Yahoo Autos Bugatti Chiron Needs New Tires to Hit 300 MPH
The Bugatti Chiron has a top speed electronically limited to 261 mph, but what it could do with the limiter removed is anyone's guess. The Chiron's speedometer reads up to 500 km/h (310 mph), but don't expect the car to be able to hit those sorts of speeds with today's tire technology - there simply isn't a production tire available that can handle those speeds.
How do we know this? Well, Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace told our colleagues at Popular Mechanics that no street tire made today can handle the forces generated at 300 mph. But Michelin isn’t far off - Wallace said that the tire company is developing a tire for the Chiron that's capable of exceeding 280 mph.
Wallace, it should be noted, is an expert at maxing out the world's fastest road cars. He's the fearless test driver who famously set speed records in the Jaguar XJ220 and the McLaren F1, hitting 240 mph in the latter.
We've heard a rumor that the Chiron will hit 285 mph de-limited, but Bugatti denies this. It sounds like Michelin is still working on tires that can support the Chiron's full unlimited capabilities, so it's possible that no one, not even the staff at Bugatti, knows the car's true top speed.
Bugatti plans on doing a top-speed run with the Chiron next year, so we'll find out soon enough what it's capable of. Just don't expect 300 mph.
For more cool Chiron facts, check out the write-up on Popular Mechanics.
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