Bartek S.
Aerodynamic Ace
Timing cars as they sprint from zero-to-60 mph is a slippery business--literally and figuratively.
Though car makers such as Porsche, Chevrolet and Lamborghini sell autos boasting under-four-second zero-to-60 times, some say it's not as simple as putting the pedal to the metal. That's because often the world's most powerful cars have more horsepower than their tires can handle.
Picture this: If a driver simply floors the gas from a standing start, he will probably smoke the tires and skid in place. Either that, or traction control will intervene by slowing the engine and applying the brakes, until the tires stop skidding. The car will stutter-step until the tires get a grip on the road.
"With these cars, it’s all about how much grip there is on a given day, on a given street, in a given location," said Wayne Corley, who co-owns RUF Auto Centre in Dallas, the sole U.S. dealership for Germany’s RUF Automobile GmbH.
That means that it’s hard for anybody, even a professional driver or a talented amateur, to duplicate a given zero-to-60 mph.
Yet shoppers for high-performance cars often check out zero-to-60 mph times before they look at other, seemingly more important specifications, even including price.
Buyer beware.
Besides repeatability, there are several other, more figuratively slippery aspects of "official" zero-to-60 mph times.
Numbers Game
For one, manufacturers obviously want a low number--but not so low that no halfway ordinary customer can ever achieve it. Therefore, many companies offer conservative official times, says Corley.
"That makes these official numbers sort of a worst-case scenario," he said. The RUF CTR3 can "almost certainly" top its listed time of 3.2 seconds, zero-to-60 mph, Corley says.
Another apples-to-oranges factor is that many European brands, even ones that sell more cars in the U.S. than they do in their home markets, have stuck with the metric system when it comes to on-track testing. Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari, for instance, only keep an "official" number for zero-to-100 kilometers per hour, or about 62 mph. Mercedes-Benz spokesman Rob Moran said a rough rule of thumb is to shave off about one-tenth of a second for the difference. Ferrari spokesman Toscan Bennett agreed that’s probably about right, so that’s how we estimated brands that only provided numbers for zero-to-62 mph.
In some cases, a difference in ranking on the list is literally a matter of rounding one way or the other. Lamborghini says its Gallardo coupe goes from zero-to-62 mph in 3.95 seconds, whereas other brands round up to the nearest tenth of a second. For consistency's sake, we rounded 3.95 seconds to 4.0 seconds, and subtracted one-tenth, to come up with a conservative estimate of 3.9 seconds zero-to-60 mph.
One thing's for sure: In a 55-mph zone, any one of these cars could earn you a speeding ticket in less than four seconds flat.
Fastest Zero-To-60 Cars - Forbes.com
Bugatti Veyron: 2.5 seconds
The car maker says the quadruple-turbocharged, W-16 engine (think two V-8s) in its Veyron 16.4 produces 1,001 hp. In turn, that results in a blistering zero-to-60 mph time of around 2.5 seconds, according to reviews. Since production began in late 2005, cars have been built exclusively to order. Suggested retail in the U.S. is around $1.4 million, depending on the dollar-euro exchange rate.
SSC Ultimate Aero TT: 2.8 seconds (tie)
SSC Autos LLC says its Ultimate Aero TT model, which is unrelated to the Audi TT, has a zero-to-60 mph time of about 2.8 seconds (OK, 2.78 seconds). Suggested retail is $549,000. Junus Khan, SSC sales director, said only one dealer, Motorcars of Las Vegas, sells the car. It has a twin-turbocharged V-8 engine that generates 1,183 hp, Khan said.
Saleen S7: 2.8 seconds (tie)
The outrageously styled Saleen S7 is one of the few cars in the world with a claimed zero-to-60 mph sprint of less than three seconds, or 100 mph in 5.9 seconds, thanks to a twin-turbocharged, 750-hp V8 engine. The body is made of light but strong "honeycomb" composite panels. Suggested retail is $592,700. Saleen also builds cars strictly for the race track.
RUF CTR3: 3.2 seconds
The CTR3’s zero-to-60 mph figure is conservative, said Wayne Corley, who co-owns the brand’s sole U.S. dealership, RUF Auto Centre in Dallas. RUF (all-capitals), is named for founder Alois Ruf, Sr. The company modifies factory Porsches in Germany, to perform even better. RUF also builds its own cars, like the CTR 3, which still shares some parts with the Porsche 911 GT3. Suggested retail is about $520,000, depending on the exchange rate.
