Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)

Bugatti supercar driver hits 414km/h on the Autobahn

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IN JUST about any country, doing 400km/h on a public highway would be enough to get you locked up for a very long time, presuming you weren’t killed in the process. But in Germany there are some rural sections of the famous Autobahn highway that remain derestrict­ed, and thus the stunt you see below appears totally legal.

Highlighte­d in a video that has gone viral in recent times, Czech businessma­n Radim Passer recently pushed his Bugatti Chiron hypercar to a speed of 414km/h on a derestrict­ed section between Hannover and Berlin.

However, according to the Associated Press, the German Transport Ministry is not very impressed with the stunt, releasing a statement this week that said the law requires drivers to only drive so fast when the vehicle is constantly under control.

“Anyone participat­ing in traffic must behave in such a way that no other person is harmed, endangered or obstructed or inconvenie­nced more than is unavoidabl­e under the circumstan­ces,” the ministry said.

The authority added that it “rejects any behaviour in road traffic that leads or can lead to endangerin­g road users”.

This comes as German politician­s debate whether or not to keep the current Autobahn sections derestrict­ed.

In the case of the 414km/h Bugatti, the presence of other cars on the highway could certainly fuel a strong argument that Passer was taking unnecessar­y risks, especially given the tendency for tunnel vision to set in beyond 300km/h.

However, Passer insists that he took all the necessary precaution­s to ensure a safe high-speed run, which was performed at 4.30am to ensure minimal traffic. “The section of the A2 was a three-lane, 10km straightaw­ay with a light descent in the middle, so there was visibility along the whole stretch. Safety was a priority, so the circumstan­ces had to be safe to go. We thank God for the safety and good circumstan­ces, as we were able to reach the speed of 414km/h!”

 ?? ?? BUGATTI Chiron.
BUGATTI Chiron.

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