When one may try to look up the fastest cars in the world, they most likely end up on a list of modern fast cars. Today however we are taking a look at some of the fastest cars to have existed throughout the various decades. For this list we have only listed cars with a proven top speed and acceleration figures and have excluded cars which haven’t done public test runs or are amidst controversy. Starting from the current fastest cars we take a look at cars from the 90’s, the 2000’s and the 2010’s as well.
Proven Fastest cars today:
3) Hennessy Venom GT435 Kmph
2) Koenigsegg Agera RS: 447 Kmph
1) Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+: 490 Kmph
The 2010’s – Current.
Although the 2010’s are not that far behind from us yet, they have been a number of cars produced since then, till date that have shattered various records in terms of top speed performance.
McLaren Speedtail: 402 kmph
This beautiful machine made by McLaren was first introduced in the year 2019 and shares a iconic concept of the three seats with that of the legendary McLaren F1. The seat layout consists of two seats on each side with the driver’s seat in the absolute centre of the car. The Speedtail uses a hybrid mechanism that combines a twin turbocharged 4.0litre V8 with an electric motor in order to cancel out the turbo lag. Although there has been no proof released by McLaren, they claim a top speed of 402 kmph which makes the Speedtail the fastest car ever made by the British automaker.
Hennessy Venom GT: 435 kmph
The Venom GT was first introduced in the year 2011 and stayed in production till the year 2017. Although the production run was fairly long, only 13 such units were ever made. This machine is in fact based on another car, the Lotus Exige, however modified. The Venom GT comes equipped with a twin turbocharged 7.0 litre V8 that is based on the LA7 by General Motors. The engine pushes 1244 hp. In February of the year 2014 the Venom GT reached a speed of 435 kmph on the Kennedy Space Centre’s landing strip based in Florida. Although the Venom GT did in fact reach a higher speed than the current record of that time, it was not qualified to be the fastest production car as the speed run was made in only one direction, while also the production number of 13 was too low to qualify.
Koenigsegg Agera RS: 447 Kmph
When speaking of proven claims, one can’t miss out on the Koenigsegg Agera ₹ Prior to the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, the record for the fastest production car was in the hands of the Agera RS with a top speed of 447 kmph. The Agera RS is equipped with a 5.0 litre V8 the car produces 1060 bhp and a 1000 Nm of torque. This machine reached 300 kmph from a standstill in just 22.7 seconds. Only 25 units of the Agera RS were ever made with 10 being presold.
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+: 490 kmph (Fastest car on the planet today)
It is not new news that the Bugatti Chrion is already one of the fastest cars ever to be made, with a top speed of 420 kmph. However, the French automakers wanted to set a new world record. In order to make this happen Bugatti took the engine from the Centodieci, which makes a little more power than the regular W16, with a power figure of 1578 bhp, which is 99 hp more than the regular engine; and added in a revised aerodynamic package that increases the car’s length and made the gear ratios longer in order to aid in top speed runs. This new Bugatti Chiron hit a top speed of a whopping 490 kmph. Based on this prototype that set the record, the Chiron Super Sport 300+ was built in order to celebrate the record. Only 30 units are ever to be produced.
The 2000’s
The 2000’s was a wonderful decade in terms of performance cars, with record shattering performance and new technological advancements that were never seen before.
2009 Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss: 350 kmph
The SLR McLaren is a car known to be a Grand Tourer that was created jointly by McLaren and Mercedes. This is meant to be a successor to the beautiful Mercedes Benz 300 SLR. This limited run car had a very unique styling with no windscreen or roof to be seen. Only 75 of these machines were ever built and had a top speed of 350 kmph
2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque: 349kmph
Based on the original Zonda R that was introduced in 1999 the Zonda Cinque is said to be the absolute best variant of the Zonda line up. Introduced in the year 2009, the Cinque was powered by a 7.3 litre Mercedes Benz V12 with a power output of 678 hp to the crank. These are ultra-rare as only 5 of these were ever made.
