Volkswagen is the new world speed record holder! Unbelievable but true. On October 14, a team of engineers from the German giant headed by project manager Rudolf-Helmut Strozyk let loose race drivers Dieter Depping (Germany) and Jean-Francois Hemroulle in a specially built W12 coupe on the famous Fiat-owned Nardo test circuit in the south of Italy. The car ran non-stop for more than 24 hours to prove not only the strong feature of the six-litre W12 powerplant (with 600bhp and 620Nm of torque at its disposal) and the six-speed sequential shift transmission but also that Volkswagen managed to better the world speed record over 24 hours even though it lost 40 minutes to a broken diffuser.

Running flat out, the W12 (fuelled by Shell and shod with standard production Pirelli tyres), the W12 covered 7,985.7 kilometres at an average speed of 295.24kmph for 24 hours, this being a new world speed record. If that was not all, the W12 also broke the world speed record for 5000km and 5000 miles at an average speed of 295.44kmph and 291.87kmph respectively.

If that wasn't all, the W12 broke six other class records including the one hour record which it took at an average speed of 310.99kmph; the 6-hour record at 311.58kmph; the 500 kilometres at 307.64kmph; the 500 miles at 308.81kmph; the 1000 kilometres at 311.09kmph and the 1000 miles at 311.51kmph.

Volkswagen displayed this car on its massive stall in the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo last month where it made a good companion to the near production ready W12 coupe - on sale early next year. At the Tokyo Motor Show, VW officials indicated that the W12 engine in the coupe would deliver 620Nm at 5800rpm and help launch the car from rest to 100kmph in less than 3.5 seconds before hitting a max speed of 350kmph (217mph).