Writing Wizards: The Fastest Cars in the World

Portsmouth Point editors have enjoyed working with Year 5's 'Writing Wizards' this term, who have written a series of articles that we are delighted to publish. This article is by Kevin Xu.

So, supercars. Which one is the fastest?

Well, first up it’s the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+. 304 MPH. In August 2019, Bugatti topped the formerly reigning Hennessey Venom F5. Not only that, but the Chiron super sport 300+ also became the first car to break 300 miles per hour on the track. The final record was 304.773 mph with test driver Andy Wallace on Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany. If that’s hard to comprehend (because it is), imagine being able to cover 450 feet in a single second. Bugatti holds the crown for now, but the manufacturer may bow out of the race. The car is an absolute beast.  

The Hennessey Venom F5 GT. 301 MPH. Hennessey Performance Engineering previously owned the top spot of this list with its Venom F5 GT. The successor to the record setting , the F5 has a theoretical and claimed top speed of 301 MPH, besting the next fastest car by a solid margin.

The Hennessy F5 utilizes a carbon fiber chassis and is powered by a 7.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 good for 1,600 horsepower. While Hennessey has yet to legitimize its claims, the F5 will reportedly dash from 0 to 249 mph and back to 0 in less than 30 seconds. That’s about how long it takes a mild sports car just to get from 0 to 100 mph. This beast is America’s Hypercar.

 SSC Tuatara. 300 MPH. Another American Hypercar. The Tuatara is not as fast as the F5 GT but it is a very, very close number, 300 MPH. Imagine the pain of not having one more MPH! The Tuatara is capable of generating 1,750 Hp (Horse power). SSC estimated that the car will reach about 265 MPH but it actually hit 300!

Koenigsegg Agera RS+. 284 MPH. The F5 proved that you can get through 300, but Koenigsegg proved first that cars can get through the 200 barrier. On November 4, 2017, the Nevada Department of Transportation closed an 11-mile stretch of road just outside Las Vegas. Koenigsegg turned up with a customer-owned Agera RS and Koenigsegg factory driver Niklas Lilja put down two high-speed runs (in opposing directions). The average pace (including one run at 285 mph) was recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Hennessy Venom GT. 270 MPH. When Bugatti had the 5th and the 1st fastest car, until Hennessy. Hennessy made a Debut for 1st place in cars but Chiron Knocked the F5 off his crown. So, the Venom GT overtook the Veyron Super Sport by 2 MPH. Hennessey recorded a top speed of 270.4 mph. Though the Guinness Book of World Records approved the run, it has received a fair bit of criticism. For one, most top speed records are taken from an average of two runs in opposite directions (like Koenigsegg did with the Agera RS). Also, the Venom GT is a hand-built, low-production vehicle. Some have questioned whether it deserves to be counted amongst series production cars.

Bugatti Vevron Super Sport. 268 MPH. Before Hennessey and Koenigsegg jumped into the top speed fray, Bugatti dominated the world’s fastest category. Unlike its upstart rivals, Bugatti benefitted from the massive cash reserves of its parent company, Volkswagen. A tremendous investment of time and resources yielded the Bugatti Veyron in 2005. The $1.7-million Veyron utilized a quad-turbocharged, W16 engine to deliver 1,001 horsepower to all four wheels.
Impressive as it was, the 250-mph Veyron was soon trumped by the 256-mph SSC Ultima Aero. Bugatti went back to the drawing board and returned with the Veyron Super Sport. An impressive 1,200 horsepower and a slew of aerodynamic improvements helped the Super Sport to a top speed of 268 mph, clocked at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track. Bugattu also developed a convertible version, dubbed the Grand Sport Vitesse, which still holds the record for the fastest open-top production car at 254 mph.

Lamborghini Urus. 189 MPH. The Urus has a front-engine, all-wheel-drive layout, and a top speed of 305 km/h (190 mph) making it one of the world's fastest production SUVs. The Urus can accelerate from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.6 seconds and 0–200 km/h (124 mph) in 12.8 seconds.

Engine: 4.0 L FSI twin-turbocharged V8

Layout: Front- engine, 4- wheeled drive

Class: Mid-size luxury crossover SUV

Seating capacity: 5

RRP: From £159,925

Fuel Economy: 23 mpg combined (17 city, 29 highway)

Max speed 189.5 mph

Engine: 4.0 L V8

Dimensions: 5,112 mm L x 2,016 mm W x 1,638 mm H

This car is not in the 6 fastest cars in the world but it is my favourite car!

Thanks for reading.