Wittenberg is perhaps particularly well known to Protestants. In 1517, reformer Martin Luther wrote his 95 Theses at the entrance to the castle chapel in the university town of East Germany. Perhaps there was another reason why Radim Passer (58) started his own business in Wittenberg. The Czech billionaire is deeply religious And he has a weakness for expensive and fast cars. Baser blasts off with his team at dawn on a Sunday morning in July 2021 at 3:55 a.m. His mission: to break the magical 400 km/h mark on public roads.
One project must succeed Super sports car: Bugatti Chiron at a cost of not less than three million francs. Its powerful sixteen-cylinder engine with four turbochargers puts an incredible 1,500 horsepower on high-performance tires tested in the United States on an aircraft tire test bench for breakout speeds. The monster behind the eight-liter pilot accelerates like a rocket launcher: Chiron needs only 13.6 seconds from 0 to 300 km / h! The electronically limited top speed is 420 km/h.
Already cracked 400 km / h
This is exactly what Radim Passer wants to achieve this summer morning. He will be the first driver in the world to achieve this speed using the Chiron on public roads. His preparations are all more meticulous. Baser thinks the ten-kilometer section of the A2 near Wittenberg is dead, has three lanes and is usually not very crowded, especially early on a Sunday morning – ideal conditions.
In addition, the Czechs are already familiar with this part of the highway: in addition to the Bugatti Chiron, he also owns his predecessor, the 1001-horsepower Veyron, with which the Petrolhead Passer broke the 400 km / h mark in May 2015. After two failed attempts in 2011 and 2012 – On one occasion it was too cold, and again the gearbox did not work – the meter showed an incredible 402.5 km / h on the third attempt. At that time it was the world record on public roads – but apparently it was not enough for the Bassir.
417 km / h on the highway – dangerous and reckless?
In addition to enthusiastic comments and congratulations on the high-speed driving, Radim Basser and his team also received votes calling the project dangerous and irresponsible. The corridor replies: “It was a Sunday morning at 4:50 a.m. There were a total of ten other cars within ten kilometers of the highway—one car for every kilometre. The visibility ahead of us was about three to four kilometers—enough time to respond. Chiron operates On the brakes from 400 to 0 km / h in nine seconds – after 490 meters it stops. Our team drove the road in advance to make sure that nothing was on the road. Fences were installed along the entire path, ensuring that animals did not run on the road. Monitors were also deployed On each of the three bridges along the way for maximum safety. Anyone who still thought the trip was irresponsible and dangerous – well, we respect your personal opinion.”
In addition to enthusiastic comments and congratulations on the high-speed driving, Radim Basser and his team also received votes calling the project dangerous and irresponsible. The corridor replies: “It was a Sunday morning at 4:50 a.m. There were a total of ten other cars within ten kilometers of the highway—one car for every kilometre. The visibility ahead of us was about three to four kilometers—enough time to respond. Chiron operates On the brakes from 400 to 0 km / h in nine seconds – after 490 meters it stops. Our team drove the road in advance to make sure that nothing was on the road. Fences were installed along the entire path, ensuring that animals did not run on the road. Monitors were also deployed On each of the three bridges along the way for maximum safety. Anyone who still thought the trip was irresponsible and dangerous – well, we respect your personal opinion.”
Separate high speed switch
Prior to standard operation, the vehicle was thoroughly checked at the Bugatti plant in Molsheim (F) and approved for maximum speed operation. After the Chiron reaches operating temperature in the early hours of the morning, the Passer has to stop and manually operate the separate high-speed switch. This is the only way to achieve standard speed in the Chiron. Before that, the car checks the condition: tire age, temperature, condition. If he does not like it, the Bolide is limited to a top speed of 380 km / h. In addition, the path must be straight – if you exceed a certain angle, the limiter will turn on again immediately.
At 4:50 a.m. the actual high-speed playback begins – video here full size on youtube to see. At minute 1:13, the Czechs accelerate: the numbers on the speedometer hardly align – from 200 to 300 km / h it takes about ten seconds. Even when reaching over 300 km/h – areas where other super sports cars only accelerate km/h to km/h – the speedometer continues to move in 5 km/h increments toward the standard speed.
The rampage was legal
The magical 400 km/h limit will soon be reached. At 2:34 minutes, the GPS speedometer on the right shows the maximum speed for the day: an incredible 417 km / h! Drivers of the few cars that Bugatti overtook this morning must have rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
Is Radim Baser now facing the consequences of his madness? The obvious answer: No! In response to a question from the Associated Press, the German Federal Ministry of Transport said: “All road users must comply with the rules of road traffic regulations. A person who drives a vehicle may only drive so fast that the vehicle is under constant control.” Since there was no speed limit on the A2 and he did not endanger pedestrians other road users, he did not break any rules.
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