010 by the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport," said Strang.

"As the car's speed limiter was deactivated, this modification was against the official guidelines. Consequently, the vehicle's record set at 431.072 km/h is no longer valid. Following this, Guinness World Records is reviewing this category with expert external consultants to ensure our records fairly reflect achievements in this field," added Strang.

It is now likely the mantle of world's fastest production car will revert to the US-built Shelby SuperCars Ultimate Aero. It has a 412.15km/h average top speed recorded across two runs, as per the 'Guinness' rules.

The Sunday Times' motoring website, Driving.co.uk, is reporting that Bugatti will be seeking 'clarification' on the issue. The Volkswagen-owned company claims that the deactivation of the speed limiter was made known to Guinness World Record officials at the time of the record attempt.

"Guinness knew the Veyron's speed limiter was deactivated but that for safety reasons, cars subsequently sold to customers would have their speed limiters activated [set at 415km/h]," a Bugatti spokesperson told the British publication.

Another US car maker, Hennessey, is confident its Venom GT will soon claim the world's fastest car record with an unofficial top speed of 427.6km/h. Aerosmith Rocker Steve Tyler made headlines last year when he took delivery of the new Venom GT Spyder wearing green socks and sandals.

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