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» The World's Fastest Cars Tested
(November 2006)

This is the stuff of octane-fueled dreams: nine of the world’s most powerful supercars lined up and ready to burn rubber on one of the most expansive automotive playgrounds on the planet: Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track in northern Germany.

Until now, we’ve had to rely on the individual top speed claims of each of the car makers represented here. We put them head to head on the same stretch of road and under the same conditions to not only confirm which one is the quickest up the drag strip, but also which can claim the highest overall top speed.

The last time we pitted a bunch of supercars of this caliber against each other was on a warm summer night at Nardo back in 2004. The Ferrari Enzo took the honors then, with a sizzling top speed of 219mph. This time, Maranello defended its crown with the gorgeous 599 GTB Fiorano, and keeping it company was Lamborghini’s demonic Murciélago LP640. We also threw in three American greats in the form of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper SRT-10 and Ford GT. Add to that bunch the Aston Martin Vanquish S, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and Porsche 911 Turbo and you’ve got a list of contenders that span every division of the supercar league. Well, almost: to put this latest supercar shootout into clear perspective, we also took along the mighty Bugatti Veyron EB16.4.
 

0-62mph (100kph)

As expected, the 987hp, four-wheel-drive Bugatti launched off the line and rocketed into the distance with an intensity and efficiency not matched by any other car here. It recorded a phenomenal time of just 2.5sec. It’s the heaviest of the bunch, but a staggering output endows the Veyron with the best power-to-weight ratio by far at 522hp per ton. The deceptively small coupe managed to pull out a 1.0sec gap over the next best car.

In the all-Italian fight for second, the Lamborghini’s four-wheel-drive traction helped it to launch more cleanly off the line and kept it ahead of the Ferrari just long enough to reach 62mph in 3.4sec, as opposed to the 599’s 3.5sec.

Next up was the Porsche, although it was kept honest by the McMerc. The 911’s combination of turbocharger-induced torque at low revs and the latest in four-wheel-drive technology meant it leapt off the line in clinical fashion. No rubber-destroying pandemonium here, just pure, unadulterated acceleration. But with the least power of the lot, the Porsche’s 480hp twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter flat six didn’t have enough muscle to push it into the top three once the initial burst of speed from standstill subsided.

Still, you can’t argue with a 0-62mph time of just 3.7sec, not when it pips the more powerful SLR by 0.1sec. The Merc’s 3.8sec split was exactly the same as we recorded at Nardo back in 2004. There’s no great trickery in extracting its performance. You simply build up revs while holding it on the brakes, before side-stepping the left pedal and letting its five-speed automatic gearbox do its stuff.

Sixth place in our 0-62mph run was fought out between our American trio. The super-sleek GT just managed to pip the Corvette Z06 at 3.9sec versus 4.0sec. Despite packing 38hp and 123lb ft more than the Chevrolet, the Ford’s extra 353 lb curb weight allowed the less powerful but lighter Corvette to stay in touch. Neither time managed to duplicate Ford or Chevrolet’s official claims, but in such company they were still impressive.

The same goes for the Viper SRT-10. On spectacle alone, nothing comes close to matching the Dodge’s antics as 524lb ft is dumped to the rear wheels and it explodes off the line in a cloud of tire smoke and dust without any expensive electronic aids to keep things in order. It stopped the clock at 4.3sec.

With a time of 5.3sec, the Gaydon-built Vanquish S trailed the Dodge by 1.0sec up to the first timing marker. Disappointing? Yes. However, a relative lack of torque – the Aston’s 426lb ft is 44lb ft down on the Viper – and its weight contributed to its relative lack of vigor out of the blocks. But, boy, does it sound great. Once the initial tire-chewing antics subside, it delivers a great baritone soundtrack.

0-124mph (200kph)

It was no surprise that the Bugatti was first to 124mph, but the way it gathers pace on a wide-open throttle has to be felt to be believed. There’s no let-up in the brutality of the acceleration, no discernible interruption in drive, no apparent strain as first gear gives way to second and then to third. The faster it travels, the more determined it becomes.

The Bugatti’s time of 7.4sec might not sound too special in isolation, until you consider it is 2.9sec quicker than the highly acclaimed 599 GTB Fiorano. The big surprise is just how much quicker the Veyron was than the Vanquish S, which was 9.1sec slower than the Bugatti at the 124mph mark. And we don’t ever remember thinking the Aston Martin felt leisurely. On the contrary…
After trailing the Murciélago LP640 to 62mph by the slimmest of margins, the 599 GTB Fiorano began to take big chunks out of its Sant’Agata rival as speeds increased. The Ferrari hit the 124mph mark in 10.3sec, 1.9sec ahead of the heavier Lamborghini. Also sneaking into the reckoning was the SLR, which equalled the Lamborghini’s times to the tenth of a second.
The big mover as speed built, however, was the Corvette Z06. The cheapest car here punched well above its weight, surpassing the more highly rated Ford GT and Porsche 911 Turbo on the way to a 124mph split of 11.9sec. Left languishing at the bottom of the time sheets were the Dodge and the Aston Martin.

