How fast can sports cars go

The Iso Grifo set the tone in , with a mph top speed. Thirteen years passed before Lamborghini managed to top its own record with the Countach , marking the first production car to pass the mph barrier. Once the nineties rolled around, the McLaren F1 upped the stakes again with a top speed of mph, although F1s without rev-limiters have clocked mph runs. To this day, the McLaren F1 remains the fastest naturally aspirated car ever built. Just two months later the Bugatti Veyron broke through the mph barrier and took the crown with a speed of Over the last few years, Bugatti and Koenigsegg have fought for single-digit victories with a range of lesser-known challengers such as the American supercar manufacturers, SSC and Hennessey.

Find out about the current crop of mph heroes in our top 10 fastest cars on sale , the fastest accelerating cars in the world or the best cheap sports cars. Skip to Content Skip to Footer.

While Hennessey has yet to legitimize its claims, the F5 will reportedly dash from 0 to mph and back to 0 in less than 30 seconds. How did the Swedish automaker earn its stripes? On November 4, , the Nevada Department of Transportation closed an mile stretch of road just outside Las Vegas.

Koenigsegg turned up with a customer-owned Agera RS and Koenigsegg factory driver Niklas Lilja put down two high-speed runs in opposing directions. The average pace including one run at mph was recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records.

When Koenigsegg set a new official top speed record, Hennessey forfeited the title. In , Hennessey revealed a Lotus-based Frankenstein supercar with a 7.

With approval from the Kennedy Space Center, Hennessey recorded a top speed of Though the Guinness Book of World Records approved the run, it has received a fair bit of criticism. For one, most top speed records are taken from an average of two runs in opposite directions like Koenigsegg did with the Agera RS. Also, the Venom GT is a hand-built, low-production vehicle. Some have questioned whether it deserves to be counted among series production cars. Unlike its upstart rivals, Bugatti benefitted from the massive cash reserves of its parent company, Volkswagen.

A tremendous investment of time and resources yielded the Bugatti Veyron in To achieve this kind of speed, the only expanse of tarmac long enough would be the 5. Devel Sixteen Matthew P. A V with 3, hp? In January of , Shelby decamped to proving grounds at Kennedy Space Center for a redux, bringing ample recording devices and external groups to monitor.

That trial resulted in a Those certified results average to In , pilot Andy Wallace railed a tweaked-version of the 1, hp, 8. The modifications included lengthening the body by 10 inches, lowering it and giving it a new rear aero kit, as well as a new exhaust setup. The real heroes, however, were the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that were x-rayed before fitment to ensure perfect structural integrity.

Watch the Chiron hit mph below:. Plus, get digital edition access and a free tote bag. Travel Destinations Hotels Resorts Spas. RR One. Search Close. Give the Gift of Luxury.

Access Exclusive Content All Year. RR One Subscribe. By Sean Evans. Sean Evans. Like this article? It captivates with an abstract exterior design. Officially unveiled to the public in January at the Detroit Auto Show, the GT90 is features a mid engine quad-turbocharged V12 that produces an estimated horsepower and pound-feet of torque.

As a result, it had a claimed top speed of mph. Learn about the Ford GT90 Concept. After years of applause, celebration, doubt, then ridicule, the first production Bugatti Veyron has hit the road as the fastest available supercar.

A pre-production car achieved a two-way average speed of The Veyron destroyed records. It was the fastest accelerating in 2. An icon. With the Bugatti EB All told, 1, kilogrammes of net weight stand in contrast to performance of 1, hp. The engine draws on its 8-litre displacement to deliver a maximum torque of Newton-metres between and rpm and a top speed of mph. In Summer , as a response to customer requests, Bugatti introduced a new model — the Bugatti Veyron Bugatti presented a special model to pay homage to the year of the dragon.

His work unites a conceptual approach and sculptural craft on equal footing. The vehicle features re-designed front grille, a black background for the headlights, side mirrors featuring same colour as the front grille, an entire black-painted body, an astonishing interior and custom alloy wheels featuring also black colour.

Of the companies that have produced a road car, the most successful has been Dauer it is all Porsche components. Dauer partnered with Porsche to manufacture a contender for the 24 Hours of LeMans the rules stipulated that a single road-going version of the car had to manufactured for homologation.

At the 24 hour race, Dauer showed up with both a road version and race version of the Porsches a design which had already won Le Mans six times. However, with a Le Mans win under their belt, and with support from Porsche, Dauer continued to build their road-going Learn about the Dauer Le Mans.

This design allows for a compact 16 cylinder design-4 rows of 4 cylinders. For additional power, 4 exhaust turbochargers have been added. The most obvious change is a contoured rear wing which is permanently fixed. This was probably motivated by Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson who requested a larger wing to steady the car during its second visit at the show. Beyond the wing, only detail changes such as uncovered headlights, color-coded carbon fiber and new suede seats are fitted. At high boost levels it is capable of developing 1, hp.

Learn about the Vector WX3 Concept. Weber Sportcars from Tobel, Switzerland are dreaming big with their latest mock-up revealed at the Top Marques Monaco show. What they have in mind is a mph, carbon fiber supercar that is shaped largely by aerodynamics. After nine months of computer-aided design, they were able to make a full size model of what the final shape might look like.