Do You Care About Crazy Top Speed Figures?
At this week’s Geneva motor show, we’ve had a lot of speed freaks. We’ve had the bonkers - and overambitious - 2080bhp Arash AF10 which could theoretically do 300mph, the Bugatti Chiron with its 261mph top speed , and the Koenigsegg Regera which - while lacking a top speed figure - is said to be capable of 0-250mph in just 20 seconds.
The thing is though, do you actually care about these top speed figures? With a less crazy supercar like a Ferrari 488 GTB you could feasibly hit the top whack at a runway-based event like V Max, but if we’re talking about top speeds that are the exciting side of 250mph, you’ll struggle to find somewhere to actually achieve it.
The Nardo test track in Italy is famously not that smooth, and who can forget Top Gear’s efforts at maxing out the Veyron and Veyron Super Sport, which actually involved going to VW’s own Ehra-Lessien test facility, where’s there’s a massive straight. In fact, it’s 5.4 miles long - so long that one end cannot be seen from the other thanks to the curvature of the Earth.
When the Hennessy Venom GT hit 270mph, it did so on the Kennedy Space Center’s 3.22-mile runway. Not the sort of places you’d be able to rock up and ask if you can have a quick punt, in other words.
There’s also the problem of tyres to think about - the new Chiron’s boots have been developed especially for the car by Michelin, but even they aren’t able to take the car past 261mph, which is why the car has an electronic limiter. Should any of the current crop of ambitious start-up supercar company’s products actually be made and not remain vapourware, they’d run into the same trouble while trying to prove the top speed claims.
In a lot of ways, top speed figures are more about bragging rights for the owners. But as petrolheads, what do you think of such stats? Vote in the polls below to voice your opinion.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
0-200-0 if I had to pick a straight line test
The point is we as the consumers have to care about all stats, top speed included. This is because we need car company’s like Bugatti and Koenigsegg designing cars with the best performance in the world and designing new technology’s. 20 years ago building super cars was about building the fastest cars in the world, all round. Now it not about that. These cars are a rarity that help to continue the industry propelling forward on the right track with the focus it has lost which got is all so interested in it in the first place. Plus by developing cars like this Bugatti have already forced Michelin to design new tyres and in doing so finding more performance for our day to day tyres for our daily drivers.
It’s not a good standpoint for a startup car company to build their first car on, but with companies like VW, they can do it because they have a huge amount of funds. Though Koenigsegggesegecxsegg breaks this rule. But nevertheless, I care about it in a 5 year old sort of way. It takes you back to those days, where (at least I believed) you looked at the biggest number on the speedometer of your parents car, and thought that was the top speed.
Nope
Lol i mean i care but if i was just looking for straight line speed id watch the drags but motogp>everything
I feel like when I say this I am speaking for a lot out there. Yes a top speed is impressive but overall I care about the smiles per gallon a car has. Now frankly, I haven’t experienced speeds over 130 so I’m not exactly sure how fun that is
Top speed figures for super cars are just numbers to me. But, they are exciting numbers. More than anything, these numbers represent the scientific accomplishments these companies have achieved. It wasn’t that long ago when 250mph was impossible. Now, there is more than one company doing it. They don’t do this to sell alone, they do this to push the boundaries on what is theoretically possible. Which I think is pretty cool.
As much as I like the new Bugatti statically I think it’s pointless to have 1500hp and insane top speed for public roads. Said this, it’s good to know engineers can pull it of…maybe we are in for a future with 400+ safe autobahn, who knows!
The stats I care about are 0-60, top speed, lateral g, power to weight, and fuel mpg.
all i care about is horsepower.
yesssss