The dreams of gearheads, these incredible high-performance production cars boast quarter-mile times of 8, 9, or 10 seconds.
Performance cars it’s about numbers. Almost every car manufacturer wants their halo model to have the most power, the highest top speed, the fastest acceleration and the lowest weight for knife-edge handling. For a long time, the short quarter-mile has served as a measure for automakers to throw down the gauntlet for the fastest time on the leaderboard. Also, the quarter-mile sprint has become one of the ideal ways to showcase a car’s performance, as most enthusiasts warm up to the shorthand version of a car’s capabilities. vehicle To that end, automakers are continually pushing the boundaries and pulling out all the stops to produce incredible cars that feature the most advanced levels of innovation, engineering, and technology.
Updated February 2023: Modern production cars continue to amaze with their jaw-dropping acceleration numbers in the quarter-mile sprint, thanks to the relentless innovation of automakers. As the auto industry continues to test newer, lighter, more powerful and faster performance cars, we’ve updated this article with new 2023 entrants based on official quarter-mile speed records.
Although the fastest gasoline supercars and hypercars dominated quarter-mile times in the past, advanced hybrid systems and powerful electric powertrains, which provide instant available torque, have raised the stakes even further in production Today, a diverse and exclusive club of elite sub-10-second quarter-mile cars represents the pinnacle of automotive performance.
Here are the 10 fastest quarter-mile production cars of 2023, according to official speed records.
10 Lamborghini Huracan STO: 10.5 second quarter mile time
As soon as it hit the market in 2014, the Lamborghini Huracan caused a stir in the supercar segment. Thanks to its exceptional performance, it quickly became Lamborghini’s best-selling car. The Huracán STO is the more track-focused version, essentially a street version of the GT3 EVO Huracan race car. The nickname STO is short for “Super Trofeo Omologata”, where Omologata is the Italian word for “homologated”.
The Huracán STO arrives ready for the quarter mile with a 5.2-liter V10 engine making 631 hp and 417 lb-ft, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and a dedicated launch control program. But unlike the Huracán Evo with an all-wheel drive setup, the STO has a rear-wheel drive design. Still, it’s plenty quick, covering the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds at 136 mph. By comparison, the RWD EVO completes the quarter mile in the same 10.5 seconds, while the latest model in the Huracan family, the Technica, is 0.1 seconds slower.
9 2023 Porsche Taycan Turbo S – Quarter mile time of 10.3 seconds
The Porsche Taycan, which brings the remarkable performance of electric powertrains to the Porsche lineup. It is the German brand’s first all-electric high-performance sports car. While Porsche offers the Taycan in five versions, the Turbo S is the most powerful, with a dual electric motor setup on each axle.
With 750 horsepower and 774 pound-feet of torque, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S is so fast that it broke the Tesla Model S’s Nürburgring Nordschleife four-door EV lap record. Another record it holds is the longest continuous drift for an EV. As for acceleration, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S can accelerate to 60 mph in just 2.4 seconds and cover the quarter mile in 10.3 seconds at 133.3 mph on its way to a top speed of 162 mph.
8 2023 Lamborghini Huracan – Quarter mile time of 10.3 seconds
Despite its added weight compared to other Huracans, the Lamborghini Huracán Evo is the fastest Lamborghini on sale today, running through the quarter mile in 10.3 seconds. Having all-wheel drive plays a big part in why other members of the Huracan family, such as the Evo RWD, STO and Tecnica, can’t beat it.
Also, while it features an identical seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and the same naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 behind its cabin, making 631 horsepower, the Huracan Evo is faster as it gets a torque punch of 442 lb-ft.
7 2023 Porsche 911 Turbo S (992) – Quarter-mile time of 9.9 seconds
Porsche builds the 911 GT3 RS with unsurpassed driving dynamics. However, the 911 Turbo S of the eighth and latest generation of the Porsche 911 almost matches its remarkable driving qualities while being more comfortable and fully suitable for daily driving. However, it does not compromise on speed. The Porsche 911 Turbo S (992) remains surprisingly quick in any condition, as indicated by its 7:21 minute lap around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in wet conditions.
The Porsche 911 Turbo S (992) has the fastest quarter-mile time of any Porsche in 2023, clocking in at 9.9 seconds at 139 mph. Its record-breaking performance is thanks to a 3.7-liter twin-turbocharged flat-6 engine that develops 641 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque.