2003 Ferrari Enzo: 350 kmph
With Ferrari building a car that is to be named after the founder, it was essential that the machine must be a physical embodiment of absolute perfection. First unveiled in the year 2003 the Ferrari Enzo was a benchmark setting masterpiece that truly showed the public what Ferrari was really capable of in terms of sheer performance. The Enzo was created to celebrate the success of the Ferrari team in the F1 series. With advanced technological enhancements and a 6.0 litre V12, the car had an output of 651 bhp and 657 Nm of torque. With a recorded top speed of 350 kmph even today, the Enzo is one of the most powerful naturally aspirated cars to have ever been produced.
2002 Koenigsegg CC8S: 386 kmph
Keeping in mind that Koenigsegg was created in order to build sports cars that could take on the best of the best in the industry, they developed their first ever production car; the CC8S. Post its unveiling people began to lose their minds over this beautiful masterpiece. With a Targa top design, two seats and the dihedral-synchro helix actuation doors that were never seen before the CC8S was a beautiful machine. The car came with a ford 4.7 litre V8 which was supercharged and produced 655 hp and had a top speed of 386 kmph. Although it was their first car, only six units were produced by Koenigsegg.
2004 Koenigsegg CCR: 388 kmph
After the production and success of the CC8S, Koenigsegg got back to work and launched a successor to its previous car in the year 2004, the CCR. Although it had similarities in terms of design to that of the CC8s, the CCR came with a number of improvements such as a rear wing, a different style of headlights, larger wheels and tires and a bigger front splitter in order to improve aerodynamics. The CCR also came equipped with a more powerful V8 engine which was supercharged. This resulted in a new power output of 806 bhp and a top speed of 388 kmph.
2005 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo: 399 kmph
This gorgeous looking machine was all hand built and developed in the year 2000 by Saleen Automotive, an American automaker. Initially Saleen’s first ever production car came with a mid-engine set up, a carbon fibre construction and a Ford V8. However, in the year 2005 Saleen went on to installing Garret twin turbocharges as an upgrade to its engine. This increased its power output from 550 hp to a whopping 750 hp and a new top speed of 399 kmph, in tern implying that it could go head-to-head with some of the fastest European cars of the time.
2006 Koenigsegg CCX: 400.7 kmph
After Koenigsegg produced and successfully sold two cars, they were confident enough to build a newer, more advanced model with an aim to enter the US market. In order to do so, several changes were in order when compared to its previous generation of cars. For one, there now was a brand-new engine, a Ford sourced modular engine with an aluminium design, made in house itself. The 4.7 litre twin turbocharged V8 ran on 91 Octane fuel and pushed 806 hp, making this the most powerful Koenigsegg of the time.
2005 Bugatti Veyron: 412 kmph
2005 SSC Ultimate Aero: 256
SSC has been known in the recent years after the controversial break of the fastest production car with their Tuatara. However, this was not the first time an American company broke this record. In the year 2007 the SSC Ultimate Aero broke the fastest production car record with a blazing top speed of 412 kmph. Claiming the crown previously held by the legendary Bugatti Veyron. In order to break this record, SSC equipped the Ultimate Aero with a twin turbocharged V8 with a massive output of 1300 hp.
The 1990’s
When speaking of the 90’s the McLaren F1 takes the prize in terms of sheer top speed, however when taken a closer look, one may observe that acceleration times of a fair number of cars was quite interesting as well.
Mercedes Benz CLK GTR
In the 90’s often race cars would also release a road going variant which, in actuality is almost the same as the track only version of the said car. With the CLK GTR, Mercedes tried to make the car look as normal as possible for its road going variant with a little more common styling and an easily recognizable theme. Under the skin however, the CLK GTR came equipped with a 6.9 litre V12 that pushed 604 bhp and a 6-speed transmission. During the time it was launched, the CLK GTR was one of the fastest production cars with a top speed of 344 kmph and an acceleration time of 3.8 seconds from 0-100 kmph.
Porsche 911 GT1
One of the rarer cars in current times, the Porsche GT1 may look to some as a very modified version of the regular 911, however that is far from the truth. The 911 shares little to no components with the GT1. The car is built on a custom tubular frame chassis with a wishbone suspension setup. This car’s primary focus was racing performance and only had a road going version in order to meet FIA regulations. Although the car came with a 3.2 litre twin turbocharged flat-six, due to emissions laws in Europe, it was detuned to produce 536 bhp. Still the car would accelerate to 100 from a standstill in just 3.8 seconds.
