When you think about what makes a car truly useful, its speed from 0 to 60 miles per hour is not the most important factor. But nothing captures the imagination like top speed. It takes innovation, technology, and design to go much faster than was ever intended for humans.
Going fast is not just a matter of building a bigger engine. Record-breaking machines need to hide a small but powerful engine under an aerodynamically optimized body to make the most of all that power.
The list below – detailing eight production cars with the highest top speeds in the world – features vehicles that look more like spaceships or fighter jets than passenger cars.
And it’s not all for show. Ridiculous speeds require a lot of aerodynamic downforce to keep them from literally flying off the ground, meaning engineers need to get creative with their designs.
They must be able to maintain stability at legendary speeds, slice through the air like knives, and keep the driver safe in the event of a crash.
Their engines are also technological marvels. Across the board, turbochargers are pushing air into the intake ports – sometimes at pressures more than twice that of atmospheric pressure – and massive injectors deliver matching amounts of fuel.
However, more gasoline may not be all that’s needed to make your engine the best for long. In a departure from most of the past decade, one of the cars on this list is a gasoline-electric hybrid, signaling a potential shift in the market.
The field has really changed since 2005, when the Bugatti Veyron debuted with a top speed of 250 miles per hour, making it the fastest car in the world. Now, most of the world’s fastest cars are designed to go over 300 miles per hour.
Let’s start near the top, where we rank eight production cars with the highest top speeds in the world:
8. Koenigsegg Agera RS: 277.9 mph
The Agera RS held the title of fastest car in the world for some time after achieving an average speed of 277.87 mph in November 2017. It still holds the record for the highest speed on a public road for a street-legal car, though it has been surpassed by others on track. The Agera RS is not slow; its 5-liter V8 engine produces 960 horsepower with the help of variable geometry ceramic ball turbochargers.
7. Czinger 21C: 281 mph
The Czinger 21C, 3D-printed in Los Angeles, offers a unique take: its powertrain is a gasoline-electric hybrid. A 2.88-liter twin-turbo V8 drives the rear wheels, while two electric motors drive the front wheels, pushing total power output to 1,250 horsepower at 10,500 RPM. It holds the record for the fastest lap for a production car at Laguna Seca and the Circuit of the Americas.
6. SSC Tuatara: 295 mph
This American hypercar features a 5.9-liter V8 engine with a flat-plane crank for high-rev capabilities. Like most cars on this list, it is equipped with twin turbochargers and has different power ratings depending on the type of fuel in the tank: gasoline with 91-octane produces 1,350 horsepower, while E85 fuel pushes 1,750 horsepower. Its drag coefficient is just 0.279, meaning it glides through the air like a fish in water. It was pushed to a speed of 295 mph over a 2.3-mile distance at Florida’s Space Launch and Landing Facility in 2022.
5. Hennessy Venom F5 Revolution Roadster: 300+ mph
At speeds
Maximum speeds exceeding 300 miles per hour, we now enter a new era of hypercars – or superfast cars, or megacars, depending on the promotional materials you read. No matter how you slice it, the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Roadster built in Texas might just blow your hat off while you’re driving at speeds over 300 miles per hour. With a carbon fiber body and a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, the Venom F5 produces an estimated 1817 horsepower at 8000 RPM.
4. Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+: 304 mph
France may not be the first place you think of when considering the fastest cars in the world, but the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ has been recorded at exactly over 304 miles per hour. Its 8-liter engine features four turbochargers and a water-to-air cooling system that feeds 1600 horsepower through a seven-speed transmission.
3. SP Automotive Chaos: 310 mph
Greece may be a more unexpected home for a hypercar than France, but the 4-liter V10 engine producing 3065 horsepower tells a different story. The company considers its aerospace-grade parts, such as a cast aluminum block, carbon fiber turbocharger covers, and a 3D-printed crankshaft, as helping the engine spin at speeds exceeding 10,000 RPM.
2. Hennessey Venom F5 Coupe: 311 mph
Clocking in slightly faster than the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Roadster, the coupe version from the company features a naturally stiffer structure, thanks to the presence of a roof. It comes from the factory with the same powertrain, making it one of the fastest cars in the world.
1. Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut: 330 mph
This Swedish beast is built to go faster than anything else. Its drag coefficient is lower by a thousandth of a second than the Tatuara, at 0.278. The radical body of this car not only glides through the air but also maintains traction on the road, with underbody panels helping to reduce drag. Its 5-liter engine is fed by dual ceramic ball turbochargers, enabling it to produce 1600 horsepower when using E85 fuel and 1280 horsepower when using gasoline. The Jesko Absolut appears to stand still while turning the world beneath it, harnessing power through a 9-speed transmission.
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