10 fastest accelerating cars in the world

There are few things more thrilling than a car with gut-wrenching acceleration. The feeling when you plant your foot on the accelerator and get launched into the back of your seat is pretty hard to match, so we’ve compiled a list of the 10 fastest accelerating cars in the world.

But what makes a car accelerate quickly? Well it takes a lot of power and excellent traction off the line – and being light doesn’t hurt either. Acceleration is benchmarked by the time it takes a car to go from 0-60mph, so this is what we’ve used to rank this list.

The 10 fastest accelerating cars from 0-60mph are:

1. McMurtry Speirling – 1.4 seconds
2. Aspark Owl – 1.7 seconds
3. Rimac Nevera – 1.7 seconds
4. Koenigsegg Gemera – 1.9 seconds
5. Pininfarina B95 – under 2.0 seconds
6. Bugatti Tourbillon – under 2.0 seconds
7. Tesla Model S Plaid – 1.98 seconds
8. BYD Yangwang U9 – 2.36 seconds
9. Lamborghini Revuelto – 2.5 seconds
10. Ferrari SF90 Stradale – 2.5 seconds

1. McMurtry Speirling – 1.4-second 0-60mph time

The McMurtry Speirling currently sits in joint first place on the Carwow drag race leaderboard alongside the Rimac Nevera, and this is one insane bit of engineering. It has two motors powering the rear wheels with a combined 1,000hp, and a pair of fans which essentially suck it into the ground to create more than two tonnes of downforce from a standstill.

The result is 0-60mph in a mind-bending 1.4 seconds, and it’ll do 0-100mph in under 2.7 seconds. The Speirling is so fast that it left our own Mat Watson speechless, which speaks volumes about how insane it truly is.

2. Aspark Owl – 1.7-second 0-60mph time

You might not have ever heard of Aspark, but this small Japanese company makes one of the quickest supercars on the planet. The Owl has four electric motors which make a combined 1,953hp, and the super-slippery bodywork makes sure it can cut through the air with ease.

The 1.7-second 0-60mph time is pretty bonkers, but not as bonkers as this thing’s design. It’s less than a metre tall and it’s pretty wide as well, making it look purposeful and aggressive on the road.

3. Rimac Nevera – 1.7-second 0-60mph time

Croatia might not be the first place you’d think to look for a hypercar, but it’s the home of the Rimac Nevera – the joint fastest car that Carwow has ever drag raced. Like the Owl it has four electric motors, but they make a combined 1,914hp.

The Nevera sits just below the Aspark because it’s a couple of hundredths of a second slower to 60mph, but anything which can complete the sprint in under 2.0 seconds is pretty mind-blowing.

4. Koenigsegg Gemera – 1.9-second 0-60mph time

There aren’t many cars which will do 0-60mph in under 2.0 seconds and can carry four people, but the Koenigsegg Gemera does just that. This four-seater was launched with a tiny three-cylinder engine paired to an electric motor, and it would do 0-60mph in 1.9 seconds.

Since then it’s been fitted with a whopping great V8, upping the power from 1,700hp to 2,300hp. The Swedish brand hasn’t given a 0-60mph time for the V8 version, but you can expect it to be quicker than the 1.9-second time set by the three-cylinder model.

5. Pininfarina B95 – 0-60mph in under 2.0 seconds

Pininfarina has designed some of the best-looking cars in the world. The Ferrari 250GT, Alfa Romeo Brera and the Peugeot 406 Coupe were all penned by the Italian design house, and it’s now making cars of its own.

The B95 is a stunning open-top hypercar with the same 1,900hp electric motors as the Pininfarina Battista, and 0-60mph is dealt with in under 2.0 seconds. You’ll need to remember your goggles in an open-top car as fast as this, unless you want to end up with flies embedded in your eyeballs.

6. Bugatti Tourbillon – 0-60mph in under 2.0 seconds

When you think of the fastest cars in the world, Bugatti is probably one of the first names which comes to mind. With the quad-turbocharged W16-engined Chiron now put out to pasture, the new Tourbillon is here to take its place.

It’s powered by a V16 engine with three electric motors chucked in for good measure, and the total power output is 1,800hp. While Bugatti hasn’t given an exact 0-60mph time yet, it has said that the Tourbillon will complete the sprint in under 2.0 seconds.

7. Tesla Model S Plaid – 1.99-second 0-60mph time

Four-door family saloons didn’t used to have a place on lists like these, but the Tesla Model S Plaid offers performance like nothing else at this price point. At £65,000 it undercuts most of the cars on this list by over £1m, and the tri-motor setup produces 1,020hp.

There is a caveat to that 1.99-second 0-60mph figure though. Tesla measures its acceleration using something called a one-foot rollout, something which can make a car appear quicker than it actually is. Even without this though it’ll still crack 60mph in well under 2.5 seconds on the road, not bad for something this practical.

8. BYD Yangwang U9 – 2.4-second 0-60mph time

Not many people in the UK will have heard of BYD before it launched on our shores back in late 2022, but the Chinese brand keeps going from strength to strength with its range of impressive, great-value EVs.

It’s also created this: the Yangwang U9. It’s a sleek-looking electric supercar with four electric motors and a combined 1,300hp. The 0-60mph sprint is dealt with in 2.36 seconds, and the U9 goes on to a top speed of 192mph.

See also: The most expensive cars in the world

9. Lamborghini Revuelto – 2.5-second 0-60mph time

You can’t talk about fast cars with no mention of Lamborghini, and the new Revuelto will do 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds. In a world where a lot of supercar makers are downsizing to V8 engines, this raging bull still has a 6.5-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine mounted behind the driver.

It does have three electric motors to boost both power and efficiency, and the result is 1,015hp. The Revuelto also looks just as crazy as a Lamborghini should, and it has a glorious soundtrack to go with the aggressive styling.

10. Ferrari SF90 – 2.5-second 0-60mph time

The Ferrari SF90 is one of those supercars which has downsized to a V8 engine. The V12 lump from the LaFerrari is no more, and in its place is a 4.0-litre eight-cylinder engine with a couple of turbochargers and three electric motors.

The result is very similar power to the Lamboeghini Revuelto – it has 1,000hp – and it’ll do 0-60mph in the same 2.5 seconds. It may not sound as good as a V12, but the SF90 is an engineering marvel nonetheless.

Fastest accelerating cars FAQs

What is the fastest accelerating car?

The McMurtry Speirling is the fastest accelerating car in the world – outside of rocket-propelled dragsters. It’ll do 0-60mph in a mind-bending 1.4 seconds, as proven when Carwow’s Mat Watson tested the car last year.

Which car has the fastest 0-100mph acceleration?

This accolade also goes to the McMurtry Speirling, because it will do 0-100mph in just 2.7 seconds.

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