To 225mph and beyond

Bugatti has revealed an even faster version of its Chiron hypercar. The new Super Sport gains 100hp over the ‘standard’ Chiron and has elongated rear bodywork for smoother airflow. Top speed is a dizzying 273mph. Nonetheless, even this isn’t the fastest car on our list, which is ranked in V-max order. Let’s open the bidding at 225mph…




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Noble M600 – 225mph

There’s no shortage of seven-figure exotica in this list, but the British-built Noble M600 isn’t among them. Indeed, we spotted an early example for less than £150,000 – a bargain, given its 650hp 4.4-litre Yamaha-tuned V8 makes it good for 225mph.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Gumpert Apollo – 225mph

A romantic-sounding name, Gumpert is not. Nor was the Apollo supercar much of a looker. Today, ‘Apollo’ lives on as a marque in its own right, and we’re glad for that. The latest Apollo supercar won’t match the Gumpert at the top end, though, given the old-timer will reach 225mph.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 – 230mph

Gordon Murray probably won’t read this countdown. “Top speed is not important,” he told Hagerty when discussing his new T.50 supercar, “but we estimate about 230 mph.” One thing is for certain: with a 663hp naturally aspirated V12 and dry weight of 957kg, the T.50 – due in 2022 – won’t be slow.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Pagani Huayra – 231mph

If you want speed and glamour, the Huayra is the hypercar for you. You feel like you’re aboard a low-flying jet, with the whooshing of the mighty 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12. The 231mph Pagani has been on sale since 2012, but it’s still one of the fastest cars on the planet.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Zenvo TS1 GT – 233mph

Built in Denmark, the £1.1 million Zenvo TS1 GT is good for 233mph thanks to a 1,194hp 5.8-litre V8 developed in-house. Clever tech includes a sequential gearbox with helical-cut dog gears, plus a centripetal rear wing that tilts to direct downforce when cornering.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1993 McLaren F1 – 241mph

One of only three naturally aspirated cars on this list (the others are the T.50 and Aston Martin Valkyrie), the legendary McLaren F1 of 1992 is one of the most sought-after cars on Earth. Remove the rev limiter and you can hit 241mph. Whatever happens next, Gordon Murray’s masterpiece is immortal.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2004 Koenigsegg CCR – 242 mph

Officially, the CCR is the only Koenigsegg other than the Agera RS to break a top speed record. Its 4.7-litre supercharged V8 produces 806hp – a colossal figure for 2004. According to Koenigsegg, the CCR will actually top 245mph…




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2017 W Motors Fenyr Supersport – 246mph

We’re more sceptical about the W Motors Fenyr SuperSport, though. This relative unknown is, in theory, capable of 246mph. It packs a twin-turbo six-cylinder engine with 900hp, similar to those you’ll find in the fastest Porsche 911s.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2005 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo – 248mph

Who remembers the Saleen S7 Twin Turbo? Not many people, we’d wager. Gamers will know it as one of the fastest cars on the Test Drive Unlimited open-world racer. To everyone else, it’s a supercar made by a Mustang tuner. Regardless of what you think, it’s a 248mph car. Quite something for the early 2000s.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2020 McLaren Speedtail – 250mph

McLaren are past masters of fast, but the marque hasn’t ever gone for its own record. The otherworldly Speedtail is a love letter to the F1, with three seats and a 250mph top speed. Chris Harris raced an F35 fighter jet on Top Gear in a Speedtail (and lost), but said it felt incredibly quick – even at speeds beyond 220mph.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1993 Dauer Porsche 962 Le Mans – 251mph

The Dauer Porsche 962 Le Mans rarely gets official recognition because it’s not a ‘real’ Porsche. But there are road-going variants of this Le Mans racer capable of 251mph. At least, that’s what one was independently measured at in 1998 on Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2005 Bugatti Veyron – 253mph

From the vaguely unofficial to one of the most famous fast cars ever. Like the McLaren F1, the Bugatti Veyron will always remain a speed king. Topping 253mph was an expensive endeavour for Bugatti and the Volkswagen Group. This 1,000hp hypercar with a 16-cylinder quad-turbo engine cost far more to build than it sold for.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2016 Koenigsegg Regera – 255mph

The Regera is Koenigsegg’s gearless hybrid. Frankly, there isn’t room to explain how that tech works here. All you need to know is that it’ll reach 255mph. And this is supposed to be the marque’s luxury GT.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2007 SSC Ultimate Aero – 256mph

