Join the 200mph+ club, as we round up the fastest road cars on sale in 2022
In the past, if you wanted a fast car, you’d need something expensive and rare that could hit 200mph. But with the (admittedly modified) Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ clocking 304.8mph, 200mph is now merely seen as just another figure to pass on the way to truly astronomical speeds.
The limited-run Chiron is the latest in a long line of speed machines to set a new record. It added another 27mph to the Koenigsegg Agera RS’ top speed, which was set in 2017, and put a Bugatti back on the throne; the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport set its figure in 2010, putting it at the top of the hypercar tree for a decent spell. Before that, there was the US-built SSC Ultimate Aero (256mph), the standard Veyron (254mph), the Koenigsegg CCR (241mph) and the legendary McLaren F1 (240mph).
Amazingly, it took 11 years for anybody to come along and beat the F1’s record, which was set in 1993. And even today, these five former record holders are still fast enough to make the 2022 top 10, if they were still being built.
The fastest cars on this list are expensive, with seven-figure sums required to buy most of them, and plenty to be put aside for everyday running costs, too. However, access to a production car that can go faster than 200mph is easier than it’s ever been. You’ll still need a decent amount of cash to buy one, but with more makers offering 200mph cars than ever, the choice is yours if you’re in the lucky position to be buying.
Using 200mph as the benchmark by which the UK’s fastest cars are judged, then there are a number Brits that break into the club, namely the Aston Martin DB11 V12, Aston Martin DBS and a number of McLarens, including the 720S, Artura and McLaren GT. Both the Bentley Continental GT Speed and Flying Spur can also top 200mph. At £165,000 the McLaren GT is the least expensive, but it’s not the cheapest 200mph car on sale in the UK. That accolade goes to the £135,000 Alpina B8, which can hit 201mph.
There are a few convertibles capable of more than 200mph, although they achieve this with the roof up. The Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder (202mph) and Ferrari 812 GTS (211mph) are drop-top versions of even faster coupes, while the Audi R8 V10 plus Spyder and McLaren 570 Spider both have a claimed top speed of 204mph.
Another strand of the 200mph club is the luxury grand tourer. These cars achieve high speeds without stripping back the luxuries, and it’s the Brits that again lead the way. Bentley offers the incredible four-door Flying Spur (207mph) models, while the new Bentley Continental GT Speed manages 208mph, matching the Aston Martin DB11. You could also factor in Alpina’s other rapid model, the 7 Series-based B7 (205mph), while the Porsche 911 Turbo S is a surprisingly capable all-rounder that can also hit 205mph.
Most other 200mph cars are two-seater sports cars, either mid- or front-engined, unless it’s a Porsche 911. The Lamborghini Huracan manages 202mph, while the rest of the McLaren 570 range (S and GT) matches the Spider with a 204mph top speed. The Audi R8 V10 Plus coupe hits 205mph, while the Ferrari F8 Tributo can hit an impressive 211mph, which is 6mph faster than the newer 296 GTB.
One thing you might wonder is where the big German manufacturers are? If Alpina is building BMW-based 200mph cars, then surely BMW itself should be in on the act, too? Well the German ‘big three’ of Audi, BMW and Mercedes are bound by a voluntary agreement to electronically limit their cars to 155mph (250kph). There are raised limiters offered as an option (usually 186mph, or 300kph) on many of their cars, but with the exception of the R8, no car from any of these firms is ever fully derestricted from the factory.
If you want to break 210mph, then it’s going to cost at least as much in thousands of pounds. The Ferrari 812 Superfast clocks 211mph and costs from around £260,000.
But with ‘only’ 211mph on the clock, it’s about to be left behind by our top 10…
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+
Top speed: 304.8mphPrice: £3 million
Ever since it became the jewel in the Volkswagen Group’s crown, Bugatti has become synonymous with power and straight-line speed. The development of the Veyron and Chiron all led up to the creation of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, which smashed all the marque’s previous records, pushing through the seemingly impenetrable 300mph barrier in 2019.
To achieve this feat, Bugatti’s 8.0-litre W16 engine has been tuned to create 1,578bhp – 99bhp more than the standard Chiron. It has also gained extra cooling for its engine and gearbox, along with a host of software changes. Aerodynamic upgrades have been just as critical to its high-speed run, most notably a ‘Longtail’ rear end that’s added 25cm of bodywork to smooth its airflow.