6 2023 Tesla Model X Plaid – Quarter mile time of 9.75 seconds
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To some enthusiasts, the Model X Plaid is a soulless six-figure electric shell of an SUV suitable for family hauling. However, the Model X Plaid boasts an impressive array of high-tech features and, most importantly, comes with amazing acceleration and agility given its weight and size.
Tesla equipped the high-performance Model X Plaid with a three-motor all-wheel-drive platform that maintains a maximum output of 1,020 hp with an EPA-estimated range of 333 miles. Although Tesla’s official website quotes the quarter-mile time for the Model X Plaid at 9.9 seconds, DragTimes clocked 9.754 seconds with a trap speed of 144.88 mph, setting a new SUV world speed record.
5 2023 Ferrari SF90 Stradale – Quarter mile time of 9.5 seconds
The SF90 Stradale encapsulates Maranello’s most advanced technologies, perfectly demonstrating Ferrari’s ability to transfer the knowledge and skills gained from racing cars to production cars. The SF90 Stradale is the first Prancing Horse to feature a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle architecture, integrating the internal drive with three electric motors and a high-performance lithium-ion battery.
Ferrari mated the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 and three electric motors to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, generating a combined 986 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. The SF90 Stradale laps the Fiorano Circuit faster than any other Ferrari, even beating the famous and acclaimed LaFerrari hybrid hypercar. And it’s the Italian manufacturer’s fastest quarter-mile production car, crossing the line in 9.5 seconds at 148 mph.
4 2023 Tesla Model S Plaid – Quarter mile time of 9.23 seconds
The Tesla Model S Plaid is one of the most dominant and desirable options in the growing electric vehicle market, offering supercar performance, impressive practicality and ample cargo space. Rivals like the Audi E-Tron GT and Porsche Taycan have better performance and comfort, but the semi-autonomous driving technology and superior range of the Model S Plaid cattle are arguably more compelling.
Tesla fitted the Model S Plaid with a three-motor all-wheel-drive architecture with three independent carbon-sleeve rotors and torque vectoring that allow it to maintain 1,020 hp all the way to its top speed of 200 mph. The Model S Plaid boasts one of the fastest accelerations of any production vehicle. It can go from zero to 60 in a Tesla claimed 1.9 seconds and then dispatch the quarter mile in an exceptional 9.23 seconds at 155 mph.
3 2023 Ultima Evolution: 9.2 second quarter mile time
The Ultima EVO has long been an underappreciated high-performance production car. But thanks to 15 years of continuous development, its performance is truly remarkable, with quarter-mile sprint times in hypercar territory.
Power comes from a Chevrolet-sourced supercharged LS V8 engine available in several tuning levels. The top-spec Ultima Evolution has a staggering 1020 hp and 920 lb-ft on tap, helping it achieve a road-legal 0-60 time of 2.3 seconds and top the quarter-mile in 9.2 seconds.
2 2023 Rimac Nevera — Quarter-mile time of 8.58 seconds
Named after a swift, sudden and powerful Mediterranean storm, the Rimac Nevera boasts unmatched performance, real-time intelligence and high-tech magic that allow it to strike with exceptional speed and severity. The 100 percent hand-built Refrigerator took five years of research, development and testing, not to mention three generations of propulsion technology.
The all-electric Rimac Nevera is powered by four motors that drive each wheel independently, generating an astounding 1,914 hp and 1,741 lb-ft of torque. Despite the massive 4,740-pound weight, the Nevera crosses the quarter-mile mark in 8.58 seconds at 167.51 mph. And with a potential top speed of 258 mph (412 km/h), the Rimac Nevera remains the fastest electric car in the world.
1 2023 Pininfarina Battista – 8.55 seconds
The Pininfarina Battista hypercar uses the same electric powertrain and carbon fiber monocoque as the Rimac Nevera. A mighty 1,900 horsepower and 1,696 lb-ft of torque translate into blistering acceleration numbers. According to Pininfarina, this Italian hypercar can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.8 seconds, reach 186 mph in less than 12 seconds and top out at 217 mph.
In February 2023, the Pininfarina Battista became the world’s fastest quarter-mile production car. Its record quarter-mile time of 8.55 seconds set in India beat the Rimac Nevera’s 8.582-second quarter-mile time from 2021. It won’t come cheap, though; it has a staggering price of 2 million and Pininfarina plans to produce only 150 copies.
