i think 5th gear is trying to be first in test driving it against Top gear
actually this is only tiff's presumptions no comparo done between them yet.
http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5gmain....100&pageid=196
There are many amazing facts about the new Bugatti Veyron. It has 1000 bhp, it does over 250 mph and buyers will have to find the thick end of a million quid to get themselves into one. But the most jaw-dropping fact of all is the sheer magnitude of its performance advantage over previous megacars.
Take the McLaren F1 - until now, still the fastest ever road-going car in terms of acceleration and top speed. Imagine lining up an F1 and a Veyron next to each other on a drag strip. The lights turn green and the McLaren takes makes a full-bore start. The Bugatti doesn't move - in fact it doesn't turn a wheel until the McLaren passes the 100 mph mark - and yet (with a brave enough driver) the Veyron would still reach 200 mph before the F1 does.
Until now, cars have always got faster over time. It's the same process of industrial evolution that sees washing powder wash whiter or computers become progressively brainier. But the Veyron could be where that process stops. Don't be surprised if it remains the fastest production car ever built.
For a start, there's no sign that any manufacturer is willing to take on the vast development costs of producing something that could go quicker. VW has already been forced to write off its chances of recovering even a fraction of the hundreds of millions spent creating it. And the political climate is changing, too. In ten years' time will governments really tolerate the idea of a car that produces a spluttering 574 grams of CO2 for each kilometre travelled? Or which can break the highest speed limit in most European countries by a factor of three? Bear in mind that, due to the exponential nature of aerodynamic drag, it would take nearly 2000 bhp to take a Veyron-sized car through the 300 mph barrier?
The supercar story certainly isn't over yet. There will be more to come - and many may well rival the Veyron in terms of driver involvement and design. But in terms of top speed, the Bugatti looks definitive. I'd love to be proved wrong - but I reckon 253 mph is where the clock stops.
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