Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has set a world record in partnership with Bugatti.

The Colombian driver beat the world record for the fastest time to accelerate from zero to 400km/h, and then back to zero again in Bugatti’s iconic Chiron.

Montoya’s time was 41.96 seconds, with the initial acceleration to 400 km/h taking 32.6 seconds. The braking, however, took only 9.3 seconds for Montoya to come to a halt.

Despite reaching such breakneck speeds, Montoya insisted that he felt safe in the car, so safe, in fact, that he didn’t even feel the need to wear a helmet.

“It gave me such a feeling of security and reliability that I was entirely relaxed and really enjoyed myself during my two days with the car,” he said.

“It really was incredible to see that you didn’t need the complex preparations we have to make in racing for the 0-400-0 drive.

“With the Chiron, it was all quite easy. Just get in and drive off. Incredible.”

Wolfgang Dürheimer, President of Bugatti, proudly made the announcement.

“Bugatti is the first car brand that not only calculates how fast a car can go from zero to 400 to zero on a computer,” he said.

“We actually drove it. Where others are satisfied with theory, we validate our data with real-life values. Just like we did with the Chiron.“