(first posted 2/10/2013) In the good old days, Cadillac was always about superlatives, most of all when it came to size
Not totally unlike the life cycle of stars; before they collapse into a black hole, they swell into red giants
So here is the Red Giant of automobiles, the biggest regular production car ever: 250 inches (635 meters)
Anyway, it’s a bit dangerous to hang around red giants just before the implode; they create a supernova
In discussing the Cadillac Fleetwood 75, it’s important to note that this was a regular production model, and not a “stretch limo”
Imperial had some spectacular Ghia-built limos for a few years, and Lincoln toyed with them too, but both were built by outside coach-builders, which made them substantially more expensive than the Fleetwood 75s
Cadillac practically had the limo market sewn up for itself for decades
And Cadillac sold around 1500-2000 every year, like clockwork
They started to come along right about the time Cadillac downsized the first time in 1977 (above)
Cutting and stretching a regular Cadillac sedan became a growing undertaking, and not just for the undertakers, but also for the coke-takers
The timing couldn’t have been worse; and coach-built stretch big Lincolns sopped up the market, as well as stretched Cadillac RWD Broughams
Cadillac managed to sell a couple of hundred per year, until they pulled the plug in 1987
The ignominious end of the long road for Fleetwood 75s
The only thing that could make these look long was the even shorter K-car Chrysler Executive Limo
I remember riding in a stretch Cadillac in the Bay Area, accompanying a beautiful Venezuelan novela star on some promotional appearances, and we were trying to watch our station in the back; not exactly a successful undertaking
Looked impressive, at the time
No way to tell whether it had Medici, Magi, or the old-school cloth
For the more adventurous or flamboyant, the Medici option is shown here, in a Fleetwood Brougham
And there’s plenty of that under the 75’s long hood: 472 cubic inches (77 liters) of air are encased in the eight cast iron cylinders (not at any given moment, though)
They churn out 220 (net) hp, and 365 ft lbs of torque at 2400 rpm
That’s a fair amount of twist, but a wee bit disappointing, given all those cubic inches
By 1976, the 500 inch motor would be standard, but torque dropped even further, to 360 ft
So who exactly would order a red Fleetwood 75?
I’m thinking this would make a good addition to the Official CC Tours fleet, for the Broughams of Eugene Tour (30 minutes max)
Just need to put in an order for some replacement Medici fabric
Postscript: Somewhat surprisingly, this Fleetwood 75 is only 15 inches longer than the 1973 Imperial, which was the longest standard-length American car, at 2353 inches
Still, the apex predators — the highest horsepower cars in the world — are a breed apart
If you want to own one, apart from needing deep pockets, you’ll probably also need an “in” at the factory to get your name on this list for the often limited production runs
The cars can cost millions of dollars, and with the impressive number of ponies under the hood, you may never get to use more than 10% of the throttle when driving the legal speed limit on the street
But at the end of the day, these high horsepower beauties are the ones that many automotive enthusiasts dream of owning
And while their numbers might be limited, a few lucky drivers will get to take these ferociously fast supercars out on the road
Highest Horsepower Cars in Production or Coming Soon
After all, the highest horsepower cars in the world are often about bragging rights, both on paper and the road
Plus, these engineering marvels boast futuristic engineering and unusual styling, making them downright beautiful as well as bloody fast
And thanks to the adoption of electric power, many of the highest horsepower cars on the market today are hypercars or full EVs Feast your eyes on some of the most powerful production cars that money can buy
Billed as America’s hypercar, this 301 mph car was designed from the ground up with high speeds in mind
Having started building supercars by essentially modifying a Lotus, John Hennessey has taken it to the next level with the 1,817 hp Hennessey Venom F5
The Venom F5 is powered by a rear-mid-mounted 66L twin-turbocharged V8
It has low-drag aero and weighs 2,998 pounds, thanks to its carbon fiber monocoque chassis
With a 0-60 mph time of 26 seconds and a top speed of 311 mph, the rear-wheel-drive Venom has no trouble translating all the power from its aptly named “Fury” V8 into raw speed
The Venom F5 is a throwback of a car that rejects modern hybrid technology in favor of brute force
If you have $21 million to spend on your next hypercar, you’re going to want to reserve one of these high horsepower cars now
