A jaw-dropping onboard video has gone viral once more, capturing a Czech real estate tycoon blasting a multi-million-pound Bugatti Chiron to a terrifying 417 km/h, nearly 260 mph, on a public stretch of Germany’s legendary unrestricted Autobahn.
The point-of-view footage, filmed from the cockpit of the 1,500-horsepower hypercar, shows the speedometer and GPS readout climbing relentlessly as the blue-and-black machine rockets past ordinary traffic, including a yellow Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabrio that appears almost stationary by comparison. The run took place in the early morning hours of July 2021 on a carefully chosen 10-kilometre straight section of the A2 motorway near Wittenberg, where visibility was excellent and traffic was minimal.
Driver Radim Passer, a wealthy Czech developer, insisted safety was the priority. He and his team reportedly scouted the three-lane stretch, waited for optimal conditions, and used spotters to clear the path before unleashing the quad-turbo W16 engine. Even so, the clip has left viewers stunned by the sheer violence of the acceleration – the car surges from triple-digit speeds into the 400 km/h zone in a matter of seconds.
German authorities were far less impressed. The Federal Ministry of Transport publicly condemned the stunt, stating it rejected any behaviour that could endanger other road users and reminding drivers of the legal duty to keep a vehicle under control at all times. Prosecutors in Saxony-Anhalt opened an investigation into possible charges of illegal racing or reckless driving, which could have carried a prison sentence.
In the end, the case was dropped. After reviewing the footage and Passer’s preparations, officials concluded there was insufficient evidence that he had broken the law on a section of Autobahn that genuinely has no posted speed limit. Bugatti itself distanced the company from the video, emphasising that responsible behaviour on public roads must always come first.
Experts note that stopping a Chiron from 400 km/h takes roughly nine seconds and nearly half a kilometre of road under ideal conditions, thanks to massive carbon-ceramic brakes and a deployable airbrake. At nearly 260 mph, any unexpected obstacle, a tyre blowout, debris, or a slower vehicle changing lanes would leave almost no margin for error.
The clip, originally uploaded by Passer and recently reshared on social media, has reignited the perennial debate about Germany’s unique Autobahn freedoms. While most drivers stay well below the recommended 130 km/h, a tiny minority treat the open stretches as personal test tracks. For Passer, the run was the realization of a long-held ambition; for critics, it was an unnecessary reminder of just how quickly luxury and engineering can turn into a life-or-death gamble.
A note on comments: Our advertisers enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy on racism, hate speech, and threats of violence. Any comment that crosses that line will be removed and the account permanently banned — no warnings. Debate hard, but keep it civil.