The Absolute Fastest Cars In The World, Ranked

For decades auto engineers have focused on squeezing an ever-increasing amount of power from their perspective automotive offerings, though in the last quarter-century, the hair-raising speeds afforded by these high-dollar machines have become so excessive that a significant portion of their R&D is spent on areas such as improved down-force generation and aerodynamics, stability and handling. And though these cars aren’t just built to travel at lightning speeds in a straight line, and are designed to go around a race track as fast as possible, outright speed remains the most common metric we use to judge a car’s raw performance prowess.

Each year, automotive manufacturers are tasked with one-upping their outgoing model, and these improvements are often conveyed through increased speed and or acceleration. And with so many insanely fast super and hypercars having been introduced to the market over the last year, now seems like the perfect time to take a step back and take stock of which are the outright fastest cars in the world.

While outright top speed is obviously a crucial factor, there are a number of other key elements to consider when judging how “fast” a particular car is. Ultimately the best real-world measure of how should be how quickly it can get around a race track, as — at least outside of drag racing — how a car carries its weight, handles, and brakes (among other areas) all play pivotal roles in any vehicles raw performance abilities.

This is an almost impossible standard to glean information from as there is no one standard track, and even if there was, there are so many variables in track times that make the numbers somewhat moot beyond a general ballpark grasp, including, but not limited to, the driver piloting the vehicle, track and weather conditions, tire type, age, and temperature, and the circuit layout (not to mention the track itself).

Because of this, there are other areas that should be taken into consideration when talking about which cars are the “fastest”. And while we’ll be ranking this list based on top speeds, we’ll also be touching on several other noteworthy areas. This includes engine type — which doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, though displacement, number of cylinders, and induction type all give a pretty solid indication of what the car it’s powering is capable of.

In addition to engine type, horsepower and torque figures, stacked next to a car’s weight are typically pretty revealing when reviewed as a whole, as are 0-60mph (or approximately 0-100km/h) times. Plus, it’s always fun knowing what’s under the hood of these ultra-sleek, rolling feats of design and engineering, as well as where each of them was hand-built, as every entry on this list is. Below, we’ve compiled a shortlist with these aforementioned elements for the fastest cars currently in existence.

10. 2024 Bugatti W16 Mistral

Top Speed 260.9MPH: Equipped with a top speed mode that allows it to reach its maximum velocity of just over 260mph, the W16 Mistral is Bugatti’s latest and greatest automotive offering, with a radical bodywork design that’s thoroughly modern while still being instantly recognizable as being one of the French firm’s hypercars. The W16 Mistral also maintains the brand’s usual out-of-this-world performance capabilities, with a 2.4-second 0-60mph time and an output of nearly 1,600hp. 

9. 2023 Zenvo TSR-GT

Top Speed 263.4MPH: Though Zenvo makes some wildly capable vehicles, the Danish brand’s TSR-GT stands as its most advanced — and fastest — to date, with this “Final Edition” vehicle ticking off every box one could hope for. Thanks to a 5.8-liter V8 cranking out 1,360hp, this supercar is able to achieve 2.8-second 0-60mph runs and a top speed exceeding 260mph. Interestingly, the engine allows for even higher speeds though this model’s been electronically limited. These performance capabilities are also owed to the vehicle’s lack of weight — an area largely owed to its use of a monocoque chassis and all carbon fiber bodywork. 

8. 2014 Hennessey Venom GT

Top Speed 270MPH: Made in America, the Venom GT was a nimble, two-seater based on the Lotus Elise and Exige platform. Built by hand in Texas in minute numbers, the Venom GT was powered by a seriously-potent LSX V8 that enabled it to clock 0-60mph runs in well-under three-seconds. And while it does bare some noticeable resemblance to the Lotus it’s based on, it is a very different – and we’d argue very superior — beast.

7. 2010 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

Top Speed 268MPH: The car that took the title from the SSC Ultimate Aero, the Veyron Super Sport rolled on the scene in 2010 with a vengeance (and 1,000hp+). This lightning-fast — and 100% road-legal — hypercar was penned by automotive design legend, Hartmut Warkuß, the force behind several significant models from brands like Audi and Bentley.

6. 2023 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

Top Speed 273MPH: Equipped with a 273-mph top speed and a 2.3-second 0-60mph time, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is an ultra-high-end take on a high-performance luxury vehicle that sees the already wildly-impressive Chiron platform bestowed with the grand touring treatment. Sporting a revised aero kit that generates markedly more downforce, this car packs the marque’s signature quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine which cranks out 1,600hp and allows for otherworldly performance capabilities. What’s more, this hypercar is also capable of cracking the 250mph mark from a complete standstill in under 30 seconds. 

5. 2023 Czinger 21C

Top Speed 281MPH: Heavily inspired by hypercar class endurance racers while simultaneously drawing ample influence from Lockheed’s SR-71 Blackbird, the Czinger 21C is an insanely powerful track-focused hypercar that happens to boast road-legal status. Tipping the scales at 2,756lbs, the hypercar’s wildly impressive 1.9-second 0-60mph time and more than 250mph top speed are owed to Czinger’s 2.88-liter V8 which, thanks to a pair of turbochargers and a hybrid electric drive unit, is able to put down 1,350hp, making it the most power-dense engine of any production car on the planet. 

4. 2017 Koenigsegg Agera RS 

Top Speed 285MPH: The replacement for Koenigsegg’s CCX range, the Agera RS introduced a new, sleeker and more modern aesthetic for the Swedish supercar outfit. In 2010 it was aware Hypercar of the Year by Top Gear Magazine — seven years before clocking a GPS-verified top speed of 285mph. Though it spent a relatively short time in production, it played a pivotal role in laying the foundation for the good things that were to come at the Swedish manufacturer.

3. Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+

Top Speed 299.5MPH: Based on the other three entries on this list, it should come as no surprise that a late-model Bugatti has found its way to one of the top three spots on the list of today’s fastest cars. The elite model utilizes the same potent powertrain that’s found in the French firm’s Centodieci machine. With a name celebrating its ability to break the 300mph barrier, the Chiron Super Sport is a limited-production version of the venerable modern-day Bugatti.

2. 2022 SSC Tuatara

Top Speed 300+ MPH (Claimed): Beautifully-designed by Jason Castriota, a New York native who has previously designed cars for elite manufacturers like Ferrari and Maserati, the 2020 Tuatara is a freshly-released model from American marque, SSC. Built around a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and shrouded in full carbon bodywork — that boasts a class-leading 0.279 drag coefficient — the hypercar features active aerodynamics and adjustable suspension geometry.

1. 2023 Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut

Top Speed 330MPH (Estimated): Since first debuting in 2019, the original Koenigsegg Jesko has stood as one of the fastest, most capable, and most cutting-edge hypercars ever made. Never one to rest on its laurels, the Swedish firm has returned to the drawing board to deliver the even more extreme Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut. Boasting revised bodywork and a modified twin-turbocharged eight-cylinder powertrain, this special edition hypercar blows its base model counterpart out of the water with a 2.5-second 0-60mph time and a top speed that’s been estimated at around 330mph. 

The Fastest Motorcycles In The World

Interested in checking out an additional selection of insanely-quick vehicles? Then be sure to cruise on over to our guide to the world’s fastest motorcycles for the quickest two-wheelers available on showroom floors.