Porsche 911 Turbo 3.4 seconds
The 911 Turbo is one of the few cars where the factory’s official zero-to-60 time for the automatic transmission is faster than the manual (by 0.3 seconds). That is due to Porsche’s famously quick Tiptronic transmission, an automatic that can also be shifted manually, without a clutch. The 480-hp 911 Turbo has 3.6-liter, six-cylinder, twin-turbocharged engine. Suggested retail: $122,900.
Mercedes-Benz SLR 722 Edition: 3.5 seconds (estimate)
The SLR 722 Edition, named for a winner of the famous Mille Miglia race in Italy, is the fastest Mercedes-Benz to 60 mph. Like other European makers, Mercedes-Benz more often cites the zero-to-62 mph figure, 3.6 seconds in this case. That’s the equivalent of 100 kilometers per hour. Spokesman Rob Moran estimated 3.5 seconds to 60 mph. Suggested retail: $482,750
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano: 3.6 seconds (estimate)
Like Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari is another maker that only records an "official" time for zero-to-62 mph--in this case, 3.7 seconds for the 599 GTB Fiorano, said spokesman Toscan Bennett. He added that Ferrari’s official times are probably conservative, since "buff book" magazines have achieved faster times in testing. The 599 GTB Fiorano has a 611-hp V12 engine. Suggested retail is $280,295
Chevrolet Corvette Z06: 3.7 seconds
The Z06 is GM’s fastest production car ever. It has a 7.0-liter, V8 engine, boasting 505 hp, vs. "only" 6.0 liters of displacement and 400 hp for the standard Corvette. Extensive use of metals like titanium, aluminum and magnesium, plus carbon fiber and composites, make the Z06 strong but relatively light, considering the huge engine. Suggested retail is $70,000.
Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe: 3.9 seconds (estimate, tie)
The dramatically low-slung Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe has a 520-hp, mid-mounted V10 engine. The company says the Gallardo hits 62 mph in 3.95 seconds. The Gallardo is built on a lightweight aluminum frame, covered with glossy, plastic body panels. All-wheel drive is standard. Like other Lamborghinis, the Gallardo is named for a breed of fighting bull. Suggested retail is $178,550.
Dodge Viper SRT-10: 3.9 seconds (tie)
The 2008 Viper SRT10 goes on sale later this summer. It has a new, 8.4-liter V10 engine that produces 600 hp. Dodge officially states that a conservative estimate for its zero-to-60 mph time is "under four seconds," but won’t say exactly how much under, according to spokesman Todd Goyer. Pricing for the 2008 model has not been released yet but should be around $90,000.
Though car makers such as Porsche, Chevrolet and Lamborghini sell autos boasting under-four-second zero-to-60 times, some say it's not as simple as putting the pedal to the metal. That's because often the world's most powerful cars have more horsepower than their tires can handle.
Picture this: If a driver simply floors the gas from a standing start, he will probably smoke the tires and skid in place. Either that, or traction control will intervene by slowing the engine and applying the brakes, until the tires stop skidding. The car will stutter-step until the tires get a grip on the road.
"With these cars, it’s all about how much grip there is on a given day, on a given street, in a given location," said Wayne Corley, who co-owns RUF Auto Centre in Dallas, the sole U.S. dealership for Germany’s RUF Automobile GmbH.
That means that it’s hard for anybody, even a professional driver or a talented amateur, to duplicate a given zero-to-60 mph.
Yet shoppers for high-performance cars often check out zero-to-60 mph times before they look at other, seemingly more important specifications, even including price.
Buyer beware.
Besides repeatability, there are several other, more figuratively slippery aspects of "official" zero-to-60 mph times.
Numbers Game
For one, manufacturers obviously want a low number--but not so low that no halfway ordinary customer can ever achieve it. Therefore, many companies offer conservative official times, says Corley.
"That makes these official numbers sort of a worst-case scenario," he said. The RUF CTR3 can "almost certainly" top its listed time of 3.2 seconds, zero-to-60 mph, Corley says.
Another apples-to-oranges factor is that many European brands, even ones that sell more cars in the U.S. than they do in their home markets, have stuck with the metric system when it comes to on-track testing. Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari, for instance, only keep an "official" number for zero-to-100 kilometers per hour, or about 62 mph. Mercedes-Benz spokesman Rob Moran said a rough rule of thumb is to shave off about one-tenth of a second for the difference. Ferrari spokesman Toscan Bennett agreed that’s probably about right, so that’s how we estimated brands that only provided numbers for zero-to-62 mph.
In some cases, a difference in ranking on the list is literally a matter of rounding one way or the other. Lamborghini says its Gallardo coupe goes from zero-to-62 mph in 3.95 seconds, whereas other brands round up to the nearest tenth of a second. For consistency's sake, we rounded 3.95 seconds to 4.0 seconds, and subtracted one-tenth, to come up with a conservative estimate of 3.9 seconds zero-to-60 mph.
