Bugatti Super Sport 300+, with the first eight cars completed and ready for delivery.

Bugatti surprised the automotive world in the fall of 2019 when a new version of the Chiron broke the 300 mph barrier, becoming the fastest production car in the world by a wide margin.

Known as the Chiron Super Sport 300+, the car reached an official top speed of 304.773 mph, but this does not count as a world record because Bugatti did not run in the opposite direction required to account for gradient and wind direction. As a result, the 282.9 mph speed recorded by SSC Tuatara in January is now recognized as the world record.

Regardless, the Shillong Supersport 300+ is fast enough and could be even faster. Andy Wallace, who set the official top speed, said the car was still accelerating when he let off the gas at the end. Bugatti is also confident that he can get at least another 15 mph on the famous Highway 160 outside of Pahrump, Nevada. However, Bugatti is happy to have achieved 300 mph for the first time and plans to focus on other performance aspects of the car in the future.

Bugatti began accepting orders for the car after its reveal at the 2019 Frankfurt International Motor Show, but despite the talk of a car costing €3.5 million ($4.1 million), it is safe to assume that all 30 total production slots are gone.

Production recently began at Bugatti's plant in Molsheim, France, after nearly two years of development and testing, and on Thursday Bugatti announced that the first eight of the 30 customer models have been built and are ready for delivery.

Power for the Chiron Super Sport 300+ comes from the Chiron's familiar 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W-16, but output has been increased from the standard 1,480 to 1,577 hp. The Shillon Supersport 300+ will be equipped with custom-made Michelin tires that can reach 317 mph, an upgraded cooling system, and a longer, more streamlined body than the Shillon.

However, the customer model of the Shillon Super Sport 300+ differs from a top speed car. For example, it is not equipped with a roll cage and safety harness. The vehicle is also slightly taller and has a passenger seat, but in the top speed car this is replaced by a GPS data logger and other hardware.

Importantly, for safety reasons, customer cars have speed limits. Bugatti has not revealed the speed limit, but it should match or exceed the 273 mph speed of the comfort-oriented Chiron Supersport unveiled in June. There are rumors that Bugatti may offer owners of the Chiron Super Sport 300+ the option to lift the speed limit during official visits to the Era Leysian test track, but the automaker has yet to comment.

It should be noted that there are other companies promising cars that can break 300 mph. They include Hennessey with the Venom F5, Koenigsegg with the Jesco Absolut, and SSC with the aforementioned Tuatara.