The New World's Fastest Roadster Tops Out at 254 MPH

Bugatti might have just lost its Guinness World Record title as manufacturer of the world's fastest production car, so what did it do? The French auto maker went on to find another category where it could hold a world's fastest designation.

Bugatti, whose name is now owned by Volkswagen, claimed the Guinness title for world's fastest convertible for its Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse.

(Image: Bugatti)

The Vitesse roadster reached a top speed of 408.84 km/h (254.04 mph) driven by Chinese racing driver Anthony Liu.

(Image: Bugatti)

Given that the record was in an open-top car, one can imagine reaching such speeds would be rather exhilarating. Liu described it as a "very exciting moment."

“With an open top, you can really experience the sound of the engine and yet even at higher speeds I did not get compromised by the wind at all," Liu said in a statement.

(Image: Bugatti)

The Vitesse, which has been in production since 2012, has a 8 liter W16 engine with an entirely carbon fiber body. In such a luxury sports car though, owners might not want to experience all the wind that would come with a convertible. To combat noise and air, the Bugatti developed a"roof spoiler" with "windbreak guarantees."

“When we introduced the Vitesse, we established the top speed for open-top driving to be 375 km/h. Still, we could not let go of the idea of reaching the 400 km/h mark with this car as well. The fact that we have succeeded in reaching 408.84 km/h is a thrill for me, and it reaffirms once again that Bugatti is the leader when it comes to technology in the international automotive industry," Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber, president of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., said in a statement.

(Image: Bugatti)

According to the auto maker's press release, the car breaking the world record was in an orange and black scheme. In honor of its new world's fastest title, eight limited edition models of the car in the same color scheme will be made.

Watch this video report from Forbes last year of the then newly released $2 million Vitesse with some footage of it on the road and more specs:

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(H/T: Yahoo! Autos)