Top-speed records have climbed steadily from the 1960s to the present day, and the numbers come with plenty of fine print. This ranking runs from the Lamborghini Miura’s 171 mph to a Bugatti prototype that passed 300 mph. Here are twelve supercars, ordered by claimed speed.
Tech news in one quick read: Get the most interesting stories in startups, tech and programming, each with a short TLDR, in one daily email from TLDR.
We may earn a commission if you sign up.
1. Lamborghini Miura: Miura Sets the Early Bar
The Lamborghini Miura sits at the bottom of this ranking, and a CarKeys top-speed timeline lists it at 171 mph, the production-car top-speed record holder of its day. That figure looks modest beside what follows, yet it opened the conversation about how fast a road car could go.
Because the entry rests on a single list row, it works best as a starting marker rather than a precise test result. Every later car on the list is measured against the benchmark the Miura established, which keeps the progression easy to follow from one entry to the next.
2. Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona: Daytona Edges Ahead
Only a few mph separate the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona from the Miura, with the same CarKeys fastest-cars list crediting it with 174 mph. The Daytona is the next step up the ladder, and its place just above Lamborghini’s car shows how narrow the early gains were.
As with the Miura, the figure comes from a timeline entry and not from a documented test session. Readers should treat it as the commonly cited number for the car, useful for ordering the ranking but not a substitute for a verified, instrumented run.
3. Porsche 959: 959 Brings Technology
Porsche’s 959 reached a top speed of 317 km/h, or 197 mph, at its introduction, according to its Wikipedia entry. It made 450 PS, and 337 were built, which makes it a rare car as well as a quick one.
The number comes with a wrinkle. The CarKeys list rounds the 959 down to 195 mph, so the two sources differ by a couple of mph. The 197 figure is used here because it is the one stated on the car’s own page, and the gap does not change its place in the ranking.
4. Ferrari F40: First Past 200 MPH
The Ferrari F40 earns its spot as, in CarKeys’ words, the first production car on earth to crack 200 mph, at 202.687 mph, per the CarKeys production-car history. Crossing that mark gave the F40 a milestone that outlived its record.
The F40 also lands just above the Porsche 959, a reminder that the two rivals traded the top spot in the same era. Three digits on the speedometer had become the dividing line between fast road cars and the genuinely exceptional ones.
5. Jaguar XJ220: XJ220 Takes the Crown
Jaguar’s XJ220 recorded a top speed of 217 mph (349 km/h) at Nardo, according to its Wikipedia page. Guinness recognised it as the fastest production car from 1992 to 1993, so the title was held for only a short stretch.
That brief reign is part of the story. The XJ220 pushed the ceiling well beyond the F40, but the record changed hands again soon after, and the next car on the list would take the number much further than anyone had managed up to that point.
6. McLaren F1: F1 Sets a Long-Standing Mark
Andy Wallace averaged 240.1 mph (386.4 km/h) in the McLaren F1 at Ehra-Lessien on March 31, 1998, a Guinness production-car record, as the McLaren F1 article details. The figure is a two-way average, which is a stricter measure than a single best pass.
The jump from the XJ220’s 217 mph is the biggest single leap in this ranking so far. It also gives the list a clear midpoint, since the cars that follow all chase the speeds the F1 reached at the end of the 1990s.
7. Rimac Nevera: Electric Joins the Race
Rimac released videos of the Nevera reaching 412 km/h (256 mph) on Nov. 15, 2022, billed as the fastest electric car in the world, as the Rimac Nevera article records. It is the only electric car on the list.
The caveat is the source of the number. The figure comes from videos Rimac released itself rather than from a recognised record attempt, so it is ranked by claimed speed. The Nevera still shows how far battery power has come against the combustion cars around it.
8. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport: Veyron Passes 267 MPH
A CarKeys list entry gives the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport a top speed of 267.857 mph. That is a jump of more than ten mph over the Nevera’s claimed run, and it places the Veyron firmly in the territory of the modern hypercar.
The entry is again a list row, so the number stands as reported rather than independently checked here. It nonetheless anchors the climb toward 300 mph, and Bugatti’s later car on this list finishes what the Veyron started.
9. Hennessey Venom GT: Venom GT Runs One Way
Hennessey’s Venom GT hit 270.49 mph in 2014 at Kennedy Space Center, according to Top Gear’s record report. It edges past the Veyron Super Sport on paper, and the run took place on a single stretch of runway.
That detail matters. The Venom GT result was a one-way run and not an official two-way record, so it is not recognised in the way the two-way averages elsewhere on this list are. It stays in the ranking as a claimed figure, with that limit attached.
10. Koenigsegg Agera RS: Agera RS Averages 277.9
The Koenigsegg Agera RS set a two-way average speed of 277.9 mph (444.6 km/h) with driver Niklas Lilja on a closed Nevada highway, as Top Gear’s coverage reports. Averaging both directions cancels out wind and slope.
That makes it a sturdier number than the Venom GT’s one-way pass, even though the Venom’s peak was a few mph lower. The Agera RS sits comfortably above both rivals and shows the two-way method becoming the standard for serious record claims.
11. SSC Tuatara: Tuatara Verified, Claim Withdrawn
SSC’s Tuatara averaged 282.9 mph (279.7 northbound, 286.1 southbound) at Space Florida on Jan. 17, 2021, verified by satellite tracking, per the SSC Tuatara article. The two directions were close, which supports the average.
An earlier 316-mph claim was withdrawn. On July 21, 2021, SSC stated that the initial attempt did not reach over 300 mph. The verified 282.9 mph is therefore the figure used here, and it sits just beneath the Bugatti that tops the ranking.
12. Bugatti Chiron: Bugatti Cracks 300 MPH
Bugatti’s TUV-certified, pre-production Chiron derivative hit 304.773 mph (490.484 km/h) at Ehra-Lessien on Aug. 2, 2019, with Andy Wallace behind the wheel, according to the Bugatti newsroom release. It is the first entry here to pass 300 mph.
The car was a pre-production derivative, not a customer Chiron, which is why the headline calls it a prototype. Its place at the top reflects the speed it reached, with that distinction kept in view, and Wallace also drove the McLaren F1 at number six.
Tech news in one quick read: Subscribe to TLDR →
We may earn a commission if you sign up.
More from Morning Overview
- Common allergy, bladder and sleep pills tied to sharply higher dementia odds
- NOAA now gives this winter a 75% chance of the strongest El Nino since 1950
- Doctors warn a silent liver disease now affects one in three American adults
- The FBI told the rest of ShinyHunters to surrender after a 24-year-old was arrested