One thing's for sure: In a 55-mph zone, any one of these cars could earn you a speeding ticket in less than four seconds flat.
Fastest Zero-To-60 Cars - Forbes.com
Bugatti Veyron: 2.5 seconds
The car maker says the quadruple-turbocharged, W-16 engine (think two V-8s) in its Veyron 16.4 produces 1,001 hp. In turn, that results in a blistering zero-to-60 mph time of around 2.5 seconds, according to reviews. Since production began in late 2005, cars have been built exclusively to order. Suggested retail in the U.S. is around $1.4 million, depending on the dollar-euro exchange rate.
SSC Ultimate Aero TT: 2.8 seconds (tie)
SSC Autos LLC says its Ultimate Aero TT model, which is unrelated to the Audi TT, has a zero-to-60 mph time of about 2.8 seconds (OK, 2.78 seconds). Suggested retail is $549,000. Junus Khan, SSC sales director, said only one dealer, Motorcars of Las Vegas, sells the car. It has a twin-turbocharged V-8 engine that generates 1,183 hp, Khan said.
Saleen S7: 2.8 seconds (tie)
The outrageously styled Saleen S7 is one of the few cars in the world with a claimed zero-to-60 mph sprint of less than three seconds, or 100 mph in 5.9 seconds, thanks to a twin-turbocharged, 750-hp V8 engine. The body is made of light but strong "honeycomb" composite panels. Suggested retail is $592,700. Saleen also builds cars strictly for the race track.
RUF CTR3: 3.2 seconds
The CTR3’s zero-to-60 mph figure is conservative, said Wayne Corley, who co-owns the brand’s sole U.S. dealership, RUF Auto Centre in Dallas. RUF (all-capitals), is named for founder Alois Ruf, Sr. The company modifies factory Porsches in Germany, to perform even better. RUF also builds its own cars, like the CTR 3, which still shares some parts with the Porsche 911 GT3. Suggested retail is about $520,000, depending on the exchange rate.
Porsche 911 Turbo 3.4 seconds
The 911 Turbo is one of the few cars where the factory’s official zero-to-60 time for the automatic transmission is faster than the manual (by 0.3 seconds). That is due to Porsche’s famously quick Tiptronic transmission, an automatic that can also be shifted manually, without a clutch. The 480-hp 911 Turbo has 3.6-liter, six-cylinder, twin-turbocharged engine. Suggested retail: $122,900.
Mercedes-Benz SLR 722 Edition: 3.5 seconds (estimate)
The SLR 722 Edition, named for a winner of the famous Mille Miglia race in Italy, is the fastest Mercedes-Benz to 60 mph. Like other European makers, Mercedes-Benz more often cites the zero-to-62 mph figure, 3.6 seconds in this case. That’s the equivalent of 100 kilometers per hour. Spokesman Rob Moran estimated 3.5 seconds to 60 mph. Suggested retail: $482,750
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano: 3.6 seconds (estimate)
Like Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari is another maker that only records an "official" time for zero-to-62 mph--in this case, 3.7 seconds for the 599 GTB Fiorano, said spokesman Toscan Bennett. He added that Ferrari’s official times are probably conservative, since "buff book" magazines have achieved faster times in testing. The 599 GTB Fiorano has a 611-hp V12 engine. Suggested retail is $280,295
Chevrolet Corvette Z06: 3.7 seconds
The Z06 is GM’s fastest production car ever. It has a 7.0-liter, V8 engine, boasting 505 hp, vs. "only" 6.0 liters of displacement and 400 hp for the standard Corvette. Extensive use of metals like titanium, aluminum and magnesium, plus carbon fiber and composites, make the Z06 strong but relatively light, considering the huge engine. Suggested retail is $70,000.
Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe: 3.9 seconds (estimate, tie)
The dramatically low-slung Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe has a 520-hp, mid-mounted V10 engine. The company says the Gallardo hits 62 mph in 3.95 seconds. The Gallardo is built on a lightweight aluminum frame, covered with glossy, plastic body panels. All-wheel drive is standard. Like other Lamborghinis, the Gallardo is named for a breed of fighting bull. Suggested retail is $178,550.
Dodge Viper SRT-10: 3.9 seconds (tie)
The 2008 Viper SRT10 goes on sale later this summer. It has a new, 8.4-liter V10 engine that produces 600 hp. Dodge officially states that a conservative estimate for its zero-to-60 mph time is "under four seconds," but won’t say exactly how much under, according to spokesman Todd Goyer. Pricing for the 2008 model has not been released yet but should be around $90,000.
