Some Skepticism from the Americans
John Hennessey, founder of Hennessey Performance seems to have some skepticism of Bugatti’s claim that the Chiron that made the 304 mph run only has 1,578 hp coming from its 8.0-liter W16 engine. He said it’s not enough to make the car go 40 mph faster than the Chiron Sport in an interview with Top Gear.
I’m really intrigued by how much horsepower Bugatti’s engine was really making on the run. To run 40+ mph faster than the Chiron Sport that TG tested on the same track would take a lot more than a 100bhp bump, lowered suspension and some rear aero adjustments.
Hennessey went on to say that he expects the Chiron that made the run was actually much closer to 2,000 hp. He said he’s more impressed with Michelin. The tire company had to make rubber for the car that was capable of withstanding the forces exerted on it at more than 300 mph. “We knew that their tires were capable of this and Bugatti helped them prove it,” he said.
The Race to 300 MPH Is Still On
Hennessey went on to say that he still sees the 300 mph speed record up for grabs because Bugatti didn’t do the 300 mph with a two-way average speed. The Guinness Book of World Records has not verified the run. To Hennessey, the race is still on, and the Texas-based company thinks it has the car to do it.
The Hennessey Venom GT is the car that the company plans to claim the title with. Previously, the car hit 270 mph. That speed would have been the world record at the time, but it wasn’t verified by Guinness either. Hennessey believes it’ll get that car to 300 mph. “We congratulate our friends at Bugatti on reaching an amazing speed. But as a Bugatti executive once told me, ‘next time be sure to run in both directions’,” Hennessey said.
