Koenigsegg Congratulates Bugatti On 304 MPH Run, But Points Out They’re Still The Record Holders

Koenigsegg has congratulated Bugatti on its latest 304 mph (490 km/h) run with a near-production Chiron prototype but not without reminding everyone who is still the current speed champion in the Guinness World Records.

“We want to congratulate them,” a Koenigsegg spokesperson told Top Gear. “It’s a great achievement. If the homologated production version of the same car can drive faster than 284.55mph (457.93 km/h) – or 277.9mph (447.2 km/h) as average speed in two directions – then it will take the crown from the Agera RS as the fastest production car until now.”

Also Read: Hennessey Believes Bugatti’s Top Speed Chiron Prototype May Have Had 2,000 HP

Koenigsegg’s record was achieved back in 2017, using a customer Agera RS that was driven on a closed public road in Nevada by company test driver Niklas Lilja.

Shortly after their 304 mph run, Bugatti said that the long-tail Chiron prototype, which is expected to morph into the production Chiron Super Sport in the coming months, could have gone 15.5 mph (25 km/h) quicker if the attempt took place somewhere like Nevada thanks to its higher altitude than the Ehra-Lessien test track – thinner air equals less drag, overcoming the loss of engine power.

Koenigsegg also repeated that the upcoming Jesko should be capable of reaching over 300 mph (482 km/h) in its high-speed, lower-downforce version. Power for the Jesko is coming from a twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 that can rev up to 8,500 rpm and produce 1,578 HP (1,600 PS) and 1,106 lb-ft (1,500 Nm) of peak torque when on E85.

“We have said before and say now, a high-speed version of the Jesko should be capable of driving faster than 300mph,” the spokesperson added. “The same tools we used to estimate the Agera RS were used to come to this conclusion, and in the Agera RS we underestimated the speed a bit.”