A Swedish motorist is looking at the largest speeding fine in history.

The male Swede, 37, was allegedly clocked at 180mph (300kms) per hour on a Swiss motorway.

His speed was captured by a speed camera operator along the A12 highway between Lausanne and Bern last week, with authorities claiming that the £160,000 Mercedes-Benz Gull wing, the latest supercar on the market, required almost half a mile to come to a complete halt.

Under the complex formula that is used in Switzerland to calculate the cost of a speeding fine, which takes into account both the size of the infringement but also the salary of the driver, the Swede could be forced to pay as much as £650,000.

Such a fine would eclipse the previously accepted record handed down, in 2001 to the Finnish head of Nokia who was ordered to pay £95,400 after riding his Harley Davidson motorbike in Helsinki at 47mph in a 30mph zone. Finland uses a similar system for calculating fine value.

Apparently, the driver was only captured thanks to a new camera, as the older speed cameras used in the area were not set up to record speeds in excess of 125mph (200kph). Swiss police said a roadside arrest was made of the driver who they claim is the fastest ever recorded in the country. In his defence, the man told police that he believed there may be a fault with his car’s speedo.