Mind-blowing. Insane. Ridiculous. There aren't enough adjectives to capture how intense the quickest modern cars are. Several cars today accelerate faster when you mash the right pedal than if you were to drop them out of an airplane. You have to experience them to understand them. If that's not an option, Motor Trend has compiled the next best thing: this list of the ten quickest cars we tested in 2022.
For several reasons, they have ranked these cars using quarter-mile times rather than 0-60 times. First, with the surge of powerful, all-wheel-drive performance cars, you end up with a big knot of ties in the high two-second range when you stop the watch as soon as you hit 60 mph. Pushing the finish line to the quarter-mile mark, where all the quickest cars travel at triple-digit speeds, untangles the knot. Secondly, they believe that this longer, higher-speed race is a better measure of ultimate performance for the sports sedans, sports cars, and supercars that populate this list. When multiple vehicles notched the same quarter-mile time, we picked the winner based on the higher trap speed.
10. 2021 Porsche Panamera Turbo S
0-60 mph: 2.6 sec
Quarter mile: 10.9 sec @ 126.0 mph
Only nine four-door production cars have recorded faster quarter-mile times than this Panamera in the history of MotorTrend testing. Eight of those are electric cars that deliver massive torque shocks instantaneously and without interruption (or with only a single shift in the Porsche Taycan Turbo S). Unsurprisingly, the test driver said that this Turbo S, despite its 620-hp twin-turbo V-8, felt like a fast electric sedan.
It's undoubtedly heavy like an EV, weighing in at 4,694 pounds, or just 122 pounds less than the Tesla Model S Plaid, which is the quickest production car we've ever tested. MotorTrend's driver noted a moment of hesitation as all that mass was put into motion and then, to his butt, what felt like a stronger push than even the 911 Turbo S delivered. The results speak for themselves.
9. 2022 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS
0-60 mph: 2.8 sec
Quarter mile: 10.9 sec @ 126.7 mph
You start to appreciate the 911's depth of performance when you consider how many versions sit above this one in the pantheon of Porsche sports cars. Turbo. Turbo S. GT3. GT3 RS. Sport Classic. Dakar. Granted, not all of those are quicker than this model, but the Carrera 4 GTS is merely a mid-tier purchase in the funny-money world of Porsche. Yet here it is on a top-ten list of the year's wildest performances.
Give credit to the fat torque curve of the 473-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-six, the grip-giving all-wheel-drive system, and the unflappable launch-control system. Shifts from the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic are quick and precise, introducing some harshness in the interest of performance. The engine's sonorous roar makes full-throttle runs more dramatic while still being refined enough that no one will complain that it's too loud.
8. 2022 BMW M5 CS
0-60 mph: 2.9 sec
Quarter mile: 10.9 sec @ 127.9 mph
Call it a super sedan. The four-door, 4,104-pound M5 CS rides a wave of twin-turbocharged power harnessed by a torque-taming all-wheel-drive system to break two crucial barriers: a 60-mph blitz under 3.0 seconds and a quarter-mile performance below 11.0 seconds.
In 2021, they pushed an M5 CS to even quicker times—a 2.6-second 0-60 run and a 10.7-second quarter-mile. Could it be the Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires worn by the slower car, where the faster runs were conducted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires? Absolutely, and we'll explain that in more detail with our sixth entry on this list. But the M5 CS was also its own worst enemy in our attempts to beat that earlier time. The launch control is inconsistent and can't be used on back-to-back runs. Sometimes it activates, other times it doesn't—and the car never tells you why. MotorTrend's test driver called it "delicate." There's a lesson to be learned here from Porsche, which makes its launch control easy to activate and robotically repeatable.
7. 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with Z07 package
0-60 mph: 2.8 sec
Quarter mile: 10.8 sec @ 128.2 mph
Chevrolet engineers almost certainly could have made the new hi-PO Corvette quicker with a turbocharged engine inflating its low-end torque and top-end power. But we wouldn't trade the Z06's flat-plane-crank, naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V-8 for all the power in the world, even if that power allowed us to set gas prices at 99 cents a gallon the rest of time. This 670-hp, 8,500-rpm screamer is one of modern engineering's most memorable engines.
Chevrolet includes a launch-control system that allows anyone to run times as quickly as their drivers—as long as you can follow the dizzying sequence of button taps, paddle pulls, burnouts, and more button taps. They unlocked the quickest times at Chevy's recommendation by first smoking the rear tires to warm and clean the rubber. Do it right, and the Z06 unleashes its fury in a spectacular show of noise and landscape-smearing acceleration that you'll never forget.
6. 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Convertible
0-60 mph: 2.6 sec
Quarter mile: 10.6 sec @ 131.6mph
You might wonder why a Z06 convertible outran the Z07-equipped Corvette Z06 coupe. This particular drop-top is burdened with an additional 88 pounds, its aluminum wheels have more rotational inertia, and its Michelin Pilot Sport 4S ZP tires are optimized for the street rather than the track. What gives? Remember, a small amount of tire slip improves acceleration. In this case, you can also feel that helping as the naturally aspirated V-8 stays on a rolling boil as the clutch engages. With the Z07's sticky tires, the engine revs dipped slightly on the launch. The downforce-generating aero package on the Z07 car also increases drag, which hurts high-speed acceleration.
