The World's Fastest Cars

The World’s Fastest Cars

By Anthony Fontanelle

By testing different cars for their acceleration, it is possible to rank the fastest cars in the world today.

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.

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 tests.

The CSR is the latest installment from super car 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. The Argentinean car manufacturer Pagani that is currently based in Italy makes this mid-engine sports car. The company produces about 25 Zondas every year. 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.

The Porsche Carrera GT’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.

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 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 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. 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.

Sports cars usually have limited features but the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 provides good comfort for two occupants. With its W16 engine or 2 V8s mated in a “W” position capable of producing 1001 horsepower, the Veyron completed the 0-100-0 tests in just 9.9 seconds.

Rocketing to the first place and claiming the title, as the fastest car in the world is the Ultima GTR. 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.