[imagesource: Wikimedia Commons]

The Ferrari F40 (above) was the first production vehicle to crack 200 miles per hour (mph).

It did so in 1987, and soon after that, the Italian stallion’s speedometer registered 201.

From then on, the supercar industry has had ample time to ramp things up, with the race to enter the 300 mph club well and truly underway.

A bevvy of new hypercars started popping up in early 2020 making promises of at least 300 mph, but the fastest production cars are going well beyond that marker now.

Koenigsegg, Hennessey, and Bugatti have been fervently competing all this time, but in 2019, Bugatti bested the rest by achieving a staggering 304,7 mph.

Last year, SSC North America made history, marking the SSC Tuatara as the second fastest production car in the world, at least for now, notes Robb Report, which has updated its list of the fastest cars in the world.

The publication lists 25 of the fastest production cars on the planet, with the Porsche 918 Spyder as the last on the list, managing a speed of 218 mph.

On the other end of the list is the world’s fastest car, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport for its top-notch speed of 304,7 mph:

In 2019, pilot Andy Wallace railed a tweaked-version of the 1,600 hp, 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged Chiron Super Sport around the Ehra-Lessien track. The modifications included lengthening the body by 10 inches, lowering it and giving it a new rear aero kit, as well as a new exhaust setup. The real heroes, however, were the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that were x-rayed before fitment to ensure perfect structural integrity.

Watch the Chiron hit its record-breaking speed below:

Then, there’s the Bugatti Bolide that claims to hit speeds of 311 mph:

Inspired by the Molsheim manufacturer’s Vision Le Mans concept, Bugatti’s Bolide combines its fantastical X-themed design language with the brand’s unprecedented W-16 power plant to yield an estimated top speed in excess of 311 mph.

Bolstered by a lightweight monocoque incorporating titanium and carbon fiber, the Bolide presents a sci-fi aesthetic that complements what are hyped to be otherworldly performance figures. Those specs are promised to include a zero-to-60 mph time of less than 2 seconds.

The third fastest production car is the Hennessey Venom F5 which claims to speed along at 300+ mph:

A 6.6-litre twin-turbo V-8 pumps out 1,817 hp and 1,193 ft lbs of twist, which propels the 2,950-pound coupe to 60 mph in under two seconds.

And in case you were wondering, its name is an homage to the F5 category of tornados, the most intense level possible on the Fujita scale.

The SSC Tuatara makes a name for itself with a speed of 295 mph, which might be a little contestable:

In October of 2020, SSC North America’s founder Jerod Shelby took his latest hypercar to a Nevada desert and hammered out a run that was touted to have averaged 316.11 mph. The internet, however, was skeptical, and shredded that session’s data in short order, negating it.

In January of 2021, Shelby decamped to proving grounds at Kennedy Space Center for a redux, bringing ample recording devices and external groups to monitor. That trial resulted in a 279.2 mph speed on a northbound run, followed by the car reaching 286.1 mph on a southbound pass. Those (certified) results average to 282.9 mph, which is more than enough to notch the SSC Tuatara above the Koenigsegg Agera RS on this list.

Then there’s the Koenigsegg Jesko, which it is claimed can hit a speed of around 278 mph. This standard-issue Jesko is anything but a standard supercar:

Propelled by a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, the Swedish manufacturer’s engine is mated to a novel Light Speed gearbox that can handle its prodigious output, which can reach 1,600 hp when running on E85 biofuel.

Even more remarkable about this wild ride are its aerodynamics, which in the (even more) limited production Jesko Attack model produce more than 3,000 pounds of downforce.

It is expected, however, that the standard model should be able to achieve (and likely exceed) Christian von Koenigsegg’s current projected top speed for it (278 mph).

For the other fastest production cars in the world, head here, although you won’t find a single Ferrari.

[source:robbreport]