It offers cold and stoic Nordic logic and brute hammer-like force to create big horsepower, rear-wheel-drive cars that push the limits of science and technology
The Jesko is the company’s latest track-focused, road-legal car for drivers looking for that do-everything supercar that turns heads in the process
The Jesko boasts a redesigned 50L twin-turbo V8 engine that produces 1,280 hp (or if you have access to E85 biofuel, you can bump that output to 1,600 hp)
The engine is paired with a 9-speed Koenigsegg Light Speed Transmission which the company claims pushes the envelope in terms of dual-clutch technology for impressively fast and nearly unnoticeable shifts
And the Jesko looks the part too, with a carbon fiber chassis and advanced aerodynamics
And it’s functional, with more headroom and greater visibility for the driver and over 2,200 pounds of downforce thanks to the aero
With a 0-60 of around 25 seconds and a top speed that flirts with the 300 mph mark, the Jesko is no slouch when you put the pedal to the floor
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport |1,578 hp
The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport needs all the downforce it can get to keep its 1,578 hp under control
The Chiron Super Sport is just an orgy of absurd numbers, from the 273 mph top speed and the 80L quad-turbocharged W-16 to the three days that every car spends in the paint inspection tunnel to ensure the finish is beyond perfect
VW brought the racing icon from the early 1900s back to life with a simple mission: to make the fastest, most powerful, most next-level hypercar in the world
Bugatti was long a PR machine for VW, effectively serving as the brand’s road-going motorsport program
In 2021, VW sold Bugatti to the Rimac Group, which may just be a hypercar match made in heaven though it remains to be seen where the partnership will take the Chiron
Hennessey may have stolen the top horsepower thunder, but in 2019 Bugatti snuck in to claim the win on top speed with the Chiron, logging a record-setting 304773 mph test run and claiming bragging rights as the first production vehicle to break the 300 mph mark
The Chiron Super Sport is four-wheel drive and one of the few highest horsepower cars here that you could feasibly use as a daily driver (if you have $39 million to spend on your daily, that is)
It’s as soft and gentle as a VW Golf until you go for the handling set-up and ignite the turbos
The British legend has been on a roll in the last few years, after hooking up with Mercedes-Benz to supply engines for the DB11 and the new Vantage
The Valkyrie is a technical exercise, designed by legendary F1 engineer Adrian Newey, and car enthusiasts around the world have fought tooth and nail to get one of the 150 models promised in 2022 production
As Aston Martin’s first hypercar, it was a joint project with Red Bull Racing that resulted in what is essentially a road-legal race car weighing just 2,270 pounds
The addition of the electric motor is good for a bump of 160 ponies, all delivered to the rear wheels via a 7-speed automatic transmission
With this weight and this power, it could be the most dramatic road car out there right now
And if you don’t need something so “ordinary” as this daily driver (which has a price tag of $3 million), Aston Martin stripped down the hypercar for an even more limited run of track-day beasts, the Valkyrie AMR Pro We think James Bond would approve
McLaren enters the hypercar game with the aptly named Speedtail, a 1,070 hp vehicle that takes top honors as both the fastest and most aerodynamically efficient car that McLaren has built to date
The distinctive tear-drop shape of this sleek hypercar helps the Speedtail hit a top speed of 250 mph
The Speedtail is outfitted with a 40L twin-turbocharged V8 and parallel hybrid system that is good for a roughly 3 second 0-60
Weighing in at 3,153 pounds, the Speedtail isn’t as light as some of its carbon fiber competitors, but you get an impressively decked-out interior that you’ll likely find worth that weight penalty
The Speedtail joins the Elva, Senna, and Senna GTR in McLaren’s Ultimate line, and it’s easy to see where it draws its inspiration
But as the pinnacle of the Ultimate series, it also isn’t surprising to see that the Speedtail tops the charts in terms of specs and stats compared to its fellow McLarens
With a starting cost of around $2 million, only 106 Speedtails are planned for production — all of which are already claimed
This is probably fine as this hypercar technically isn’t street legal in the US though McLaren notes you can take your hypercar for a spin in the countryside under the show or display law — your local Coffee and Cars club will thank you
Are you in the market for a family sedan that will hit 60 mph in under 2 seconds and top out at 200 mph?
