Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
First, let’s make something clear: Quickest refers to acceleration, and fastest refers to top speed. And, good lord, has it been a nice decade for Car and Driver‘s acceleration testing. We recorded the fastest zero-to-60-mph production-car time in Car and Driver history. We rocketed a $243,000 SUV to 60 mph in almost 3 seconds flat. And, to align with the industry standard, we shifted our acceleration testing to include a one-foot rollout.
To celebrate a decade well spent, we’ve compiled a list of the quickest cars we tested from 2010 to 2020.
Quickest Pickup: 2021 Ram TRX — 3.7 seconds
Quickest SUV: 2019 Lamborghini Urus — 3.1 seconds
2020 Chevrolet Corvette — 2.8 seconds (tie)
The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette is powered by a 495-hp 6.2-liter LT2 V-8 that’s located behind the passenger seats, a first for a production Corvette. The launch-control system hurls the mid-engine Vette to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds, hammering through the quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds at 122 mph. This won’t be the quickest or fastest C8, though. A hybrid variant, likely called eRay or Zora is expected to approach 1000 horsepower. The resulting all-wheel drive will launch the hybrid Corvette at lightning-quick speeds, likely vying to be one of the quickest cars on the planet.
- Tested date: October 2019
- Price as tested: $88,310 (base price: $64,995)
- Engine: 495-hp 6.2-liter V-8, eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- Weight: 3647 lb
2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS — 2.8 seconds (tie)
The Porsche GT3 RS may not be as quick as its twin-turbocharged GT2 RS sibling, but it still meandered its way to this list. Porsche’s naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six produces 520 ponies and helped the GT3 RS zip to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. That’s only three-tenths of a second slower than the 700-hp GT2 RS.
- Tested date: December 2018
- Price as tested: $208,717 (base price: $190,050)
- Engine: 520-hp 4.0-liter flat-six, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- Weight: 3260 lb
2015 Tesla Model S P90D — 2.7 seconds (tie)
There are quicker Teslas, but the company refuses to let us test them. So, from the slim number of Teslas we have tested, the Model S P90D is the quickest one to the 60 mph mark. It was also the first sub 3.0-second zero-to-60 mph sedan we ever tested, reaching the speed in 2.7 seconds.
- Tested date: February 2016
- Price as tested: $134,200 (base price: $119,200)
- Engine: 532 hp 2 asynchronous AC
- Weight: 4842 lb
2019 Ferrari 488 Pista — 2.7 seconds (tie)
Ferrari’s baddest modern road car, the 488 Pista, is practically a carbon-fiber rocket ship. Sixty mph arrives in 2.7 seconds, 100 mph just 2.5 ticks later, and the quarter-mile passes in 10.1 seconds at 144 mph. It’s the hard-core version of the 488GTB, with a claimed weight savings of 176 pounds and an additional 49 horsepower.
- Tested date: September 2018
- Price as tested: $448,884 (base price: $353,800)
- Engine: 710-hp 3.9-liter twin-turbo V-8, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
- Weight: 3308 lb
2019 McLaren Senna — 2.7 seconds (tie)
The McLaren Senna, named after legendary driver Ayrton Senna, was developed to be the quickest car around the track, but it does pretty well in a straight line, too. The launch-control system holds the engine at 3000 rpm and tells you when to release the brake. Then it hits 60 mph in 2.7 seconds, takes 5.0 seconds to bring up 100 mph, and another 5.4 seconds will take you to 150 mph.
- Tested date: September 2018
- Price as tested: $982,816 (base price: $964,966)
- Engine: 789-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
- Weight: 3030 lb
2022 Porsche 911 GT3 — 2.7 seconds (tie)
The 502-hp flat-six engine, given exclusively to the Porsche 911 GT3, is serious business. A 9000 rpm redline, mixed with the GT3’s lack of sound deadening for the sake of speed, make for an exceptionally grand experience. At 99 decibels at WOT, the GT3 doesn’t have to fake its grin-inducing internal-combustion soundtrack. In a world full of calculator button ASMR, driving the GT3 is like standing front row at a Babymetal concert. The GT3 hit 60 mph in just 2.7 seconds. Then hit 100 mph in 6.5 seconds. We crossed the quarter-mile mark in 10.9 seconds at 129 mph. In 19.1 seconds in we hit 160 mph. You get the point. The GT3 is an automotive fantasy fully realized (albeit with a $163,450 sticker price).
- Tested date: April 2021
- Price as tested: $200,270 (base price: $163,450)
- Engine: 502-hp 4.0-liter flat-six, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
- Weight: 3222 lb
2019 BMW M5 Competition — 2.6 seconds
The Competition variant of BMW’s already uber quick (though 26 pounds heavier) M5 sedan is the one of the quickest four-doors we have ever tested, going zero to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. For acceleration like that in a four-door sedan, you can thank a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 and an all-wheel-drive system.
