Bugatti Veyron 16-4 Super Sport

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What is it?

Boasting a record speed of 268mph, the Super Sport is officially the world's fastest production car.



This car was designed to sate the appetite of Veyron owners who, inexplicably, felt that 252mph wasn't really fast enough. They wanted a more basic feel, more involvement and they wanted to hear that W16 engine the way it was meant to be heard. In short, it's a Veyron with attitude.

Veyron production will cease at 300 examples so there will be very few of these made. At £1.7million a pop, the chances are most of us will never even get to see one, never mind drive one. It's not a supercar; it's a hypercar and we probably won't see the likes of it ever again.

Is it any good?

'Good' wasn't in Bugatti's vocabulary when the Veyron Super Sport was on the drawing board. 'Absolute best' would be more like it. Every component of the Veyron was re-evaluated and the car is comprehensively re-engineered with larger turbochargers and intercoolers, better brakes, better cooling, better gearchanges - better everything, in fact.

Open the driver's door, sink into the plush leather seat and run a finger over every surface - there isn't a single flaw. Tactile, functional and driver-oriented, the cabin is a wonderful place. Insert the key, turn and listen as the electronic systems come to life. Foot on the brake, press the big starter button and the Super Sport erupts with an angry, guttural bellow that's far more intrusive than any previous Veyron.

On the road, the Super Sport rides more stiffly than the standard car yet it's still remarkably civilised, even when crawling through city traffic. Visibility is excellent, apart from a non-existent rear three-quarter view. The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is a joy to use, either in automatic or manual modes, giving instant, seamless shifts and you can feel the solidity of construction throughout the car as it whistles, hums and rumbles - it's a physical experience.

Find a road that's long and straight enough and it's time to see what the Super Sport does best. Into third gear using the wheel-mounted paddles, the revs instantly jump and the cabin fills with a wall of angry noise. Take a deep breath and bury your right foot into the carpet as the world's fastest production car destroys the road ahead. Your innards shift backwards with the brute force acceleration, you're pinned into the seat and you strain to keep your head facing forwards. Into fourth, the power keeps coming and coming, like a relentless tidal wave. By the time you've selected fifth there's no road left and you're doing 200mph so it's hard on the brakes and that colossal speed is wiped off as instantly as it was delivered, your innards shifting again, trying to force their way out of your chest.

There's been no change in the Super Sport's demeanour. No steering wander, no front end lift, and no nervousness apart from your own - it's a knee-trembling, laugh inducing experience that will never leave you.

The steering, the ride quality, the brakes, the whole experience frankly cannot be bettered. Bugatti has delivered in spades with this car because, while it is indeed more exciting to drive and more visceral in every respect than the standard Veyron, it's still as usable, refined and as easy to drive - even for a complete novice.

It can reach 200mph from a standstill and come to a stop again in just over 25 seconds. Need we say more? Yes, weighing 1,838kg and being four-wheel drive, it will understeer if pushed but you wouldn't want the back end breaking traction when a Veyron is putting down its 1,183bhp, would you? The Veyron Super Sport is, without a doubt, the greatest performance car in existence and, if your numbers come up on Saturday night, you definitely would...

Should I call the bank manager?

If you're fortunate enough to be able to shell out the thick end of two million on a car then you probably own the bank anyway, so no need to call.

Many dismiss the Veyron's price as preposterous and, in a way, they're quite right. But look under the skin, examine the minutiae of any Veyron and you'll see why it costs so much, and why Bugatti loses as much again with each one sold.

Veyrons do depreciate but their time will surely come and the Super Sport will no doubt be the most sought after variant. Not that anyone of sound mind would want to part with such a perfect piece of engineering.

Summary

The Veyron is the ultimate performance car - as close to perfection as you can get in so many ways and represents mankind's hunger for technical and engineering brilliance. Drive one, even look at one and you will be blown away by the sheer depth of quality in every respect of its construction and the Super Sport truly has no peers in this world. Don't view it as 'just a car' - that's like viewing a $1.5m Vacheron Constantin Tour de I'lle as 'just a watch'.

That Bugatti had to increase power by 200bhp to eke out another 15mph shows how extreme the stratosphere is here and, apart from the ferocity and relentlessness of its power delivery, the fact that it's as reliable and easy to drive as anything else in the mighty Volkswagen empire, is what deeply impresses. It's a towering achievement."