The World’s Ten Fastest Cars
The world where auto enthusiasts thrive is filled with
variables that to outsiders would mean nothing at all.
Terms like rpm, 0-60, 0-100, 100-0, horsepower, torque, and
the likes may seem unfathomable for those who live outside
this realm. But what everyone knows about is speed. When
it comes to cars, the faster your car, the better it is.
While manufacturers tagged their vehicles with top speeds of
so and so, it is really hard to find the fastest cars just
by looking at the numbers supplied by their makers. That is
where the acceleration from a standstill to 60 miles per
hour or 100 kilometers per hour is checked. By testing
different cars for their acceleration, it is possible to
rank the fastest cars in the world today.
That is what automotoportal.com has done to come up with the
list of the ten fastest cars in the world. The cars
considered for the test, of course, excludes the concept on
one-off cars due to their unfair advantage.
Coming in at the tenth place is the Lamborghini Gallardo.
The Gallardo is Lamborghini’s “entry-level” car, if you can
consider a pricey car such as this to be an entry-level car.
The Gallardo is the first car to be equipped with the
massive Lamborghini V10 engine which produces as much as 520
horsepower. The engine gives the Gallardo a time of 13.65
seconds going from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour.
Translated to 0-60 mph, the Gallardo’s time is 4 seconds.
This makes the Gallardo even faster than the Murcielago.
Taking the ninth spot is the Porsche 911 Turbo. The 911 has
been making waves in the supercar arena since its
introduction in 1964. For its length of tenure as a mass
produced car, the 911 has undergone a lot of changes which
have made it faster and faster year after year.
While the Porsche 911 produces only 480 horsepower, it uses
its integral drive system which reduces wheel slipping which
means that limited power is wasted. The 911 achieved a time
of 12.5 seconds in the 0-100-0 test.
The Caterham CSR260 sits at the eighth position. The CSR is
the latest installment from supercar manufacturer Caterham
Cars and it is the most modified vehicle from the sports car
manufacturer. While its 2.3-liter engine produces only 250
horsepower, it has a relatively low weight which gives the
CSR a time of 11.95 seconds to speed to a hundred kilometers
per hour from a standstill.
The CSR’s weight is only 555 kilograms which gives the car
an astonishing mass to power ratio of 0.5 horsepower per
kilogram.
The seventh fastest car in the world is the Pagani Zonda.
This mid-engine sports car is made by the Argentinean car
manufacturer Pagani which is currently based in Italy. The
company produces about 25 Zondas every year. Its powerplant
is of German origin which makes the Zonda truly an
international car.
The Mercedes AMG 7.3-liter V12 engine that it carries
provides horsepower that is equal to the weight of the CSR
in kilograms. With 555 hp, the Zonda can cruise to 100
kilometers per hour from a stationary position in just 11.8
seconds.
Another Porsche made it to the list of the ten fastest cars
in the world. This time, the Porsche Carrera GT takes on the
sixth place. The Carrera’s engine is a huge 5.7-liter V10
engine capable of rocketing up to speeds of a hundred
kilometers per hour from a standstill in just 11.6 seconds.
One factor for this vehicle is the fact that the Carrera is
made out of lightweight carbon fiber material which allows
the Carrera to accelerate at such a short time span.
The fifth spot went to the McLaren F1 LM. This car is one
of the most unique in the world of sports car. McLaren
built only five of these fast cars in honor of the five
McLaren F1 GTR’s that won the famous Le Mans in 1995. The
car created to become the fastest although it only landed in
the fifth spot but its time of 11.5 seconds from a
standstill to a full 100 kilometers per hour is truly
amazing.
Its engine, a BMW gold-plated V12 engine, can provide a
whooping 627 horsepower with a maximum speed of 240 miles
per hour.
The fourth place is occupied by the Ferrari Enzo. The Enzo
is the fastest Ferrari of all time and it is only fitting
that it should be named after the founder of the
world-famous Italian car manufacturer. The Enzo timed in
at 10.9 seconds after the acceleration test. The uniqueness
of the Enzo is made possible by the fact that there are only
399 Enzos produced in its entire history.
The third fastest car in the world is probably the most
unusual in the list. The Ariel Atom, which is made by the
Ariel Motor Company based in Somerset, England, combines the
chassis and the body of the car. In fact, the chassis of
the Atom is its body. The Atom weighs less than the CSR at
456 kilograms and its Honda Civic Type-R engine is aided by
a turbocharger to produce 300 horsepower propels it to 100
kilometer per hour from a standstill in just 10.88 seconds.
Coming in at a close second is the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. This
is sports car differs than most of its contemporary due to
the fact that its interior speaks of luxury, not only of
performance. Sports cars usually have limited features but
the Veyron provides good comfort for two occupants. Weighing
in at almost two tons, the Veyron is the heaviest of the
cars in the list.
With its W16 engine or 2 V8s mated in a “W” position capable
of producing 1001 horsepower, the Veyron completed the
0-100-0 test in just 9.9 seconds. That amount of power will
surely test brake pads such as EBC brake pads to their
limit.
Rocketing to the first place and claiming the title as the
fastest car in the world is the Ultima GTR. The GTR is the
handiwork of Ultima Sports Ltd based in Hinckley,
Leicestershire, England. It completed the 0-100-0
acceleration test in just 9.4 seconds beating the Veyron by
just five tenths of a second making it faster than the
Veyron.
Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive.buff who grew
up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an
automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in
his shop. You can visit EBC brake pads for more information.
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