Spacious trunk, convenient parking, low fuel consumption… These are all features that customers pay attention to. At the same time they do not arouse the biggest emotions. So what? Speed!
While some are racing to build ever safer, others ever greener cars, all the time somewhere in the niche part of the automotive industry there is a never-ending arms race. The prize is the title of the fastest car in the world. The fastest, which in this case means being able to develop the highest top speed. The acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h or the lap time on the Nürburgring will be ignored this time around.
Which cars are currently leading the field? Here are the top five.
SSC North America is not a widely known brand in the world, it lacks the recognition of even the Bugatti that everyone has heard of. However, the eyes of car enthusiasts may light up when you unfold the SSC acronym. It stands for Shelby SuperCars. And Jerod Shelby responsible for SSC has nothing to do with Carroll Shelby of Mustangs or AC Cobra.
This of course does not diminish the merits of the SSC Ultimate Aero model, which in 2007 managed to reach 412 km/h, taking the title away from the aforementioned Bugatti (Veyron). The SSC had a 6.3 V8 engine with 1183 horsepower. In later years of production, the unit was further enlarged (to 6.9 liters displacement and 1300 hp), but it was too late for a repeat world record. In the Aero TT version, the manufacturer promised even 458 km/h, but no official tests confirmed this result.
The Koenigsegg Agera R with 418 km/h and the Bugatti Chiron with 420 km/h should appear here, but due to the presence of their more powerful variants on the higher positions of the list, we will simply skip them.
Looking for the fastest cars? This is the car that made even the slowest man in the world, James May, cross the 400 km/h barrier. Years pass, and Veyron remains at the top. The Super Sport version takes 4th place with 267 mph (431 km/h), making up for the loss of the title to the SSC.
The enhanced variant has 1184 hp – almost two hundred more than the series model. The Super Sport owes its excellent acceleration and record top speed to the 8.0-liter W16. As a curiosity it is worth adding that when driving at top speed it takes the Veyron only… 12 minutes to fill up the tank. Maximum speed? In Poland it would be hard to check.
Wherever there is an auction for the biggest, the fastest or the best, you can be sure that Americans will not let it go. It is no different this time – hence another newcomer from across the Atlantic – Hennessey Venom GT. It was placed on 3rd position in the list of the fastest cars. Its presence can be a bit controversial – especially under fully American flag.
The model was officially registered as a modified version of the British Lotus Exige, on whose chassis it was developed. However, the entire body and components originate from America (the engine is a reworked unit from a Chevrolet Corvette, the transmission comes from a Ford GT).
During a test in February 2014. Venom GT achieved a speed record of 434 km/h, which made it the fastest car in the world at the time. However, the result was not officially recognized for procedural reasons – these included a single run instead of two in opposite directions, the result of which could be averaged, and insufficient production.
One of the most temperamentally cool nations in Europe producing one of the hottest cars ever? The apparent contradiction is explained by just two words: Koenigsegg Agera. The former is the name of a company founded in Sweden just 26 years ago which decided to challenge the supercars from the south of the Old Continent. The latter – in Swedish – means “Act!”
And it works well enough to rank 2nd on this list. For nearly two years, the RS version of the Agera held the title of world’s fastest car – but that was before Bugatti decided to claim its own. Koenigsegg’s masterpiece – with a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 (1,341 hp) – accelerated to an impressive 447 mph in November 2017.
The standard version of the Bugatti Chiron – if it is appropriate to speak of a standard version at all in the case of this brand – can accelerate to 420 km/h, reaching the first “hundred” after only 2.4 seconds. This is the successor of the Veyron model – not only more powerful, but also more modern and – according to many – definitely prettier.
Placed behind the driver and passenger, the 8-liter W16 engine generates 1500 horsepower transmitted to both axles. The thing is, the standard Chiron is basically nothing compared to the Super Sport version.
The latter accelerates to an impressive 490 km/h – this is the result achieved by a professional racing driver during a track test in 2019. Production of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport was limited to 30 units – the minimum number necessary for the car to officially enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest car in the world.
For now, the title in the hands of the French manufacturer seems to be unthreatened – especially since just a month after setting the last record, Bugatti announced that it would break the next barrier and even achieve 515 km/h.