The ‘enhanced’ Chiron Super Sport 300+ hit 304.774mph at the Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany, and 30 vehicles have been built at Bugatti’s Molsheim facility for privileged customers. Costing £3 million each, Bugatti announced that the first eight cars were ready for delivery in September 2021.
SSC Tuatara
Top speed: 282.9mphPrice: £1.5 million
Record speeds tend to court controversy, and American tuners SSC set the Internet ablaze when the Tuatara hypercar’s alleged 316mph high-speed run was called into question. Video footage of the Nevada highway attempt was claimed to show the car never went as fast as claimed.
In 2021, SSC made another record speed attempt with more accurate timing equipment and independent witnesses to set the record straight, recording a two-way average of 282.9mph. Not quite beyond the 300mph barrier then, but mighty impressive all the same, and with more allegedly still to come.
The Tuatara certainly has plenty of power, thanks to a 5.9-litre flat-plane-crank V8 with twin turbochargers that produces 1,750bhp and 1,735Nm of torque. Unlike most cars on this list, all this power is sent to the rear wheels only. This, allied to the carbon fibre chassis and bodywork, keeps weight down to just 1,247kg.
Koenigsegg Agera RS
Top speed: 277.9mphPrice: £1.5million
Koenigsegg will only be a household name if you’re a diehard petrolhead or have a member of the family who’s into racing games, but the Swedish car maker currently holds the title of world’s fastest car. While historic names such as Ferrari or Lamborghini continue to feature on the majority of bedroom walls, the Agera RS (one of the latest cars to come from the North East of Europe) has a top speed of 277.9mph, which it averaged on a two-way run on a closed public road in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The RS has a 5.0-litre V8 turbo that produces 1,380bhp, which was enough to beat the previous holder, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, by 12mph. To add insult to injury, the Koenigsegg also beat the 0-250-0mph ‘world record’ Bugatti set in the Chiron, by more than five seconds. The Agera RS’ time of 36.44s came only a few days after Bugatti released a video boasting of the 0-250-0mph performance achieved by the Chiron.
Interestingly, the RS isn’t Koenigsegg’s first assault on straight-line speed supremacy. Its first car, the CCR, was recorded at 242mph on the high speed bowl at Nardo, Italy back in 2005, paving the way for the company to keep its foot to the floor and design even faster production cars. In fact, it might not be long until the Koengisegg Jesko model that’s currently in the final stages of development goes even faster.
Hennessey Venom F5
Top speed: 271.6mphPrice: £1.7 million
American tuning firm turned hypercar-builder Hennessey has already topped 270mph with its Exige-based Venom, and it looks like its new Venom F5 will breeze past that speed.
In fact, it’s already gone faster in testing, hitting 271.6mph at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds in Florida this spring. It should come as no surprise, given that the old Venom had just 1,244bhp, while the newcomer packs a massive 1,817bhp from its twin-turbo V8. It’s clear Hennessey is aiming to top 300mph when the car is fully developed.
With rear-wheel drive, limited traction no doubt hampers the F5’s 2.6-second 0-62mph time, but a 0-249mph acceleration figure of 15.5 seconds shows just how incredible the Hennessey’s straight-line speed is once it gets into its stride.
Rimac Nevera
Top speed: 258mphPrice: £1.72 million
The Rimac Nevera is the fourth-fastest car in the world, and also has the distinction of being the world’s fastest electric hypercar. Such is the ferocity of the EV power wars, it seems like only a matter of time until an EV takes top spot outright.
With 1,888bhp and 2,360Nm of torque, the Nevera is already the most powerful model in the top five, rocketing from 0-60mph in 1.85 seconds despite being a relative heavyweight. It can carry on to 186mph in an astonishing 9.3 seconds – more quickly than most family cars get to 60mph
Capable of charging at up to 500kW, the Nevera isn’t just fast on the road, its battery can also be topped up to 80 per cent in just 19 minutes, and when full it has a 340-mile range.
McLaren Speedtail
Top speed: 250mphPrice: £1.75 million
We reported that Woking’s McLaren Speedtail had achieved 250mph during development testing back in February 2020. According to the British supercar brand, McLaren engineers hit 250mph more than 30 times during evaluation runs at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.
