5 of the Fastest Cars in the World: And They’re Street Legal

We’ve come a long way from the Siegfried Marcus Car. The 1875 ASME landmark was not considered road-worthy on its first attempt, leading Marcus to dismantle and rebuild it into the still-operable vehicle currently on display at the Vienna Technical Museum. Although a true engineering feat of its time, the landmark won’t make it to any fast cars list with its 10-mph top speed, but it certainly deserved an honorable mention for being the first street legal automobile known to the world.

What puts the “hyper” in hypercar?

Hypercars are the most high-performance automobiles in the world: You’ll know a hypercar by its innovative design, extreme engineering, and hefty price tag. Costing millions of dollars, hypercars push to new levels of acceleration, top speed, and handling. There’s an unwritten rule that a hypercar should go from 0 to 60 mph in under 3 seconds and feature around 1,000 horsepower or more.

Hypercar vs. Supercar

While supercars are also costly, flashy, and speedy—there are levels to the game:

• Speed: A supercar will reach top speeds in the 100 to 200 mph range. A hypercar’s top speed ranges around 200 to 300 mph.
• Acceleration: Supercars go from 0 to 60 mph in under 3.5 seconds. Hypercars can do it in under 3 seconds.
• Cost: Most supercars have six-figure price tags, although some are now coming in slightly cheaper. Hypercars are in the seven-figures.
• Performance tech: Supercars don’t often include the performance data tools and recorders that are built into hypercars.
• Aesthetics: Supercar designs often evolve from their former iterations, whereas the extreme performance of hypercars can mean that aerodynamics influences unique design choices out of necessity. 
• Rareness: Production numbers are limited in both, but supercars are produced in the thousands and hypercars tend to be anywhere from 1 to 1,000.

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In short, a hypercar can be defined as a high-performance supercar. The numbers themselves are ever-changing and fluid to the state of engineering—e.g., theoretical top speeds of 330 mph are already being predicted by manufacturers in 2024.

 

What conditions does a hypercar have to meet to be street legal?

Any hypercar hoping to be sold on the U.S. market will need to satisfy the same federal standards as any ordinary automobile. Unlike Europe, the U.S. does not allow any exemptions for the low-volume manufacturing of hypercars. This means complying with safety standards, emissions, and homologation requirements. In the face of extreme performance, this can arguably be the biggest challenge of the hypercar development process.

Here are 5 of the fastest cars on the planet manufactured for road production as of 2024.

The Koenigsegg Agera RS

Top speed: 278 mph (447 kph)
Production year: 2015
Starting price: $2.6 million 
Curb weight: 3,075 lbs (1,395 kg)

Holding onto the top production car speed record is the Swedish Koenigsegg Agera RS. The undefeated top speed record of 277.87 mph was set on November 4, 2017 on a public road in Nevada. Only 25 handcrafted versions of the vehicle are said to have been produced from 2015 to 2018, and it’s currently valued at around $10 million. With its advanced aerodynamics and stability management, the Agera RS is a technology powerhouse—fully homologated for sale around the world.

The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

Top speed: 273 mph (440 kph)
Production year: 2018
Starting price: $3.7 million
Curb weight: 4,586 lbs (2,080 kg)

As rare as the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is, you do have a chance of seeing one on the street. It’s been said that the U.S. model features a rather unsightly rear bumper not seen on the European version (due to different safety standards), as well as other less noticeable modifications Bugatti was required to make for the U.S. federal version. However, the Chiron is about to get rarer: In May 2024, Bugatti announced “the end of the incomparable Chiron era,” with the final Chiron Super Sport having been hand-assembled by craftspeople in Molsheim, France. Bugatti fans have much to look forward to though—the French automobile company promised “a new chapter of unmatched performance” is on the horizon.

The 9FF GT9 

Top speed: 272 mph (437 kph)
Production year: 2012
Starting price: $960,000
Curb weight: 2,954 lbs (1,340 kg) 

9FF may not be a standard household name, but the small German car tuning company is breaking international records with its insane vehicle conversions. Founded by Jan Fatthauer, 9FF specializes in converting stock Porsche cars into street legal racing vehicles, such as their performance masterpiece, the GT9. The individually built semi-Porsche sports car boasts up to 1,400 hp that can be utilized on public roads. Fatthauer’s ability to get more than 1,000 hp out of a series engine has earned him nicknames like “The Brain” and “Engine Artist.” He leads a young team of passionate engineers, mechanics, and trainees in Dortmund, Germany. 

The Hennessey Venom GT

Top speed: 270 mph (435 kph)
Production year: 2011
Starting price: $1.8 million
Curb weight: 2,690 lbs (1,220 kg)

In 2013, the Venom GT set the world record for the fastest road legal car going from 0 to 186 mph with an average acceleration time of just 13.63 seconds. U.S. manufacturer Hennessey Performance Engineering based the Venom GT on the British Lotus Exige sports car from the 90s when John Hennessey reportedly joked about putting the Venom 1000 Twin Turbo engine in the back of a Lotus Exige. After seeing sketches of the concept, he started to seriously consider the idea. According to the Venom GT website, Hennessey stated they could “build this car with 1000+ hp and a weight well under 3000 lbs.” A mid-engine design would put the weight of the motor and transmission over the rear tires giving better traction. And design as much downforce as needed to have a car that handles like a kart on the road.

The Czinger 21C

Top speed: 268 mph (432 kph)
Production year: 2021
Starting price: $2 million
Curb weight: 2,756 lbs (1,250 kg)

The newest on this list to make it to the market is the Los Angeles based family business, Czinger Vehicles. Established in 2019 by founder and CEO Kevin Czinger and co-founder and COO Lukas Czinger, this American vehicle manufacturer is outperforming much of its European competition. The Czinger 21 is a street legal monster of a car beating out the McLaren’s lap times and being dubbed the American version of the Koenigsegg. Besides being one of the fastest cars allowed on the road, the Czinger 21C is also competing for the most sustainably manufactured slot. Stating that how we make cars does more damage to the environment than how we fuel them, Kevin Czinger focused his efforts on a sustainable production system using additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and a fully automated assembly system to build the world's first 3D-printed hypercar.

Sarah Alburakeh is a strategic content editor.