August 24, 2016
When people think about the fastest production cars in the world, they usually imagine cars with large engines equipped with a growling exhaust. Up until this year, the fastest production cars were all sports cars with turbo or supercharged engines. Recently, the electric Model S from Tesla was announced as the fastest production car in the world. In the past, the Porsche 918 Spyder and LaFerrari were rated as the fastest production vehicles available. The Porsche 918 has a 4.6L V8 engine which produces 608 horsepower. This engine is equipped with two electric motors that deliver an additional 279 horsepower. With over 800 horsepower, this car has a 0-60 time of 2.2 seconds. The LaFerrari has a powerful 6.3L V12 engine which is also equipped with an electric motor. This allows the car to push out an impressive 949 horsepower which is why this car can dash from 0-60 in 2.4 seconds. Since these cars are no longer in production, the next fastest production car which is still being manufactured would be the new Tesla Model S. This electric sedan is able to go from 0-60 in 2.5 seconds making it faster than all of the other true “sports” cars. The Tesla Model S is not the only electric vehicle to be faster than most sports cars. The smaller Tesla Model 3 also has a 0-60 time which is under 4 seconds and Mercedes created an electric SLS AMG which produces 740 horsepower and does 0-60 in just 3.7 seconds. With companies starting to put more emphasis in electric and hybrid vehicles, the fastest cars are moving away from bulky engines. Mercedes and Ford now offer 4-cylinder turbocharged engines for their newer vehicles such as the CLA250 or the Ford Mustang Ecoboost. By reducing the size of the engine and adding a turbocharger, companies are able to manufacture cars that not only get better gas mileage, but are also able to produce more horsepower. As engines become more efficient, smaller engines are able to outperform older large ones. A great example of this would be the new 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid versus the 2007 model. The new Accord Hybrid has a 2.0L engine which produces 212 horsepower and gets almost 50 mpg, while the best mpg a 2007 Accord Hybrid could offer was 35mpg from a 3.0L V6 engine. Even though Tesla is one of the youngest car companies, they are already leading the industry with the highest performing electric vehicles. This is causing other companies such as Mercedes and Ford to invest more in affordable electric vehicles. With more companies trying to enter the electric car market, vehicles will continue to get better and more affordable until they become the norm. Until then, the Tesla Model S will remain the fastest production car in the world.