0-186mph (300kph)

By the time our supercar stable got to the 0-186mph test we already had one less car to consider. The Dodge Viper SRT-10 failed to crack the third of our acceleration markers by a scant 1mph, due in large part to the drag created by its fabric hood. If nothing else, the V10 convertible won the hearts and minds of our pit crew with its bellowing exhaust note, which reverberated off Ehra-Lessien’s retaining walls with the intensity of a NASCAR stocker at full tilt.

At the sharp end, the Bugatti, Ferrari and Lamborghini all held station. But while it took the Veyron just 10.8sec to charge from 124mph up to 186mph, the 599 and the Murciélago required 19.6sec and 20.6sec respectively, which brought into light just how superior the French coupe is when the wick is turned up. Aside from its huge power and torque, what sets the Bugatti apart is the ease at which it runs up towards 200mph. At big speeds it feels immensely robust and, out of all the cars, required the least movement of the steering wheel to keep it tracking on line.

The Ferrari felt inherently stable, indicating that its aerodynamic properties haven’t been compromised by its stunning styling, and it never gave the impression that it was running out of steam at 186mph, but it lacked the high-speed refinement of the Veyron. It was more intense, edgier in its movements and required greater concentration to guide down Ehra-Lessien’s back straight.

The Lamborghini was a handful. There’s no doubting its potency, but at high speeds it’s clear the Murciélago could do with a large wing at the rear to generate more downforce. The front end tracks wonderfully, but a lack of stability at the back means you’re constantly wondering what it might do next.

The Merc was unable to sustain the momentum it had built up between 62mph and 124mph. It needed 36.9sec to get to 186mph. Although it felt terrifically capable off the banking and onto the straight, with seemingly endless reserves of speed to come, after 160mph it felt challenged. Not so the Ford; it managed to bag the Merc, and recorded a convincing 33.6sec. In doing so, the GT was just one second slower between 124mph and 186mph than the Lambo.

Filling the minor placings were the Porsche and the Chevy, which both ran out of steam, and the Vanquish S. The latter’s comparatively long gearing showed that it is clearly more of a GT than the rest of the pack.
 

Top speed

The Bugatti annihilated the top speed of each of its supercar rivals with a run of 250mph (249.84mph, to be exact). The way it manages to compress time with its sheer speed is breathtaking, and goes a long way to justifying the gobsmacking $1.6m price tag. It isn’t relaxing to drive when you’re licking along at over four miles per minute, but it doesn’t ask any more of its driver than the other cars. All that was really required was a heavy right foot and some steely determination heading out of the banked curves onto the back straight. In fact, it gets better the faster you go: the stability increases markedly as the rear spoiler deploys, and the front air ducts are automatically blanked off to reduce the build-up of pressure within the front end. It was only in the final push where its aerodynamic properties begin to feel the pinch. In the end, we didn’t quite manage to verify the official top speed of 252mph, but as we approached the southern turnaround point on Ehra-Lessien’s back straight we saw 250mph flash up on our data recorder.

It topped the Lamborghini by 38mph. Take nothing away from the Murciélago, though; after scrapping with the 599 all day, it finally got the better of its Italian neighbor, with 211mph on its final run.

Also bounding back into contention was the Ford, which reached 205mph courtesy of its slippery shape. In doing so, the $150,000 machine dumped the $450,000 SLR back to fifth place.

The most pleasing factor about the top speed runs was the resurgence of the Aston Martin, which pipped the Corvette Z06 by 1mph at 197mph. It’s not quite the 200mph promised by Aston, but we’ve got a feeling our car wasn’t in the best of health. That left the Porsche at 193mph and the Dodge on 185mph.

It’s patently clear the Bugatti is on an altogether higher performance plane than the rest of the field assembled here, but at that eye-watering price, it also costs more than the cheapest five cars here put together. So you could take the Bugatti or be content with a stable including the Ferrari, Ford, Porsche, Dodge and Chevrolet.

But that’s not really the point. After a long but memorable day in nine of the most potent road cars ever, we’d found an answer to question we’d come to settle: the Bugatti is the boss.
Greg Kable/Autocar
 

Link: CHASING 250 MPH: The World's Fastest Cars Tested

Written by: Autocar staff
References: autocar and speedtv

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