"Eating" the road

28-09-20 Supercar trends

World's fastest road cars 2020

In the past, if you wanted a fast car, you'd need something expensive and rare that could hit  320 km/h. But with the Koenigsegg Agera RS clocking 440 Km/h to be the fastest road car on sale in 2019, 320 km/h is merely seen as just another figure to pass on the way to truly astronomical speeds.

The Agera RS is the latest in a long line of speed machines to set a new record. It added another 30 km/h to the top speed in 2017, replacing the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, which set its figure in 2010 at the top of the hypercar tree. Before that, there was the US-built SSC Ultimate Aero (412 km/h), the standard Veyron (408 km/h), the Koenigsegg CCR (388 km/h) and the legendary McLaren F1 (386 km/h). Bugatti deserves another mention for breaking the 483 km/h barrier in a modified prototype Chiron in 2019 with a timed run of 490 km/h at the Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany.

Amazingly, it took 11 years for anybody to come along and beat the F1's record, which was set in 1993. And even today, these five former record holders are still fast enough to make the 2019 top 10, if they were still being built.


What is the fastest production car in the world?

The fastest cars on this list are expensive, with seven-figure sums required to buy most of them, and plenty to be put aside for everyday running costs, too. However, access to a production car that can go faster than 320 km/h is easier than it's ever been. You'll still need a decent amount of cash to buy one, but with more makers offering 320 km/h cars than ever, the choice is yours if you're in the lucky position to be buying.

Using 320km/h as the benchmark by which the fastest cars are judged, then there are three Brits that just break into the club, namely the Aston Martin DB11 V12, and two Jaguars: the F-Type SVR Coupe and limited-run XE Project 8. At 124 000 € the F-Type is the least expensive of the three, but it's not the cheapest 320 km/h car on sale in the UK. That accolade goes to the 98 000 € Alpina B5 saloon (BMW 5 series body), which can hit 330 mph. Even the B5 Touring estate can manage 320 km/h, and it only has a 2 200 € premium over the four-door.


There are a few convertibles capable of more than 320 km/h, although they achieve this with the roof up. The Lamborghini Huracan Spyder (323 km/h) and Ferrari 488 Spider (325 km/h) are drop-top versions of even faster coupes, while the Audi R8 V10 plus Spyder and McLaren 570 Spider are joint holders of the title the fastest convertible on sale, both with a claimed top speed of 328 km/h.

Another strand of the 320 km/h club is the luxury grand tourer. These cars achieve high speeds without stripping back the luxuries, and it's the Brits that again lead the way. Aston Martin and Bentley duke it out with their four-door Rapide (327 km/h) and Flying Spur S (325 km/h) models, while the new Bentley Continental GT manages 333 km/h, one click behind the updated DB11 AMR. You could also factor in Alpina's other rapid model, the 7 Series-based B7 (330 km/h), while the Porsche 911 Turbo S is a surprisingly capable all-rounder that can also hit 330 km/h. And if you need a four-seat Ferrari that can hit 335 km/h, then the V12 version of the GTC4 Lusso is for you.

Most other 320 km/h cars are two-seater sports cars, either mid or front engined, unless it's a Porsche 911. The Lamborghini Huracan manages 325 km/h in 610-4 (4WD) guise, while the rest of the McLaren 570 range (S and GT) matches the Spider with a 328 km/h top speed. The Audi R8 V10 Plus coupe hits 330 km/h, and so does the Ferrari 488 in both GTB and hardcore Pista guises.

 

What about electrics?... that's another chapter !

 

Read more here

Source AEx

 

Keywords: #hypercars #supercars #speed #bugatti #ferrari #koenigsegg #astonmartin #staysafe #plastics #toolmanagers #shapes #molds #moulds #moldsfromportugal #moulds4_0 #industry4_0

Barreiros uses cookies to offer a better online experience. The use of our services presupposes an acceptance of our cookies policy More Informations

OK