If there's one common thread between many motoring enthusiasts from all over the world, it's a love of speed. Going fast is its own reward to some, fueling a passion for setting land speed records and pushing both driver and machine to the limit. Today, the world's fastest "car" is the Thrust SSC. But the title of "fastest car in the world" gets more complicated when you start trying to define what a "car" is. Sure, in the loosest possible sense of the word, we can say it's any self-powered land vehicle
with four wheels. But if you were to look at the Thrust SSC, all you'd see is what looks like a giant lawn dart with two F4 Phantom II jet engines strapped to either side. Not much of a "car," then.
Production cars, on the other hand, are far less specialized. However, we know that, provided we give such a vehicle enough power, we could theoretically create something that breaks the 300-mph mark; Bugatti has done so, for instance, with a modified Chiron that hit 304 mph. The problem isn't a lack of capability, though; it's physics. Two factors prevent production cars from cracking this barrier: power and aerodynamic drag. That presents an obvious solution, of course; just build a more powerful, more slippery beast, emulating what Bugatti has done. But is it really as simple as it sounds? Actually, no -- numerous factors come into play, such as cost, customer demand, and functionality. Let's dive in and discuss these problems in detail.
Read more: 10 Of The Fastest Non-Supercars In The World, Ranked By Top Speed
A Question Of Logistics
The first thing any car designer is likely to ask is something like, "Who am I designing this car for and what should it be capable of doing?" All production cars must appeal to some sort of target demographic to be profitable, which raises the first question: Who would buy such a car? There's purportedly one unmodified vehicle that can exceed 300 mph, namely, the Hennessey Venom F5, though it's not yet performed such a run. Yet Hennessey is only building 24 examples, each costing $1.8 million. For context, McLaren built four times as many McLaren F1s, and that's by no means a common vehicle, either.
That has to do with what these vehicles were designed to accomplish. Supercars and hypercars aren't just about speed. Rather, they're about pushing the envelope in many respects. These vehicles are often hand-assembled, fitted with the latest technology (and sometimes luxury), and boast advanced safety equipment. Couple that with the need to create a vehicle that's road-legal and which an owner can drive without putting themselves and others at risk, and these cars are suddenly much more than just speed demons. They're a complete package, and as such are decidedly less specialized than something like the Thrust SSC.
Besides, some of the world's most powerful cars reach well beyond a thousand horsepower, and it takes an outstanding driver to control that beast at full tilt. Couple that with their insane prices, and the client list for such a car would be exceedingly short.
Physics Get In The Way, Too
Let's say, for argument's sake, that money and demand were non-issues. Now you have the problems inherent to a road-going car. It will have a wider frontal cross-section than the Thrust SSC, which means it displaces more air and creates more drag. You have to press the car into the ground; otherwise, it may take off if air gets underneath. It'd likely need custom-made tires like the Bugatti Veyron, because tires rated for 300 mph aren't exactly plentiful. And you'd need enough power to propel the car to those speeds in the first place.
Of course, that isn't to say that none of this is feasible. In the 1980s, 200 mph was the number to beat, and many supercars can exceed that today. But the faster a car goes, the more power it needs to overcome aerodynamic drag. Let's take an average car, which might have about 200 hp and go around 120 mph. It would take a lot more than 400 hp to go 240 mph, for example, if it retained the same aerodynamic characteristics. It might need 1,000 hp or more just to hit 240 mph, while the 300 mph mark may take even more. Therefore, the task is to design a production car with the right power and aerodynamics to do the job.
Such challenges remain on the horizon for automotive designers today. Breaking the 300-mph barrier certainly isn't impossible, just exceptionally challenging. But if cars like the Hennessey Venom F5 and Bugatti Chiron exist in 2025, then who knows what's around the corner?
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