This means the Speedtail is faster than the legendary McLaren F1, although both will be equally rare as McLaren plans to manufacturer 106 Speedtails – the same number as its illustrious predecessor.
A part of McLaren’s ‘Ultimate Series’ of models, the Speedtail also shares the F1’s three-seater layout, with the driver sitting in the middle of the car, flanked by two passengers. Unlike the older model, the twin-clutch Speedtail has no gearlever, making it easier to get in via either side.
Aspark Owl
Top speed: 249mphPrice: £2.5 million
While you’d expect to see names like McLaren and Koenigsegg on a list of the world’s fastest road cars, this increasingly niche genre is also the stomping ground for fledgling brands looking to create small numbers of hand-built hypercars. The Japanese Aspark Owl is one such example.
First seen in prototype form at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Owl is another battery-electric model with big on-paper figures. For a start, it’s claimed to have launched from 0-60mph in 1.7 seconds during testing, which would make it the fastest accelerating production car.
Asparkl also quote the 1,985bhp Owl’s top speed as 249mph. Its blistering acceleration is helped by a relatively light 64kWh battery pack, which is smaller than most rivals’. but should still give the slippery Owl a range of around 280 miles.
W Motors Fenyr Supersport
Top speed: 245mphPrice: £1.4million
The first Middle Eastern supercar maker is W Motors. First established in Lebanon and now based in Dubai, W Motors has followed up the Lykan HyperSport with the Fenyr SuperSport. Both are capable of 245mph, according to the maker.
Power units are sourced from German Porsche tuner Ruf, so there’s a twin-turbocharged flat-six mounted behind the cockpit, while bespoke materials including diamonds and sapphires in the headlights are used throughout the car to create a unique machine.
If the HyperSport looks familiar, that’s because it’s the most expensive car to ever appear in the Fast & Furious movie series, and was the car that crashed between tower blocks in Furious 7.
Pagani Huayra
Top speed: 238mphPrice: £1million
The beautifully crafted Huayra serves up supercar excess in the finest tradition. Lurking beneath the attractive body is a 720bhp twin-turbo Mercedes V12 that propels the Pagani to 238mph.
The Huayra is constructed from carbon fibre and employs an active aerodynamic system that can adjust the ride height at the front and rear of the car independently – as well as automatically deploying the various wings and spoilers. The latest Huayra BC edition ramps the power up by a marginal 10 per cent, which we don’t expect to make too much of an impact on the top speed. However, the Huayra Roadster is another proposition that’s aiming to take the title of the World’s Fastest Convertible…
Zenvo TS1 GT
Top speed: 233mphPrice: £1million
The phrase ‘Danish supercar’ might bring to mind one of the latest Lego model kits, but Denmark’s Zenvo is a genuine car manufacturer based in the country.
It made its mark with the ST1, but has since followed it up with the TSR-S and TS1 GT models. These two look largely identical to the ST1, but have been improved in every area. The TSR-S features an advanced active wing that boosts downforce when cornering, but it’s the TS1 GT that is the speed machine, with an estimated top speed of 233mph.
It achieves this courtesy of Zenvo’s own 5.8-litre twin-supercharged V8 that makes 1,104bhp, while carbon fibre construction and plenty of lightweight materials keep the kerbweight low.
Pininfarina Battista
Top speed: 217mphPrice: £1.6 million
While it might not be known for building its own cars, Pininfarina certainly isn’t an obscure name. This design house has penned some of the most highly lauded cars in history, from the Peugeot 306 to the Ferrari Testarossa. The Italian brand was acquired by Indian firm Mahindra & Mahindra in 2015, and announced it would build its own vehicles shortly after.
The Pininfarina Battista is certainly an impressive first car, with sumptuous styling and an all-electric powertrain from Rimac, who also appear on this list. With 1,873bhp and 2,300Nm of torque, the Battista is more powerful than any Ferrari in a single stroke, and faster too, thanks to a top speed of 217mph. If anything, its acceleration is even more eye-watering, because it can go from a standing start to 186mph in just 12 seconds.
With a zero-emissions range of more than 310 miles and a 10-year battery warranty, the Battista is also one of the world’s first hypercars that the super-rich can call a sensible purchase. Sort of.
Keyword: World's fastest road cars 2022