Infiniti already claims the new M35h is the world’s quickest hybrid with a 0-62 mph time of 5.5 seconds. Now the Japanese luxury automaker can add one more performance credential to the car’s list: the Guinness World Record for the fastest hybrid.

The certification was given after auto journalist Tim Pollard of CAR Magazine piloted the luxury hybrid sedan down the 1/4 mile drag course at the UK’s Santa Pod strip, setting an average time between the runs of 13.9031. Pollard’s best run clocked just 13.8960, with all trap speeds above 100 mph.

The M35h is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 engine making 302-hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, mated to an electric motor that adds 67-hp more. Plus, with all this performance, Infiniti claims a 27-mpg city rating and 29-mpg highway.

GALLERY: Infiniti M35h Guinness World Record Run

Kia Motors is participating in an 8,000 mile trip with the 2011 Optima Hybrid sedan in an effort to break the Guinness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption in a hybrid car.

Drivers Wayne Gerdes and Chris Bernius will drive through 48 states in 16 days. Both drivers are experienced fuel economy drivers and the 2011 Optima Hybrid is bone stock, in accordance to Guinness’ strict rules. The Optima set off from Kia’s plant in West Point, Georgia on August 26 and is scheduled to conclude its drive on September 10 in South Carolina.

“Fuel economy is becoming increasingly important to car buyers all around the world, and the Kia Optima Hybrid is one of our latest models to address this consumer requirement,” Senior Executive Vice President & COO of Kia Motors Corporation Thomas Oh, said.

Currently, the Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption in a hybrid car was set in October 2010 using a Toyota Auris Hybrid. Amazingly, the Toyota covered 307.58 miles while only using 4.53 gallons of fueling, achieving 67.89 mpg.

GALLERY: Kia Optima

[Source: Left Lane News]

Go ahead and raise your hand if you’ve made a ridiculous bet while out drinking with a few of your friends. Admit it, we all have and most of the time we never follow through and just hope everyone else forgot about the night before. But not Li Guiwen. This army driver from Beijing stuck to his word after making a drinking bet with buddies. The bet? To set a world record by driving across two rows of beer bottles for close to 200 feet.

It took eight minutes and 28 seconds for the imitation Toyota Camry to set the record, as Guiwen steered across 1,798 bottles. And apparently this isn’t the first time Guiwen has attempted to set the record. Back in 2009, he made an attempt, but due to the rain the vehicle slipped off the bottle track. “Since the failure last year, I have been training constantly,” Guiwen said.

We find it more entertaining that a bunch of people had to consume those 1,798 beer bottles for this achievement – and wonder how many more silly bets were made during that process. Let’s hope Guiwen didn’t make any attempts under the influence, eh?

[Source: Orange News]

Bugatti has done it again, setting a new record for the world’s fastest production car at an astonishing 267.81 mph. That time gives Bugatti back the title, after the original Veyron’s 253.81 mph speed was topped by upstart American supercar maker SSC with its 256.12 mph run.

Official test diver Pierre Henri Raphanel set the record attempt on Volkswagen‘s official Ehra-Lessian high-speed test track, with both the Guinness book of records and the German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) there to record the feat.

The car used is the new Super Sport model, a more powerful version of the Veyron, boasting 1,200-hp and a modified aero kit.

According to Guinness rules, the car made two runs (265.9 and 269.8 mph), which are then averaged out for the 267.81 mph speed. Production models won’t, however, be quite as fast, with their top speed limited to “just” 257.9-mph.

Bugatti will build a limited edition number of the Super Sport models, with the first five receiving the same black carbon fiber and orange paint scheme. The new car will go on display for the first time at Pebble Beach in August.

GALLERY: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport World Record

Official release after the jump:

PRESS RELEASE

Landspeed worldrecord with the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport

The new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport takes production sports cars to a whole new dimension
Wolfsburg/Molsheim, July 4, 2010 – on a beautiful sunny day at 25 degrees the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport achieved a new landspeed world record for production cars, on the proving grounds of the Volkswagen Group at Ehra-Lessien (nearby its headquarters at Wolfsburg). In the presence of the German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) and a representative of Guinness Book of Records the Super Sport achieved an average top speed of 431 km/h.

