We’re rounding off our Best of 2011 lists with one that is near and dear to our hearts. This list is all about top speed and top speed only, those who have it and one who hopes to achieve it.
Of course, speed hopes are nothing new. The battle for the fastest car in the world has been ongoing since the sports and super cars first made their appearance and more than likely, it will never end. These past couple years have been a game of one-upmanship between SSC and Bugatti with both succeeding in one way or another. But who tops the list for 2011?
Before getting into that, we think it is important to note that we only incorporated vehicles that were sold in 2011. For example, the Koenigsegg CCX may have a top speed of 240 mph, but that production ended in 2010, which takes the supercar out of the running for this list in particular. Don’t worry, though, Koenigsegg is still well-represented.
Hit the jump to see the top ten list of the fastest cars of 2011.
A few years ago, Bugatti had set out to create the world’s fastest convertible car. They wanted "a car that would redefine the boundaries of technology in automotive construction while appealing to the aesthetically inclined and connoisseurs of exceptional automobiles." This idea gave birth to the Veyron Grand Sport which debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2008. Then, in 2010, Bugatti revealed the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport which had already been entered into the Guinness Book of Records with an average top speed of 431 km/h (267 mph). These two Bugatti models have had a successful go around in the automotive world, but at the tail end of the Veyron’s production, Bugatti has decided to smash these two vehicles together for one last and unforgettable special edition. World, meet the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Super Sport.
Just last week, Bugatti CEO, Wolfgang Durheimer, was discussing a future special edition displaying a Super Sport package for the Veyron Grand Sport model - the Veyron’s open top model. We figured this vehicle would be seen in a couple of years, but our spy photographers have already captured the first images of the vehicle entirely free of its camouflage.
UPDATE 01/04/2012: Bugatti has confirmed that the convertible version of the Veyron Super Sport will be making its world debut in March at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.
Hit the jump for more details on the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Super Sport.
A few days ago, we brought you the first video of a Bugatti Veyron racing against a Nissan GT-R. And today it’s time to see another video from the famous race, but this time shot from directly beside the Veyron. More than that, this video reveals details from the first pass down the track. The first one was from the second pass.
It seems that initially, the Veyron driver had some problems with the launch control, but once this problem was solved, it left the mildly tuned Nissan GT-R in the dust.
And more importantly, this particular Veyron managed to run the quarter mile in 10.1-second at a speed of 139 mph. That time is 0.1 seconds faster than the official quarter mile figure for the Veyron announced by Bugatti during the supercar’s official launch.
A drag race between a 1001 HP supercar and a 473 HP sports car sounds like a battle between David and Goliath, but if those cars are the Bugatti Veyron and the Nissan GT-R then the difference doesn’t seem that big, right? Well, some folks headed over to the Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida to test this theory.
When watching the video, you may get the impression that the Bugatti Veyron finishes the race before the Nissan GT-R even gets off the starting line, but the end results are still rather impressive. The W16 powered Veyron manages an incredible 10.1 second run at 139 mph, while the twin turbo V6 powered GT-R posts a 10.9 second run at 125 mph.
Enjoy the video! It seemed like the perfect way to end the year.
Improbable as it may sound, Bugatti has somehow upstaged the already limited run Bugatti Veyron Super Sport with a special edition version of the very supercar. A special edition of a special edition, you ask?
That appears to be the case with the unveiling of the latest special edition Veyron Super Sport called the "Edition Merveilleux." The car, it turns out, was commissioned specifically for a 40-year old dude in China that goes by the name of "Simon." Details behind the Veyron Super Sport Edition Merveilleux were not disclosed, although there’s a video of the car with all of Bugatti’s top brass, including CEO Wolfgang Durheimer, rolling out the one-off Veyron Super Sport. From the looks of things, Simon’s new ride features an un-painted carbon fiber exterior with matching blacked-out alloy wheels and a bright blue interior finish.
The video features some of the Bugatti execs being given some mic time to wish Simon a happy 40th birthday and if you can put two and two together, this one-off Veyron Super Sport appears to be a birthday present that the birthday boy bought for himself.
Hey, if we had that kind of money, we’d probably splurge it on a one-off model of a supercar that produces 1,200 horsepower and can hit a top speed of 268 mph. Unfortunately, it’s going to take us a couple of lifetimes to be able to sniff a Veyron, much less a one-off model of the Super Sport.
Guess we’ll just have to settle for gift certificates to Red Lobster then.