We have heard of Pilot Sport tires being quicker than Michelin Cup tires.
An engineer who worked on the Mustang Shelby GT500 previously told our testing director that Ford got better acceleration numbers with that car's standard tire rather than the track pack's upgraded rubber.
5. 2023 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica
0-60 mph: 2.8 sec
Quarter-mile: 10.6 sec @ 134.5 mph
Here's a unique beast. The Huracán Technica is the quickest naturally aspirated car we tested in 2022, and its 5.2-liter V-10, constantly howling in your ear, never lets you forget it. While the 631-hp Tecnica makes as much power as any other Huracán, the fact that it's rear-wheel drive means there are quicker models available if that's your thing.
The Tecnica launches from 4,500 rpm with the typical no-lag response and linear power delivery, making unboosted engines feel so intoxicating. It feels light rolling off the line, even though its 3,470-pound weight is not particularly remarkable. The sound it makes at every 8,500-rpm upshift and the high-frequency rumble emanating from the engine, on the other hand, is unforgettable.
4. 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet
0-60 mph: 2.4 sec
Quarter mile: 10.3 sec @ 134.8 mph
In the case of the 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, $252,940 buys you a hell of a lot of versatility. Finally, here's a car you can drive in Los Angeles traffic, on the world's most demanding racetracks, and at the drag strip and never be out of place. For this list, though, this master of all trades can be distilled into three key components:
- Its 640-hp twin-turbo flat-six
- Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- Deft all-wheel-drive system
Porsche's idiot-proof launch control brings those systems together in perfect harmony for brutally quick acceleration. The tires don't slip, the engine never bogs, and the transmission constantly shifts at precisely the right time. "Best launch control in the business: Explosive, consistent, and takes a beating," associate road test editor Erick Ayapana raved after getting out of the Turbo S. It's so good that it feels like it's lopping fat from the Cab's 3,815-pound curb weight. The 911 Turbo S Cabriolet lands in fourth place with its quarter-mile time, but its 0-60 sprint registers as the second-quickest of the year.
3. 2022 McLaren 765LT Spider
0-60 mph: 2.9 sec
Quarter mile: 10.3 sec @ 142.6 mph
Check out the trap speed on this thrill ride. That significant number contrasted with the more sensible 0-60 and quarter-mile times (relatively speaking) indicates that McLaren's racetrack-ripping 755-hp spaceship struggles to get off the line. Credit where credit is due, though. This is the only rear-wheel-drive car in the top three. It's not easy channeling this much thrust to the ground through two tires, even if they are Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R MC1 track tires.
The twin-turbo V-8 launches from around 3000 rpm, stuttering a bit as it hunts for grip. The shifts are severe, and there's a mechanical shriek that shouts over the exhaust and wind noise, but those rough edges just add to the whole exotic experience in a car this focused. The 765LT, after all, isn't just a straight-line hero. This McLaren is the complete package, also landing high on our list of this year's best-handling cars.
2. 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight
0-60 mph: 2.2 sec
Quarter mile: 10.0 sec @ 137.8 mph
This year's quickest car and our third fastest production car ever if you stop counting at 60 mph. But you'll never realize the 640-hp 911 experience if you limit the fun to the transmission's first two gears. The Lightweight's crash diet saves 65 pounds (plus another two pounds with the optional $3,890 carbon-fiber roof on our test car), which helped it trim 0.1 second in the 0-60 run and 0.3 second through the quarter-mile compared to the standard 911 Turbo S that we tested in 2021.
Porsche's launch control unleashes the engine's 590 pound-feet of torque ruthlessly. This car hooks up and goes. The initial push isn't as rollercoaster-like as in the quickest electric vehicles, but the theatrics of a gas-burning, gear-slamming sports car is hard to beat. The twin-turbo flat-six sends an ultra-fine mechanical buzz through the driver's seat that's as stimulating as a Magic Wand.
1. 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance
0-60 mph: 2.7 sec
Quarter mile: 10.0 sec @ 145.3 mph
Startup automaker Lucid Motors didn't get the memo that EVs are supposed to rocket to 60 mph and then lose their sense of urgency as speeds climb. The Air Grand Touring Performance's 2.7-second blast to 60 mph seems almost tame by today's standards, but this 5,256-pound sedan will scramble your brain matter and rewire your understanding of EVs on its way to a 10.0-second quarter mile. That performance makes the Lucid Air GTP the sixth-quickest production vehicle that MotorTrend has ever tested. Did we mention that this isn't even the most powerful version of the Air?
The Grand Touring Performance shoots off the line with a slight torque steer and a violent shove, but everything after that is quiet, quick, smooth, and stable. Unlike the 911 Turbo S Lightweight, this Air crosses the quarter-mile run in a very graceful manner. Power only begins to fade beyond 120 mph noticeably, but the numbers here remind us that speed is relative: The Lucid might cross the finish line at the same time as a 911 Turbo S, but it claims the victory by achieving a trap speed that's 7.5 mph faster.