The Veyron came out on top in Autocar’s annual 0-100-0mph (0-160km/h-0) contest, even beating a Suzuki GSX-R1000 superbike.
Autocar put 25 of the world’s fastest cars, from the Aston Martin V8 Vantage to the second-placed Ariel Atom, into the shoot-out.
They were pitched into a straight fight to see which is the fastest to 100mph (160km/h); and which comes to a standstill from 160km/h in the shortest time.
The Veyron, with its 987bhp 16-cylinder engine, wasn’t necessarily the favourite to win.
“A low weight tends to be the key to a good 0-100-0mph car,” said Autocar’s road test editor Adam Towler. “Cars like the Ariel Atom and Caterham Superlight historically dominate this contest.”
But the 1890kg Bugatti ripped through the gears to hit 60mph (96km/h) in 2.8 seconds and 100mph in an astonishing 5.5 seconds. It then stopped in just 3.4 seconds, giving a 0-100-0mph time of 9.9 seconds.
Not only was the Bugatti faster than the Suzuki, it created more g-force at maximum acceleration than you’d experience in an F-16 jet fighter at take off or when skydiving. But the light-weights still turned in an impressive performance, from the relatively unknown Brooke Double R in fourth place to the Ariel Atom 300 in second.
“Although the Veyron is undoubtedly the quickest road car ever, you can still have nearly as much fun for much less money,” said Towler. “It’s good to see British sports cars doing so well against such an impressive machine as the Bugatti.”
Autocar also brought along an A1 GP car, driven by Briton Robbie Kerr, to see how a purpose-built race car would compare with road-going machinery. The 550bhp single seater weighs just 695kg, and proved to be the fastest vehicle on the day with a 0-100-0mph time of 8.4 seconds.
The Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorcyle did the start and stop sprint in 10.70 seconds.