If so, the Tesla Model S Plaid goes beyond even a ludicrous amount of horsepower with a whopping 1,020 hp
Plus there’s the torque — 1,050 lb-ft
It’s a family sedan that is rubbing shoulders with the supercar elite and able to demolish many more capable sports cars over the quarter-mile
Just plant your foot and the car will do the rest (well, with some mode adjustments) thanks to the tri-motor, all-wheel-drive platform
On the rare occasions you take over the wheel from the Autopilot system, you’ll have a devastatingly fast car underfoot
Sure it’s heavy at 4,766 pounds, but it is also scary fast in a straight line
The Tesla Model S Plaid is a weapon and a luxury car, all rolled into one
If you’re in the market for something a little different and looking for a production car you can actually own (no limited runs or already spoken for models here), you might want to take a look at the Plaid
Rimac was the lone wolf in the EV hypercar sector for a long time
Maté Rimac pioneered a technical tour de force in the Rimac Concept One and now works with car manufacturers around the world to perfect their EV systems
The Koenigsegg Regera and Aston Martin Valkyrie both have Rimac systems on board
The recently unveiled Nevera takes the Rimac C Two concept car to production
This all-electric hypercar makes a whopping 1,914 hp and is capable of a top speed of 258 mph
The Nevera also boasts a 0 to 60 sprint of 185 seconds
All that power is distributed from the H-shaped 120kWh battery via Rimac’s improved all-wheel torque vectoring system
The Nevera even has an onboard AI driving coach that uses the car’s onboard sensors to optimize your on-track performance
With a price tag of $24 million, the Nevera is a look at where the high horsepower hypercar revolution is headed
The Italian legend opted for a drop-top with the latest iteration in their hypercar lineup
The SF90 Spider has a retractable hardtop and an impressive 986 hp plug-in hybrid system, pairing a 40L V8 with three electric motors
It’s a 211 mph car that hits 60 mph in roughly 25 seconds, and the hybrid system provides torque fill and torque vectoring in this all-wheel-drive package which makes 590 lb-ft
Following in the footsteps of the Ferrari LaFerrari and SF90 Stradale, the SF90 Spider delivers top hypercar performance in a convertible package, a unique option for drivers wanting high horsepower and open-top driving
Surprisingly economical too, the two-seater Spider is rated for 20 mpg city and 24 mpg highway so you can daily this beauty if you have a spare half a million lying around
The SF90 Spider has a starting MSRP of $558,000
The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye could be considered a street-legal drag racer and for good reason
This 797 hp monster could easily devour drag strips and has a modest starting MSRP of $72,670
The stylish and burly rear-wheel-drive sedan has plenty of presence and hides a 62L supercharged V8
of torque, can smoke the tires in any of the first four gears, and hits 203 mph flat-out
And before you start complaining that the Hellcat has “only” 797 hp, keep in mind that this sedan is actually decently affordable, and one of the few cars on the list that you can order without a personal invitation
Plus, which of the other highest horsepower cars can you reasonably tote your kids around in?
If you’re in the market for a hypercar with striking looks and futuristic function, put the SSC Tuatara on your shortlist
The mid-engine hypercar comes standard with a bespoke twin-turbo V8 engine that makes 1,750 hp (when running E85 fuel) and redlines at 8,800 rpm
The V8 is paired with a CIMA 7-speed manual transmission with a robotic Automac AMT system that utilized hydraulic components for lightning-fast shifts
The carbon fiber monocoque chassis construction ensures the car is lightweight, with a 2,750-pound dry weight
Additional performance goodies include things like remote reservoir shocks and a hydraulic active rear wing
And SSC North America showcased the Tuatara’s top speed of 2829 mph in person at the Kennedy Space Center in January 2021
And before you think that the Tuatara is only made to be a track day beast, don’t overlook the fact that the car also has two other driving modes (Sport and Lift) for use on the road, and creature comforts like air conditioning, a digital touch screen, and rear and side-view cameras
You’ll be one of the highest horsepower cars on the road whether you’re running to the grocery store or burning rubber at your local track
If you’re willing to get in line for the first British all-electric hypercar, Lotus has the high horsepower beauty you’ve been looking for
The Evija promises to build on Lotus’s 70-year tradition of creating innovative and eye-catching cars
The Evija, which is currently in testing and slated to be released in 2021, certainly has its fair share of impressive stats — from the 1,973 hp to the 200+ mph top speed to the all-important EV game-changing 215 miles of range
Lotus is slated to produce 130 units all of which will run more than $2 million
Though the car will be sold in the States, it technically isn’t road legal
However, we hope this powerful electric car is paving the way for future road legal high horsepower EVs to come
The Aspark Owl is the first Japanese fully electric hypercar to hit the market, and it seems to have been worth the wait
The state-of-the-art 64 kWh lithium-ion battery system makes 1,300 kW and boasts a range of 280 miles
But the real mind-boggling stats come in terms of power and performance
The Owl has a max speed of 248 mph and the four onboard PMSM electric motors make a staggering 2,039 hp
Aspark claims the Owl is the fastest accelerating car in the world with a 0-60 of 169 seconds
The four-wheel-drive Owl is lightweight too with a carbon fiber monocoque construction
The car gets outfitted with a torque vectoring system, active aero, and ride height adjustment so you can really hone the car in for the type of drive you want
Inside, the handcrafted interior looks like something both futuristic and comfortable, as Aspark hasn’t stripped out creature comforts
The Aspark Owl, which has been several years in testing, will start with an extremely limited production run of merely 50 cars, only ten of which are rumored to be headed to the States
The Owl is reported to cost north of $35 million — this is a hypercar destined for the elite of the elite
The Future of the World’s Highest Horsepower Cars
With electric powertrains stepping onto the scene in a big way, it’s anyone’s guess what the highest horsepower cars of the future might look like
From innovative brands like Tesla pushing the everyday EV game to niche brands like Rimac creating limited runs of high horsepower hypercars, the sky seems to be the limit for the horsepower of the supercars yet to come