Saturday, 2 pm – Bugatti’s Pilote Officiel Pierre Henri Raphanel puts his helmet and gloves on, pulls the safety belts tight whilst the engineers check the car a very last time: tyre pressure, temperature, all systems go. Then the orange black Super Sport crosses the light barrier, from now on the time will be taken, within one hour the car has to drive from South to North and then in the opposite direction. No one but the driver is allowed to touch the car during this time. The tension rises. A few minutes later we can hear from the left side the sound of a starting jumbo jet coming closer towards us. First we perceive the headlights of the Veyron, then we can recognize the shape of the car, a loud wooosh…. and Raphanel dashes in top speed past us. The GPS-tachometer stops at 427, 933 km/h. Now the same procedure from the opposite direction. This time the car reaches 434, 211 km/h. As average top speed the representatives of the “TÜV”and Guinness generate a value of 431, 072 km/h (268 mph). This even hit Bugatti’s engineering team by surprise.

“We took it that we would reach an average value of 425 km/h,” explains Bugatti’s chief engineer Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber, “but the conditions today were perfect and allowed even more.”

The climax of the Veyron series: the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport

Had a model been especially popular or highly successful in races, Ettore Bugatti’s customers often pushed the master to tease out of the engine a few horsepower more for their future car. Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. had been in a similar situation when their existing customers asked the company to not only design their second model optically differently but to also create a version with a sportier and more extreme driving experience. The result is a car with a uniquely high performance of 1,200-hp (882 kW) offering experienced drivers a whole new dimension of excitement, with a maximum torque of 1,500 Newton metres and a limited top speed of 415 km/h (to protect the tyres) but, the technique of the Super Sport is identical to the record car. The first five Super Sports to come off the production line will constitute a special series of their own, with the same configuration as the landspeed record car.

The Super Sport is a consequent of the further development of the classic exclusive 1,001-hp Bugatti Veyron 16.4, launched in 2005. This model offers a stunning set of specifications, such as the twin clutch gearbox with seven speeds, the extraordinarily precise driving performance in bends and excellent stability when braking and accelerating.

Continuous work in extreme performance ranges lead to constantly new conclusions, which enabled the engineers at Bugatti to develop the Veyron into a direction in which the driver can reach new dimensions. Every modification is designed to produce an even more powerful car for an agile ride. Four enlarged turbochargers and bigger intercoolers have been used to boost the power of the 16-cylinder engine, and the chassis has been extensively redesigned to maintain safety at extreme speed – thanks to slightly raised main-spring travel, stronger stabilisers, and new shock absorbers with a complex architecture originally developed for racing cars. This gives noticeably more precise control of the wheels and the car as a whole. With lateral acceleration of up to 1.4 G and improved interaction between the tyres and the intelligent all-wheel drive system, the Super Sport offers perfect handling and even more powerful acceleration of 1,500 Newton metres on corner exits.

The body has been fine-tuned to improve aerodynamic efficiency and maintain perfect balance in every situation, while the new fibre structure of the all-carbon monocoque ensures maximum torsion rigidity and passive safety – at reduced weight. The skin is made entirely of carbon-fibre composites, and the new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is available in 100 per-cent clear- lacquered exposed carbon on request.

Dynamic exterior

Every detail of this car, and not just its use of advanced motorsport technology, harks back to the pioneering spirit of company founder Ettore Bugatti. This brilliant designer came from a family of artists, and his philosophy was always to combine mechanical perfection and exterior beauty. This ethos remains alive and well at the company, and the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is wholly unmistakeable, with every external modification serving to coax greater performance from the car.

The Super Sport’s flat, elongated silhouette is immediately recognisable. The 16-cylinder engine gets its air from two NACA ducts integrated into the roof, rather than from scoops above the engine. The front air intakes have been expanded and reshaped, with the lower one extending elegantly around the sides to the wheel arch. The revised back looks sportier due to the double diffuser and a centrally arranged exhaust system.

Bugatti has a tradition of making super-sport versions of successful models, usually with racing chassis and supercharged engines. These cars were considered as true racing machines for diehard Bugatti devotees. The most successful were the type 55 and type 57S; only around forty of each were built.

Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. has sold 260 Veyrons and 35 Grand Sports by now, of which 249 Veyrons and 22 Grand Sports had been delivered. The Super Sport will begin production this autumn at Molsheim along with the Veyron and the Grand Sport. The first five cars – known as the World Record Edition – are in a special black exposed carbon and orange finish and have already been sold.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport will appear for the first time in public in California at the Pebble Beach Concours weekend in mid-August and will be featured at The Quail, Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca and on the concept lawn of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Several weeks ago we reported that Subaru of America was looking to set a Guinness World Record for the longest parade of Subarus and over the weekend they achieved that goal. Organized by Subaru of America’s Great Lakes Region and the Village of Itasca, Illinois, the chain of Subys stretched a total of 339 cars.