The car that took on Bugatti and won (sort of). The SSC Ultimate Aero topped 256mph back in 2007. Bugatti fans contest that the SSC is capable of this and little more, as opposed to the ultimate all-rounder that is the Veyron. Its twin-turbocharged 6.3-litre V8 produces 1,200hp.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2016 Bugatti Chiron – 261mph

The long-awaited Veyron replacement saw Bugatti position top speed as a side-effect. Its predecessor, the Veyron Super Sport (to follow) would keep its record, given the Chiron was limited to 261mph. Bugatti claimed there weren’t tyres capable of propelling this 1,500hp hypercar to its true top speed. Not to start with, anyway.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2010 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport – 268mph

The Super Sport was Bugatti’s revenge against the boutique pretenders from America and Sweden. With 1,200hp, reduced weight and less drag, the SS beat the original car of five years earlier by 15mph, with a certified 268mph world record. This would stand for seven years.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2014 Hennessey Venom GT – 270mph

Unofficially, American tuner Hennessey hit 270mph in its Venom GT. But the run was in a single direction, rather than the average of a back-and-forth blast, and the Venom wasn’t the company’s own car. There are also complications with its relationship to the Lotus Exige. Still, it’s a road car that’ll do 270mph, so it makes this list.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2021 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

“My Chiron feels a bit slow,” said nobody ever. But Bugatti has upped the ante anyway, raising power output to 1,600hp for 0-125mph in 5.8 seconds and 0-186mph in 12.1 seconds. Keep the throttle pinned and the Chiron Super Sport will reach 273mph. Yours for £2.7 million.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2017 Koenigsegg Agera RS – 277mph

All Koenigseggs would be record holders given the chance, but the last of the Ageras really proved the potential of the marque’s updated hypercar. The RS destroyed the Veyron SS’s record with a 277mph two-way average speed. In one direction, it actually exceeded 284mph.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2019 SSC Tuatara – 283mph

The Tuatara has actually been around for nearly a decade, albeit in an unfinished state. On E85 fuel, its 5.9-litre twin-turbo V8 can produce 1,750hp and rev to 8,800rpm. A top speed run of 316mph was widely discredited, but the car hit a verified 283mph at the Kennedy Space Center.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2019 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300 prototype – 304mph

After restricting the Chiron’s speed in 2016, Bugatti then went and removed the limiter. At VMax of 304mph, the Super Sport 300 covers a mile every 12 seconds – or five miles every minute. Although the record-breaker was a prototype, a (still 300mph-capable) Super Sport 300+ production version followed soon afterwards.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2022 Tesla Roadster – 250mph claimed

But wait, there’s more! The second-generation Tesla Roadster begins our bonus list of cars that will make this list when (and if) they’re ready. The jury’s out on whether the forthcoming Roadster will actually top 250mph, as Elon Musk has claimed.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2021 Aston Martin Valkyrie – 250mph claimed

The car they say is capable of lap times comparable to top-level racing cars should also do 250mph. And we don’t doubt F1 design guru Adrian Newey’s ability to deliver. It’s not quite ready yet, but this V12-powered 10,000rpm missile could be the most exciting car since the McLaren F1.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2021 Rimac Nevera – 258 mph claimed

Journalists have driven the prototype, but the production version of the all-electric Nevera hypercar isn’t quite ready yet. When it arrives, it should be capable of 258mph. The Nevera shares much with the Pininfarina Battista, while Rimac is 24 percent owned by Porsche. This isn’t a company to be underestimated.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2020 Koenigsegg Jesko – 300mph plus claimed

The Jesko is Koenigsegg’s Agera replacement and is the car most likely to take on Bugatti and win. Revealed in track-ready specification earlier this year, questions of a speed record were fielded with claims that a low-drag variant, the ‘Jesko 300’ was coming. We wonder what the ‘300’ stands for…




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2020 Hennesey Venom F5 – 301mph plus claimed

Hennessey is also back with a new Venom. The F5 will supposedly be good for 300mph when ready. Once again, power will come courtesy of a twin-turbo V8 engine with upwards of 1600hp. We await eagerly, albeit without holding our breath.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2020 Devel Sixteen – 320mph plus claimed

The Devel Sixteen project has been ongoing since 2013. In its most powerful state, the car produces more than 5,000hp via a quad-turbo 12.3-litre V16 engine (effectively two General Motors LS V8 engines welded together). And that’s not even the car that’s supposed to do 320mph. For that, all you need is the middling 3,000hp variant. Gulp. Sceptical though we are, this project seems to have unlimited money behind it, so watch this space.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


28/28 SLIDES