- Tested date: March 2019
- Price as tested: $129,595 (base price: $111,995)
- Engine: 617-hp 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8, eight-speed automatic transmission
- Weight: 4262 lb
2019 McLaren 720S Coupe — 2.6 seconds (tie)
We used launch control to achieve the majority of these zero-to-60-mph times. The McLaren 720S’s launch button is intertwined with the radio, climate, and navigation controls. With both pedals squeezed, the digital tachometer sits at around 3200 rpm for four full seconds before “Boost Ready” flashes on the digital instrument cluster. Sixty miles per hour arrives 2.6 seconds after takeoff.
- Tested date: February 2018
- Price as tested: $378,215 (base price: $288,845)
- Engine: 710-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- Weight: 3161 lb
2021 Porsche Panamera Turbo S — 2.6 seconds (tie)
Not to discredit cars like the 1.5-ton carbon-fiber McLarens or the 710-hp Ferrari mentioned earlier in this list, but the 620-hp Porsche Panamera Turbo S we tested weighed 4702 pounds and ripped to 60 mph in only 2.6 seconds. It’s the most normal-looking car on this list. No chassis-mounted wing, no center-locking wheels, and has 47 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats down. Though that’s really where the normalities stop. The luxury hatchback measured 1.07 g of grip around the skidpad, matching the new 911 Turbo S Cabriolet in lateral grip. The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s are an obvious performance enhancer here, but give credit where credits due. Especially when something this big flies passed the quarter-mile marker in 10.8 seconds at 127 mph.
- Tested date: June 2021
- Price as tested: $199,480 (base price: $179,050)
- Engine: 620-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- Weight: 4702 lb
2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS — 2.5 seconds
This 700-hp Porsche 911 GT2 RS isn’t only quick to 60 mph, it takes just 5.5 seconds to hit 100 mph and blasts through the quarter-mile in 10.2 seconds at 140 mph. Its twin-turbocharged flat-six engine and racing-derived aerodynamics make it a beast on the track, too, where it once held the all-time fastest lap at our annual Lightning Lap competition at Virginia International Raceway. It also held the production-car lap record at the Nürburgring.
- Tested date: June 2018
- Price as tested: $348,730 (base price: $294,250)
- Engine: 700-hp 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- Weight: 3376 lb
2020 BMW M8 Competition – 2.5 seconds (tie)
The BMW M8 is disguised as a giant four-seater coupe, but get behind the wheel of this 617-hp twin-turbocharged V-8 for a loud reminder that looks can be deceiving. It’s snappy eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive system mimic NASA launches, and even when blasting to a quarter-mile, the M8 manages to do it in 10.7 seconds at 129 mph. The Pirelli P Zero PZ4 tires provide plenty of grip and kept the M8 clung to the skidpad at 1.03 g.
- Tested date: July 2020
- Price as tested: $175,745 (base price: $147,995)
- Engine: 617-hp twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8, eight-speed automatic transmission
- Weight: 4251 lb
2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S – 2.4 seconds (tie)
The Porsche Taycan Turbo S is a high-performance battery-powered sedan without the autonomous nannies found on the Tesla Model S. Both EVs are quick, in fact its 50 to 70 mph acceleration time matched the Model S Performance with 1.6 seconds—the two quickest recorded times ever. Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors with a combined output of 750-hp and 774 lb-ft are responsible for the speed.
- Tested date: February 2020
- Price as tested: $205,180 (base price: $186,350)
- Motor: 2 permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors, 255 and 449 hp, 325 and 450 lb-ft; combined output, 750 hp, 774 lb-ft; single-speed direct drive (front), two-speed automatic (rear) transmission
- Weight: 5246 lb
2020 Tesla Model S Performance – 2.4 seconds (tie)
The Tesla Model S Performance does it all. A 98.0 kWh battery pack gives it an EPA range of 326 miles on a single charge, it can lane change while in auto pilot with the blink of a– well, blinker, and there’s even a fart button. More importantly, it’s quick too, more so with Cheetah mode enabled. We were able to go a tenth quicker to 60 mph than we had prior, as Cheetah mode boosts power output and crouches the car’s stance on launch. The Model S Performance is powered by motors at each axle that normally produces a combined output of 778-hp with a neck-breaking 841 lb-ft of torque.
- Tested date: February 2020
- Price as tested: $114,690 (base price: $101,190)
- Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC front motor, AC induction rear motor, 275 and 503 hp, 310 and 531 lb-ft; combined output, 778 hp, 841 lb-ft; single-speed direct drive (front), single-speed direct drive (rear) transmission
- Weight: 5003 lb
Bugatti Chiron Sport — 2.4 seconds (tie)
It should be fairly obvious this $3.7-million Bugatti Chiron Sport is the most expensive car on the list, but what might not be as obvious is despite being slower to 60 mph than three other cars, it’s the quickest car to reach a quarter-mile that we’ve ever tested. It did it in 9.4 seconds at a wild 158 mph. With launch control enabled, the revs stick at 2500 rpm, but even that far from redline the engine is already making up to 562 horsepower. After blast off, the Chiron averages more than 1.00 g longitudinally all the way to 70 mph. 100 to 160 mph is over in 5.2 seconds. From 100 to 200 mph, 11.3-seconds or quicker than the Honda Civic Type R gets to 100 mph.
