80 mph Speed Limit On Germany’s Autobahn? It Could Happen

[advrider]

Just when you think the safetycrats had put their bureaucratic knives down for a minute comes news that the holiest of holies, the pedal-to-floor, throttle-to-stop stretches of Germany’s sacred no-speed-limit sections of Autobahn may get… speed limits. And 80 mph/130 kph speed limits, no less.

FYI, that’s lower than the speed limit in some parts of Texas, where the posted limit is 85 mph. How could this happen? Well, having a millionaire owner of a Bugatti Chiron rip a 259 mph/417 kph pass last January probably didn’t help matters, according to Italian website Moto.it. But even more sadly, it would seem a large number of not-supercar drivers are in favor of knee-capping Autobahn speed junkies, like this guy banging his R1 up against its 186 mph/300 kph limiter, which it reaches quite handily:

Good times, but that scintillating kind of velocity addiction apparently doesn’t wear well with many Autobahn drivers stuck in plodding cages that are passed like snails by Mr. R1. According to Moto.it:

“Two years ago, surveys carried out with samples of the 21 million members of ADAC, by far the most important motorists’ association, showed 45% of those interviewed in favor of introducing the speed limit. So much so that the association said, for the first time, that it was available for a discussion on the subject.”

Fortunately, for now, it’s all still “in discussion,” but the writing appears to be on the tarmac for reigning in those drivers and riders looking to achieve personal speed records on the German public motorways, 70 percent of which have no speed limits… for now. Moto.it goes on to say that the Autobahn speed limits have support from ministers with an environmental bent, seeing how it’s estimated that going 80 mph instead of 180 mph would cut about 2 million tons of CO2 from flowing into the atmosphere per year.

As noted, one person who is likely not in favor of the proposed regulations is Czech millionaire and YouTuber Radim Passer, who dialed up nearly 260 mph/420 kph in his Bugatti Chiron back in January. You can ride along here:

We must admit the calm inside of the car at speed is as impressive as the scenery blurring by, as it should be for a seven-digit chariot. However, the stunt caught the attention of authorities, even though the driver had spotters posted up on overpasses, pre-drove the route and made the pass at 4:50 AM on a Sunday morning. Still, vehicles were on the road at the time, and had something gone wrong, the results would have likely been fatal. The pass was also posted here with some clips of the car going by at aircraft speeds.

In the motorcycle world, most current top-tier sport bikes would likely kiss 200 mph or better if not for that built-in 300 kph/186 mph speed limiter, which was implemented to choke off the “horsepower wars” of the 1990s that resulted in a stock 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa putting down a 194mph pass in a Cycle World test.

A “gentleman’s agreement” formed up the next year (punishable by all sorts of penalties if violated, including possible dreaded “bike bans” in some markets) and introduced the electro-limiters on most production sport bikes. As you likely know, spooling up any street-legal motorcycle past the 200 mph mark is extraordinarily difficult, since even though they look highly aerodynamic, most motorcycles are about as wind-slippery as the proverbial brick because of how the motor, fuel supply, cooling systems, rider and controls have to be packaged. Physics is physics, and wind/air resistance rises exponentially with speed.

Future electric motorcycles will be able to break this mold, as demonstrated by the odd but clearly effective White Motorcycle Concepts “tunnel” electric concept/speed record bike. Quick follow-up: WMC has now taken that “tunnel” airflow idea and mated it to a three-wheel platform and turned out what has to be the oddest police motorcycle ever produced.

But we’d expect electric sport bikes, with their tons of torque and smaller, efficient electric motors, to challenge gasser speed records sooner than later. In 2020, the Voxan Wattman semi-streamliner posted a 254mph pass with “Mad Max” Biaggi at the controls. It doesn’t seem like it would be too terribly difficult to streetify that bike and give it a 200mph top speed. Indeed, Canadian startup Damon Motors is claiming their upcoming electric Hypersport Pro will have a 200 mph top speed. Since it’s not pumping CO2 into the air, what will the reasoning be to slow that bike down? Or its possible competitors? And it’s not like the 186/300 limit is any “safer” than going 200mph or more anyway. Currently the Lightning LS-218 electric motorcycle has touched 218 mph, making it the fastest “production” bike of any kind available—if you can get one.

For the most part, though, bike makers have abided by the 186/300 limit even as cars have continued to leapfrog each other, finally culminating in a 304 mph one-off Bugatti Chiron in 2019. Since then, few if any other cars have been able to top that mark – or really even tried. Following the achievement – which took place on a private test track, not the Autobahn –  even Bugatti said “no more.” Enjoy the ride:

However, never say never: Bugatti was purchased by/merged with Croatian EV speed merchant Rimac in 2021, and Rimac (pronounced “Rhee-Moss,” not “Ree-Mack”) makes what is very likely the world’s quickest production car – the $2.4 million Rimac Nevera electric hypercar – which can throw down a 1.9-second quarter mile utilizing its four 500-hp in-wheel motors. Expect that record to fall again and again as the electric car era matures. Rimac has said a Bugatti EV is coming for 2030, with a hybrid likely before that.

How will the speed limit advocates reason capping EV speeds since they don’t pollute while being driven? Safety? It seems Autobahn horror stories are few and far between, with the majority of riders and drivers maintaining control of their vehicles at triple digits. It would be a shame if a Texas toll road suddenly had the faster speed limit.

What’s your take? Speed kills? Or speed thrills? Have you ridden or driven wide open on the Autobahn? Tell us about it in comments.

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