The Bugatti Veyron GS Vitesse Still Holds A Top Speed Record

The level of engineering in the Bugatti Veyron is still tough to fully grasp, even though it hasn’t been manufactured in over half a decade.

The Veyron stormed into the automotive arena, coined the term “hypercar,” and became more insane with each iteration by breaking records in its wake. Bugatti would like to remind everyone that although the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ reclaimed the top speed record from Koenigsegg, the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse has never relinquished its roadster top speed record. It has been in place for more than a decade.

Released in 2012, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse never lost any ground to competitors. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year, Bugatti brought out all of its record holders as an early celebration of the 10th anniversary of this roadster record. No automaker in sight is close to breaking it, apart from Hennessy Venom F5 Roadster, teased earlier this year.

“Minus the roof, the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse demonstrates just how unparalleled Bugatti’s engineering expertise is. Although the weight distribution is completely different when the roof is down, the vehicle remains stable and accelerates just as impressively as it does with the roof closed,” explains Christophe Piochon, President of Bugatti Automobiles. “With the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, Bugatti proved it was possible to build an open-top hyper sports car with very high performance and power output that drives extremely dynamically and very comfortably.”

If you need a refresher on the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, it was a hyped-up version of the Grand Sport roadster that used the 1,184 horsepower powertrain from the Super Sport.

The consumer demand was there to build the most powerful production roadster and provide an even faster open-top experience. After a verified run, the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse hit 254 mph (408.84 km/h), a top speed record that remains untouched.

The Veyron top speed records were bested by the Koenigsegg Agera RS in 2017, but the Chiron 300+ reclaimed the record with authority hitting 304.77 mph in 2019. Not even Bugatti itself poses a threat to the drop-top Veyron’s record. In July 2021, Bugatti officially stated that it would not build a Chiron sans roof. Production of the Chiron was also completed at the end of June this year.

Bugatti also understands physics and knows 300+ mph was an incredible feat of engineering and tire technology. The car can’t hit its top speed with the roof off, and not just because of the disastrous turbulence that would ruin your expensive haircut. With the roof down, the top speed was limited to just 233 mph.