The world’s first recognised car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen built in 1898, opens our list with a top speed of 12mph. Little more than half a century later, in 1949, Jaguar had raised these stakes by a factor of ten, with the Jaguar XK120.
The fifties were a hard-fought battle between Mercedes 300SL Gullwing and the Aston Martin DB4 GT, both of which were capable of speeds in excess of 150mph. The sixties followed, and with them a flurry of title changes between a range of Italian marques. The Iso Grifo set the tone in 1963, with a 161mph top speed.
A newcomer, the Anglo-American-built AC Cobra briefly stole the crown in 1965, only to be subsequently beaten by the Lamborghini Miura, the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 and the Miura P400S between 1967 and 1969.
Thirteen years passed before Lamborghini managed to top its own record with the Countach, marking the first production car to pass the 180mph barrier. In 1983, German Porsche tuner RUF offered the 190mph BTR, while Porsche’s own supercar, the 959, hit 198mph in 1986.
Ferrari built the world’s first production car to pass the 200mph barrier in 1987, with the 472bhp F40. Once the nineties rolled around, the McLaren F1 upped the stakes again with a top speed of 221mph, although F1s without rev-limiters have clocked 240mph runs. To this day, the McLaren F1 remains the fastest naturally aspirated car ever built.
The Koenigsegg CCR’s short-lived time as the fastest production car in the world began in February 2005, where it reached 241mph at Italy’s Nardo Ring. Just two months later the Bugatti Veyron broke through the 250mph barrier and took the crown with a speed of 253.8mph.
Over the last few years, Bugatti and Koenigsegg have fought for single-digit victories with a range of lesser-known challengers such as the American supercar manufacturers, SSC and Hennessey.
Comments (0)