World Record

Turn that bbq back on, pop that bottle of chamgpagne you've been saving, and strike up a tune because it's time to celebrate; the king has returned. It's official, the Bugatti Veyron is once again the fastest car in the world. We should clarify, a Bugatti Veyron is the fastest car in the world. This isn't your kid brother's Veyron, it's the all new 2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, and never has a car more completely lived up to that name.

At Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessian, the same track where James May forever erased his nickname "Captain Slow", chief Bugatti Test Driver Pierre Henri Raphanel climbed into the fastest office on four wheels and headed out onto the 12 mile oval. Guinness World Record officials were present as the Super Sport headed out onto the course. To set an official record you have to do a run in each direction, and they take the average. You have one hour to complete it, and no one can touch the car. On the first pass the Veyron SS passed at 265.91MPH (427.933km/H). On the second pass that speed increased to 269.81 MPH(434.211km/H), for an official average of 267.86MPH (431.072km/H).

While revelers were packed into Times Square waiting for the ball to drop, folks on the Left Coast in Long Beach were anticipating something equally (or much more so for us) exciting. Legendary extreme sports star Travis Pastrana attempted and shattered the old world record for rally car jumps of 171 feet at the Red Bull New Year No Limits Event.

Using a heavily modified Subaru Impreza WRX STI with 450 hp and a reinforced roll-cage, Pastrana launched off a boat-mounted ramp in Rainbow Harbor at 90 mph, propelling himself over 250+ feet of water and onto a barge. Yeah, we're not joking, and if you think you got thrills from Partypoker or skydiving, try this out, because he sure did - and it worked. The landing was perfect but the car had so much momentum that it quickly got sideways and skidded into a barrier. 

This past weekend, the record for world's fastest gasoline-powered land vehicle was set by Spectre Performance's 1900 hp SpeedLiner. Powered by a twin-turbo 1970's Cadillac engine with 1200 ft-lb of torque, this speed demon, nicknamed Infidel, blitzed its way to an amazing 330.7 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah at the hands of driver Kenny Hoover. The Infidel was built by hot-rod accessory manufacturer Spectre Performance at the behest of founder Amir Rosenbaum, who has vowed to keep pushing until they reach 400 mph.