For some reason, the Top Gear team was allowed to drive a Bugatti Veyron.   While we aren’t sure why this made for some hilarious antics.

The Top Gear team we refer to is the original team of James May, Richard Hammond, and Jeremey Clarkson. These three bumbling Brits have since gone on to host the Amazon original series The Grand Tour. If you remember Clarkson driving the Ford GT during The Grand Tour while the other two used public transportation to get from New York City to Buffalo, you’ll be somewhat familiar with what they did with the Veyron.

Europe was the Playground of Choice

Before Amazon allowed the three gearheads out of Europe, which was their stomping ground for their TopGear series. During Series 7, Episode 5, which you watch if you want to pay a little extra on your Amazon Prime subscription, a similar race to the one in New York took place. Clarkson, behind the wheel of the Bugatti Veyron, attempted to finish a race across Europe. While Jeremy had no troubles with the driving portion, James May, who was close to earning his pilot’s license, chose a Cessna 182 to fly across the continent.

Troubles in the Sky

While it wasn’t so much that there were issues in the air as the fact that there were issues with James May himself. Unfortunately, Richard Hammond was simply along for the ride. May was forced to make an early landing because he was not licensed to fly after dark. This, along with the lengthy pre-flight checks and routes around mountains, made the journey by plane much longer than it should have been. In the end, Clarkson delivered the Veyron to Nigel Mansell, a Formula One world champion, and won the race across Europe.

What is the Bugatti Veyron?

Until its successor arrived, the Bugatti Veyron was the fastest, most powerful, most expensive car in the world. This car reaches insane levels of speed, it has 16 cylinders to make tree-huggers faint, and it can rip off a fast lap in the blind of an eye. If there was something you could imagine building in a high-priced ultra-fast luxury machine, it’s somewhere inside this Bugatti.

You Can’t Go Anywhere in this Car

Actually, you can drive this car for as many miles as you want, but you’ll have to refill the tank often. The Veyron averages 11 mpg on its best day. While you’re driving on paved roads, you’ll garner so much attention that you’ll feel like a celebrity being chased by the paparazzi. It’s difficult to get anywhere without a horde of people asking questions, taking pictures, and looking to see who is exiting this incredibly expensive car.

Getting into Some of the Details

Before the Chiron arrived on the scene, the Veyron was the cream of the crop for Bugatti. Each model took five weeks to build, which meant buying one was an act of patience. There are 12 radiators in this amazing car, giving it the cooling needed to run the powerful engine.

During sprints, the Veyron can reach sixty mph in only 2.5 seconds while heading to 150 mph, which takes only 8.3 seconds. Well past these two marks is the top speed of this amazing Bugatti, which is listed at 253 mph but could be much higher with the right drive, right fuel, and no limits.

At high speeds, the Bugatti Veyron can empty the tank in 19 minutes. That’s an incredibly fast time, especially when you consider this car takes 26.4 gallons of 93-octane fuel to properly operate. In fact, Veyron owners who were not located near a station with 93-octane fuel were required by Bugatti to have the dealer detune the engine to accommodate this issue. Imagine being told you have to turn down the power of your million-dollar sports car because of where you live.

A Few Oddities of this Car

The rear wing flaps that raise automatically at 137 mph are identical to those used on aircraft. The grille is made of titanium out of need, not by choice. During initial testing, a bird crashed through a model with an aluminum grille while the car was traveling 205 mph. Bye, bye birdie, and bye, bye grille. Now, this part is made of titanium. The windows automatically raise and lock at 93 mph to secure the cockpit for you. The engine is listed at 1001 horsepower, but many from the Bugatti team say every model makes more than 1010 horsepower.

What Happens When You Hit the Accelerator in this Car?

The most common question asked of a car that rockets to amazing speeds so fast is, “what happens when you hit that gas pedal?” The starting portion of this ride is civilized and calm, making the driver feel as if the car is going to gently move to the desired speed, and then it takes off. When the turbos hit, this car means business, and you can’t do anything to stop it. The roar of the engine is incredible, the nose lifts, and some drivers describe this feeling to be that the car wants to take off and fly in the air. Before most other cars ever reach sixty mph, the Bugatti Veyron is already at 100 mph.

This Bugatti Was Limited to 300 Models

Only 300 Veyrons were made, and it took a massive deposit to secure one. To give you an idea of how exclusive Bugatti models are, there are only 11 U.S dealers. You don’t need a parade when you’ve got this amazing car. Everyone knows what you’re driving, expects you to be filthy rich, and will likely throw themselves at you with prospects of matrimony in their minds.

The mid-engine AWD 2-passenger, 2-door coupe build of the Veyron makes it extremely exclusive, hard to live with, but a lot of fun to drive. Imagine how incredible it could be to take one of these cars out for a ride. Of course, today’s Iconic Car Series version is the one driven by Jeremy Clarkson, which is certainly worthy of the title and gives us a view of what it might be like to drive the perfect car, even if most of us never will.