The World's Fastest Car

Saleen knows all about power. As in S281 Mustangs, N2O Focuses and the S7, America’s first (and still the only) mid-engine exotic supercar. When it went on sale in 2002, the S7 was the only street-legal car in the U.S. with more than 500 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque. The media and S7 owners have raved about the car since it first smoked the rear tires in anger. And it has been recognized by numerous automotive magazines as the fastest production car in the world. But during the past three years the automobile marketplace has witnessed an explosion of performance with models from manufacturers including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Chevrolet touting power numbers above the once magic 500 level. Saleen is not an organization content to rest on yesterday’s 0-60 mph times or quarter-mile speeds. So in 2005, it was “goodbye S7” and “all hail the S7 Twin Turbo!” This is the first major change to the S7 since its introduction, and it is a big change as in 750...

Introduction 252mph, 1001PS, 16 cylinders, four turbos, 8.0-litres... the Veyron's numbers are staggering. It can hit 60mph in 2.5 seconds thanks to four-wheel-drive traction, shoots to 125mph in 7.3 seconds and reaches 200mph in less than 20. The Veyron 16.4 is the most powerful, most expensive, and fastest street-legal production car in the world , with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407 km/h or 253 mph top speed). The obvious question: Why would anyone build such a car? Surely no one sees doing 250 mph on the highway. There can be no commercial logic behind such a crazy machine, even with the Veyron's price tag of one million euros (at the current exchange rate, that's $1.2 million). Not even as a "halo model" -- a reputation booster -- for the VW group that builds it does the Veyron make sense. No Bugatti owner wants it known he's driving a Volkswagen. Bugatti Veyron Data Base Price 1,000,000 euros (1,300,000 USD) Power 1000 hp Zero to 6...

Introduction The Ascari A10 sports car, developed by British manufacturers and similar to the Spanish GT version, is rated in the top ten supercars for 2006. Its lightweight carbon fiber body of less than 3,000 pounds (1,361KG) is designed more for the racetrack than the road. There were only a few models of this fast car built, somewhere between 10 and 50, and although expensive, it promises incredible speed and power. Ascari A10 Data Base Price 650,000 USD Power 625 hp Zero to 60 mph 2.8 s Zero to 100 mph 5.9 s Top speed 220 mph (354 km/h) Engine: 5 liter, V8 BMW M5 4941 cc 625HP Technology The power of the Ascari A10 comes from the modified BMW 5.0 liter V-8 engine, with the standard six-speed sequential transaxle, where the gearshifts operate as paddles, similar to other race cars. Additions and modifications to the engine, however, include cams with advanced timing, new rods, and pistons, as well as a dry sump lubrication system. It has the same ...

This is the world’s first road test of the £403,000 Jaguar XJ220. It is also destined to be the last.   Tom Walkinshaw and his team at Jaguar Sport, who build this extraordinary supercar, have decided that there is only ever going to be one set of independent performance statistics taken on the XJ220 and those are the ones you will read here. The car that we tested, registered J999 JAG, is Walkinshaw’s own and the ‘001’ on its kickplates shows it to be the very first of the 350-strong production run. The figures were taken at Millbrook and, along with 1000 miles of non-stop evaluation in England and Wales, represent the first and last clinical analysis of the performance of this, the fastest production car in the world. The XJ220 is driven by a four-cam, 24-valve 3.5-litre V6 engine derived from the units that powered the XJR10 and 11 sports racers. In road car trim its outputs, at 40C, are 542bhp at 7200rpm and 475lb ft of torque at 4500rpm. At the 18C we had ...

For a car that took a few years to develop, you would think that Noble would take to great lengths in hyping the hotly-anticipated production debut of their new supercar, the M600. Instead, it was about as low-key as it could get. On one hand, we weren’t surprised considering that the company isn’t particularly known for bombastic and glitzy unveilings. On the other hand, you would think that a car of this stature should have had its own stage, a chance for the world to see the final product of Noble’s hard work and dedication. In any case, Noble has finally introduced the production version of the M600 and yes, the car looks to be as good as advertised. The supercar’s appearance maintains a slender and contoured shape that doesn’t scream for attention every time you look at it, unlike other supercars we’ve seen in the past. For those of you that think a subtle yet aggressive design on a supercar doesn’t work, the M600 is proof that it definitely can. It’s also worth noting,...

It is common knowledge that Koenigsegg makes some of the fastest supercars around. And the latest import from Sweden, the  2011 Koenigsegg Agera R  is no exception. Just how fast is this exotic two-door hyper-machine? Well, suffice it to say that the Agera R is hot on the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport’s tail clocking in at a blisteringly fast 0-168 mph in just 14.53 seconds. Although not yet completely verified, this performance proves that it won’t be long before Koenigsegg overtakes Bugatti and claim for itself the title of being the world’s fastest supercar. This new car which only debuted at the Geneva Motor Show is so hot that the Royal Family of Oman snatched one up even before it was revealed at the said show. If this is any indication of the kind of future the Agera R will have in the world of supercars, then surely the renowned Bugatti Veyron Super Sport may soon relinquish its throne in favor of the Agera R. So what makes the Koenigsegg Agera R sizzl...