1999 Lamborghini Diablo GT
Lamborghini like most carmakers focus on adding more power and reducing weight, and the GT variant of the Diablo is no different. The Diablo GT although with a similar profile as the regular Diablo, was meant for the European racetracks. The bodywork was carbon fibre making the car lighter by 63.5 kgs, Lamborghini focused on aerodynamics as well. In terms of power, the car came with a 6litre V12 producing 575 bhp and a 0-100 time of just 3.7 seconds.
1994 Bugatti EB110 SS
Bugatti is already known for making some of the fastest cars in the world, however even in the 90’s it was at the top of the speed game. Before the time of the monstrous W16 engines Bugatti’s EB110 came with a V12 equipped with four turbochargers. The EB110 was first showcased in the year 1991 in order to resurrect the Bugatti name. With an all-wheel drive setup, active aerodynamics, and a carbon fibre chassis the car came with 603 bhp and a 0-100 time of 3.2 seconds.
1994 TWR Jaguar XJ220S
Although the sales figures were lower than expected, with 281 cars being sold out of the 350 units made, the XJ220 is the fastest Jaguar ever made even today. With a top speed of 350 kmph a fair number of units of this car were converted to the XJ220S variant which even wone at Le Mans in the year 1993. The S variant came with a taller rear wing, faired in headlights and a lighter carbon fibre body. The XJ220S came with a 3.5 litre twin turbocharged V6 tuned by TWR in order to push 690 bhp and a 0-100 time of 3.2 seconds.
1995 McLaren F1-LM
The McLaren F1 still one of the greatest hyper cars to ever exist, formed new levels of performance in terms of both acceleration and top speed. A total of 106 cars were produced including prototypes and special editions. One of these special variants was the ultra-rare F1 LM with only 5 units ever made. Equipped with the same BMW 6.1 litre V12 as the regular F1, however tuned to produce 53 more hp totalling at 680 bhp and a reduced weight of 60 kgs the F1 LM had a 0-100 time of just 2.9 seconds.
1994 Renault Espace F1
Although Renault only built one of these beautiful minivans, it was done so in order to celebrate the success of the company’s race career with the Williams F1 team. The car was built on the regular Espace body with a front mounted 3.5 litre V10 lifted straight out of the championship Formula 1 car, the FW15C. With a wider set of fenders for the larger tires, the same transmission as the F1 car and a rear wing the minivan pushed 789 bhp and a 0-100 time of just 2.8 seconds.
1994 Dauer Le Mans
Telling this road legal version apart from its track variant is almost impossible, as most of the changes are under the skin. The car came with carbon fibre panels and a flat floorplan in order to increase stability. Equipped with a 3.0 litre flat six and six turbochargers the car pushed 730 bhp and a 0-100 time of 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 403 kmph.
Bonus:
Fastest Pickup Truck:
The Ram 1500 TRX Mammoth
It is currently the fastest gasoline powered pick-up truck on the planet. The regular Ram TRX came equipped with 6.2 litre supercharged V8 producing 702 hp and 650 Nm of torque, however Hennessy got their hands on some of these units and modified them extensively. The Ram TRX Mammoth has a total output of 1012 hp and 969 Nm of torque, reaching 100kmph from a standstill in just 3.2 seconds
Fastest EV
Rolls-Royce Spirit of Innovation
Surprisingly the fastest EV on the planet is no longer a car, but in fact a full-fledged airplane. This electric aircraft is propelled by a 400Kw electric motor and is the first one of its kind to ever be made. The Spirit of Innovation has shattered the top speed record of any electric vehicle ever as it has a top speed of 623 kmph.
Fastest SUV
The Lamborghini Urus 2019
The Urus is still currently the fastest production SUV on the planet, with a 0-100 figure of just 3.0 seconds. The car is equipped with a 4.0 litre twin turbocharged V8 producing 641 hp and 850 Nm of torque. The Lamborghini Urus has a top speed of 306 kmph and is the most sold Lamborghini ever in the Indian market.
Highlights
- Most of these cars are very limited production units
- Most of these cars have sourced their engines from various automakers
- One of these cars is a minivan with a top speed of 402 kmph
Keyword: 30 Of The Fastest Cars Throughout The Decade