#1 Fastest car in the world, A look at chronological race

Fastest cars in the world are not for normal driving, they are insanely speedy and are abnormal rate of acceleration (©unbantrendie)

Per Tom duPont, the publisher of duPont Registry, superfast cars are not for faint hearted, both financially and physically. These cars are not made for general purpose like dropping off you children to school. They are so insanely speedy that it would be not possible to move even your hand inside when on full swing speed. They are made similar to race track speedsters equipped with engines of similar specifications. With flashy acceleration reaching their top speeds in just matter of seconds, world’s fastest cars are also the most expensive ones, making them the one of their kinds. Additionally, they are available only in limited numbers. ‘Which car is the fastest in the World?’, is a million-dollar question. Here are the fastest cars in the world.

  1. Hennessey Venom - 301 mph
  2. Koenigsegg Agera - 277.9 mph
  3. Hennessey Venom GT -  270.4 mph
  4. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport -  257.8 mph
  5. SSC Ultimate Aero - 256 mph

Hennessey Venom is the ‘unofficial’ fastest car in the world (© Hennessey)

Hennessey Venom

Hennessey Venom F5 is considered as the unofficial fastest car in the world with a speed of 301 miles per hour. This car is made of carbon fiber chassis which reduced its weight to 2,950 pounds. The engine is a 1,600 hp twin-turbo V8, 7.4-liter. This car has a surprisingly high acceleration reaching the speed pf 249 from 0 on less than 30 seconds. Even with these intricate features, it is not yet officially, the fastest car. Reason; the brand did not confirm its speed with Guinness Book of World Records, in contrast to Koenigsegg Agera.

Koenigsegg Agera is confirmed by Guinness Book as the fastest car in 2017 (© Koenigsegg)

Koenigsegg Agera

So, officially, Koenigsegg Agera is the fastest car in the world, as confirmed by Guinness Book of World Record. But its top speed is only next to Hennessey Venom. Agera reached 284.55 mph on its first road run. In the second, it reached 271.19 mph. Taking the average, 277.9 mph can be considered as its speed. Per the company, only 25 pieces of this supercar will be produced. 10 of them was already sold before the first show. Chassis weight of this car is only 70 kilos, including the tanks. The ride height can be adjusted electronically.

So, what is the fastest car in the world today? Is it Koenigsegg Agera or Henessey Venom? An appropriate answer to this would be, “both of them”. Venom claims that it reaches the speed of 302 miles per hour, but it is not tested. In contrast, the Agera is verified reaching 284.55 mph by Guinness Books of Records.

Venom GT has hand-built features, reaching a record speed of 270 mph (©Hennessey)

Hennessey Venom GT

This car went evaluation test drive at Kennedy Space Center. In the test, in 2014, it reached a record speed of 270.4 mph. The test was done on a completely straight freeway. There are debates regarding the legality of this car to meet production criteria. The car is hand-built features seemed to be the contradicting aspect for official evaluators. 13 units of this car is produced so far. In 2013, Venom GT set the world record of fastest production car by Gunnies Book. It reached 0 to 748 kilometers in an average of 13.63 seconds.

Super Sport is a special version of Bugatti Veyron. It was especially made to showcase a boosted power in speed (© Bugatti Veyron)

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

This super car runs on a 1,200 hp engine producing a maximum torque of 1,500 Nm. Bugatti claimed its top speed to be 257.8 mph and, average acceleration of 0 to 100 km per hour in 2.5 seconds. Super Sport is now the fastest production super car reaching a record speed of 431.072 km per hour. The car also fulfills the strict requirement of Guinness World Records. The car is now completely sold out, being produced only in the year 2010-2011. It was the world record edition, limited to only five units. They have an orange colored body detail with black carbon exposure. It costed around 1.2 million pounds. All of Veyron versions are now out of production since 2014.

SSC Ultimate Aero was the fastest car in 2007 (© SSC North America)

SSC Ultimate Aero

SSC North America is a sport car manufacturer, known as Shelby SuperCars. Ultimate Aero was in production from 2006 to 2013. In 2007, it set the world record as the fastest production car by Guinness World Records. In the test, it reached a top speed of 256 mph or 412.28 km per hour. The Aero lost its record feat until Bugatti introduced its Super Sport in 2010. Ultimate Aero is powered with an engine of 1,046 hp, V8, producing a torque of 1,113 Nm. The car weighs 1,197 kg and was tested at Virginia Facility of NASA.

In 2018 so far, Lamborghini Huracan Performante is the car with fastest acceleration reaching 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds (© Lamborghini)

Honorable mentions-What’s the fastest car from 0-60?

These are the top five fastest cars in the world. However, without honorable mention of brands like Tesla Roadster, Saleen S7 Twin Turbo and McLaren, the list is incomplete. Per Elon Musk, the star scientist, his Roadster will have a range of 620 miles. At present, its top speed is 250 miles per hour and reaches an acceleration of 0 to 100 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds. The second generation EV can reach 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds. By acceleration, the fastest production car is from Lamborghini. Its model, the Huracan Performante, recoded the time of 2.3 seconds to reach from 0-60 mph.

Saleen S7 was produced between 2000 to 2009 as the first mid-engine supercar from America. This car is powered with a 750 hp engine, reaching 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. Its static top speed reached 248 miles per hour. McLaren F1 is among the first speedsters to hit the road. It set Guinness World Record in the year 1998 as the fastest production car in world, hitting a maximum speed of 240.1 miles per hour. It was dethroned by Koenigsegg CCR in 2005.

The race among supercars to produce the world’s fastest car is striking. Several brands produced their limited versions as the fastest car. There are instances of brands producing special version only to set new records in the market. Here’s a year wise list showing the fastest production cars since 90s.

  • Fastest car in the world 1992: Jaguar XJ220; top speed: 217 mph
  • Fastest car in the world 1993: McLaren 1; top speed: 221 mph
  • Fastest car in the world 2004: Koenigsegg CCR; top speed: 241.009 mph
  • Fastest car in the world 2005: Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4; top speed: 253.81 mph
  • Fastest car in the world 2006: Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4; top speed: 253.81 mph
  • Fastest car in the world 2007: SSC Ultimate Aero TT; top speed: 256.18 mph
  • Fastest car in the world 2010: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport; top speed: 258 mph
  • Fastest car in the world 2017: Koenigsegg Agera RS; top speed: 277.87 mph
  • Fastest car in the world 2018: Koenigsegg Agera RS; top speed: 277.87 mph
  • Fastest car in the world 2019: Not defined