- Tested date: December 2020
- Price as tested: $3,710,850 (base price: $3,273,000)
- Engine: 1479-hp 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W-16 engine, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission
- Weight: 4544 lb
2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet— 2.3 seconds
Though not the quickest 992-generation on the list, this German convertible packs the same 640-hp twin-turbo flat-six as its coupe counterpart, and does so with a claimed 205-mph top speed. Now that Porsche 911 Turbo models use an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, replacing the previously used seven-speed, its close-spaced shifts mean more time moving and less time waiting. Our test car wore Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport tires, and achieved a huge 1.07 g of grip around the skidpad. Again, not the highest mark for a 992, but still worth pointing out. Using launch control, we hauled the 911 Turbo S Cabriolet to 60 mph in just 2.3 seconds. At 5.4 seconds into our departure, we reached 100 mph, and crossed the quarter-mile in 10.2 seconds at 136 mph. The Bugatti is quick, but this convertible is just a little quicker.
- Tested date: June 2021
- Price as tested: $234,570 (base price: $218,650)
- Engine: 640-hp 3.7-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six, eight-speed dual-clutch transmission
- Weight: 3826 lb
2018 Lamborghini Huracán Performante — 2.2 seconds (tie)
A 631-hp V-10 engine, all-wheel drive, and sticky Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires makes the Huracán Performante the second-fastest car we have ever tested. It went from zero to 60 mph in 2.2 seconds. The V-10 engine sounds fast, too, providing a 100-decibel naturally aspirated symphony at wide-open throttle, one of the loudest figures we recorded this decade.
- Tested date: October 2017
- Price as tested: $317,285 (base price: $279,185)
- Engine: 631-hp 5.2-liter V-10, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- Weight: 3429 lb
2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S— 2.2 seconds (tie)
The Porsche 911 Turbo S is somewhat of a performance bargain considering the quickest car we’ve ever tested costs four times as much, but is only quicker by a tenth of a second. The secret to the 911 Turbo S and its astonishing acceleration is its advanced all-wheel-drive system. It can send up to 368 of its 590 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels, which helped it reach 30 mph in 0.9 second. The 640-hp 3.7-liter twin-turbo flat-six helps, too. That’s 60 horsepower more than regular 911 Turbo models. For grip, our test car used four Pirelli P Zero PZ4 tires, with 255/35ZR-20 up front and 315/30ZR-21 in the rear. A 2.2-second zero-to-60 mph run is scary fast from a production car, and its 10.1-second quarter-mile time is even nuttier. The Turbo S can reach 137 mph quicker than you can spell Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
- Tested date: October 2020
- Base price: $204,850
- Engine: 640-hp 3.7-liter twin-turbo flat-six, eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- Weight: 3646 lb
2015 Porsche 918 Spyder — 2.1 seconds
We tested the quickest car of the decade in May 2014. The hybrid, all-wheel-drive Porsche 918 Spyder has two electric motors with a combined 285 horsepower paired with a 608-hp 4.6-liter V-8. By routing torque—as much as 830 lb-ft—to all four wheels, the 918 maximizes traction and blasts to 60 mph in an unbelievably quick 2.1 seconds.
- Tested date: May 2014
- Price as tested: $875,175 (base price: $847,975)
- Engine: 887-hp 4.6-liter V-8 with 2 AC motors, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
- Weight: 3724 lb
2021 Ferrari SF90 Stradale — 2.0 seconds
We’ve tested over 1000 vehicles in that last seven years and none had been able to dethrone Porsche’s 893-hp 918 Spyder. Until now. After a 3500-rpm launch to 60 mph in the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, with the transmission set to manual, we’ve got a new leader. The SF90 Stradale makes 986 horsepower from its plug-in hybrid powertrain. With two 113-hp motors on the front axle, a 769-hp twin-turbo V-8 behind the seats, and a 201-hp electric motor stuffed between that and its eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. The SF90 Stradale starts at $511,250. The one we tested had $193,697 in options—including the lightweight Assetto Fiorano package—running its price up to $704,929. You’ll have to pay the cost to be the boss.
- Tested date: July 2021
- Price as tested: $704,92 (base price: $511,250)
- Engine: 769-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 with two 133-hp AC motors and one 201-hp AC motor; combined output, 986 hp, eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- Weight: 3840 lb
The Greatest Engines Made Today
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