Let's get one thing straight right from the start - Formula 1 cars are the fastest things around a race track, period. Nothing else comes close to their combination of acceleration, cornering, and braking. But in one very specific metric - top speed - some road cars can actually beat them. Alex Albon's Williams recently hit 229 mph at Las Vegas, which is impressive until you see what some billionaires are driving to lunch. [10] Saleen S7 Twin Turbo Top Speed: 248 mph America's answer to European supercars was essentially a Ford V8 with delusions of grandeur. The 750-horsepower twin-turbo version could hit 248 mph, which seems fairly reasonable until you remember it's using engine technology from the same era as flip phones. A later 1,000-horsepower Competition version arrived just to make Bugatti Veyron owners feel slightly less special. [9] Tesla Roadster Top Speed: 250+ mph Tesla claims their upcoming Roadster will do 250+ mph, and also claims it'll hit 60 mph in 1.1 seconds with the "SpaceX package." Then again, Tesla's been claiming this since 2017, so we'll believe it when we see it. Though given Elon's penchant for rockets, maybe the "SpaceX package" just means strapping actual rockets to it. [8] McLaren Speedtail Top Speed: 250 mph The spiritual successor to the legendary F1 reached its claimed 250 mph top speed more than 30 times during testing. That's rather impressive for something with three seats and enough luggage space for a weekend away. Less impressive is that it's not technically road legal in America due to its camera mirrors and central driving position, though that hasn't stopped Americans from buying them anyway. [7] Aston Martin Valkyrie Top Speed: 250 mph When you let Adrian Newey - the man who's designed more championship-winning F1 cars than most people have had hot dinners - loose on a road car project, you get something special. The Valkyrie's naturally aspirated V12 revs to 11,100 rpm and makes 1,160 horsepower with hybrid assistance. It's basically an F1 car with number plates and a better stereo. [6] Czinger 21C V Max Top Speed: 253 mph America's latest entry in the speed wars comes with a tiny 2.88-liter twin-turbo V8 hybrid setup making 1,250 horsepower. Most of it is 3D printed, which sounds terrifying until you learn it holds the lap record at both Laguna Seca and Circuit of the Americas. The V Max version ditches some of the downforce for pure speed, because apparently going 253 mph in something partly printed on a computer isn't scary enough. [5] Rimac Nevera Top Speed: 258 mph Croatia's electric hypercar makes 1,914 horsepower from four electric motors, which is enough to hit 62 mph in 1.74 seconds and do the quarter mile in 8.25 seconds. At 5,100 pounds it's about as light as a small house, but when you're packing more power than a nuclear reactor, weight becomes somewhat irrelevant. [4] SSC Tuatara Top Speed: 295 mph Named after a lizard with the fastest molecular evolution of any known animal (really), the Tuatara packs 1,750 horsepower when running on E85 fuel. While its initial speed claims were controversial, it eventually proved itself with a verified 282.9 mph run, which is fast enough to outrun most light aircraft. [3] Hennessey Venom F5 Top Speed: 300+ mph (claimed) Texas's answer to European hypercars packs 1,817 horsepower from a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V8. While it hasn't hit its claimed 300+ mph top speed yet, it did set a world record for the fastest standing half-mile: 219 mph in just 14.44 seconds. Which is probably fast enough to qualify as time travel in some states. [2] Bugatti Chiron Super Sport Top Speed: 304.7 mph The benchmark for production car speed for years, Bugatti's 1,600-horsepower monster actually hit 304.7 mph in testing. The production version is limited to a mere 261 mph, presumably because Bugatti's lawyers have some sense of self-preservation. [1] Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut Top Speed: 330 mph (claimed) Christian von Koenigsegg claims the Jesko Absolut will hit 330 mph thanks to its 1,600-horsepower twin-turbo V8 and slippery aerodynamics. While that figure remains theoretical for now, we wouldn't bet against the mad scientists from Sweden. After all, these are the people who named their fastest gearbox "Light Speed Transmission" because apparently "really quite fast" wasn't dramatic enough. And there you have it - ten cars that can theoretically outrun an F1 car in a straight line. Though it's worth noting that by the time any of these reach their top speed, an F1 car would be several counties ahead thanks to its cornering ability. And that's assuming these road cars could even find a straight long enough to reach their theoretical top speeds in the first place.
