Earlier this month Bugatti set the fastest ever time for an open-top production car, clocking a run of 254.04mph in the hands of Chinese driver Anthony Liu.

At the time, all we had available to publish were photographs, but now Bugatti has released a video providing a glimpse into the preparations behind the record setting run.

  • Bugatti-Veyron-GrandSport-Vitesse_G4
  • Bugatti-Veyron-GrandSport-Vitesse_G2

In most respects it’s your usual unremarkable promotional video, except for at 1:28 when you realise Liu has taken one hand off the steering wheel – at over 400km/h – for a victory pump of the fist.

Following the record setting drive Liu said, “The car is even at such high speeds incredibly comfortable and stable. With an open top, you can really experience the sound of the engine and yet even at higher speeds I did not get compromised by the wind at all.”

  • Bugatti-Veyron-GrandSport-Vitesse_Video-G2
  • Bugatti-Veyron-GrandSport-Vitesse_Video-G3

Bugatti should frame that one image and put it centre-stage in their brochure. Any fool can strap a missile to their hotrod and make it go fast, but to do so with such consummate ease takes skill.

The record was set at the Volkswagen Group’s proving grounds in Ehra-Lessien where TÜV, the independent German organisation for Technical Inspection and Certification, officially confirmed the speed.

* * *