Yup, that’s a lot of turbocharged boxer engines and a total of 1,356 all-wheel drive wheels.

For achieving their goal, as promised, Subaru’s Great Lakes Region made a donation of $3,500 each to PAWS Chicago and Salute, Inc.

See the official Guinness posting below:

http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_The-largest-parade-of-Subaru-cars/blog/432363/7691.html

[Photo Credit: Drive Magazine]

Official release after the jump:

LARGEST PARADE OF SUBARU CARS’ IN THE WORLD -

PRNewswire
ITASCA, Ill.

ITASCA, Ill., July 14 /PRNewswire/ — Subaru of America, Inc.’s Great Lakes Region, with the Village of Itasca, achieved a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ record for the “Longest Parade of Subaru Cars.” The attempt took place on July 11, 2009.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080325/SUBARULOGO )

The official GUINNESS announcement can be found at:http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_The-largest-parade-of-Subaru-cars/blog/432363/7691.html.

In celebration of this exciting event, Subaru’s Great Lakes Region made a donation of $7,000 that was split equally between PAWS Chicago and Salute, Inc. For more information on these organizations please visit their respective websites at www.pawschicago.org/ andwww.saluteinc.org/.

The official GUINNESS certificate reads as follows: “The record for the longest parade of Subaru cars was achieved by Subaru of America, Inc. Great Lakes Region in partnership with the Village of Itasca at 500 Park Boulevard in Itasca, Illinois, USA on 11 July 2009.”

Subaru of America is looking to set a Guinness World Record for the largest parade of Subys… er, Subies… um, Barus? And its reaching out to fanatical, AWD, boxer engine owners to help.

Subaru and the Subaru Great Lakes Region is asking owners from all over the country to meet on July 11 at 500 Park Boulevard in Itasca, Illinois.

The parade coincides with Itasca Fest, an annual fun for the whole family event that includes live entertainment, carnival rides and kids games.

Participants will receive a gift bag (one per car) and Subaru’s Great Lakes Region will donate $15 per car (to a maximum of $7,000) to PAWS Chicago and Salute, Inc. And knowing how fanatical Subaru owners are, they should probably just write the $7,000 check now.

Any Subaru owners interested in participating are asked to register here:

Subaru Parade

[Photo Credit: PicassaWeb]

Official release after the jump:

Subaru of America, Inc.’s Great Lakes Region, in Partnership with the Village of Itasca, Attempts to Set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS(TM) Record

- Plans ‘Largest Parade of Subaru Cars’ in the World –

ITASCA, Ill., June 19 /PRNewswire/ — Subaru of America, Inc.’s Great Lakes Region, in partnership with the Village of Itasca, announced today that it will attempt to set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS(TM) record for the “Largest Parade of Subaru Cars.” The attempt will take place on July 11, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. The parade will start at 500 Park Boulevard in Itasca, Illinois.

Starting June 22 through July 8, interested participants can register their Subaru in the parade by visiting www.subaru.com/parade.

In celebration of this exciting event, Subaru’s Great Lakes Region will make a donation of $15 per participating Subaru vehicle up to a total donation amount of $7,000. This donation will be shared equally between PAWS Chicago and Salute, Inc. For more information on these organizations please visit their respective websites at www.pawschicago.org/ and www.saluteinc.org/.

An official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS(TM) adjudicator will be on site to observe and confirm this record attempt.

In addition to going for the record and helping raise funds for two great organizations, parade participants:

 -- Will receive a special gift bag (one per car).

 -- Are invited to attend Itasca Fest following the GUINNESS WORLD
   RECORDS(TM) attempt. This fest is great for the entire family and
   features: live entertainment, carnival rides, food, bingo, kids'
   entertainment, a three-on-three basketball tournament, and NASA's
   "Journey to Tomorrow" exhibit. For more information visit
   www.itasca.com.

 -- Are eligible for a special event room rate of $89 per night* at The
   Westin Chicago Northwest hotel. For your convenience, this four-star,
   four-diamond hotel is located within walking distance from the start
   of the parade. To make a reservation, simply visit
   www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/res?id=0906159812&key=A9AB8.
   The event rate is good for parade participants only and based on
   availability.
 * Rate does not include tax.