The new Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse has been officially named as the world's fastest production roadster - days after the Veyron lost its title of world's fastest production car.

The Vitesse's record-breaking run was achieved at Volkswagen's 12-mile speed bowl in Ehra-Lessien, Germany. The driver in question, Chinese racer Anthony Liu, took the drop-top Veyron up to a top speed of 254mph - beating the company's own goal by more than 5mph.

"Even at such high speeds it remained incredibly comfortable and stable," said Liu. "With an open top, you can really experience the sound of the engine and yet even at higher speeds I did not get compromised by the wind at all."

Only eight examples of the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse will be built, each sporting a black and orange paint job and featuring an 8.0-litre W16 engine producing 1,200hp and 1,500Nm of torque. The price? Somewhere in the region of £1.8million.

The convertible record breaker will be on display at this month's Shanghai Motor Show and Bugatti is already planning to take back the production car title as well, with a rumoured 1,600hp monster currently under development. Together with Hennessey's goal of taking its Venom GT to over the 270mph mark that record may switch hands fairly quickly over the coming years. The war is on...

James Giddings - 15 Apr 2013