Forbes rates the 10 fastest American cars
Forbes.com recently searched high and low for the 10 fastest American cars to grace the planet Earth and came up with a pretty impressive list. At the top is the SSC Ultimate Aero (shown), with a trim V8 (no, that isn't a typo) that produces a stunning 1,046 horsepower and a maximum speed of 260-273 mph. We'll get our fill of the Aero soon as the car is being featured in upcoming issues of The Robb Report, Motor Trend and Road & Track. Also gracing the list is the Saleen S7 Twin Turbo that tops out at 240-260 mph, the Ford GT at 205 mph and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with a top speed of 198 mph. Of special interest were the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Magnum SRT8s, which tied for ninth place, and the Caddy CTS-V in 10th, which are arguably the only cars on that list you would actually want to drive year-round.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Joseph Willemssen 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
The H2 and Aveo didn't make the list? Go figure. :)
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Mal Fuller 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
"Forbes rates the 10 fastest American cars"
Did Forbes actually rate these cars, or did they just rank them?
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Brian Lee 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
You have to be kidding me, the Charger/300c and the CTS-V?? That is pretty funny. Oh wait, only American cars, I guess that makes sense then.
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Colin 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
I'm not sure I understand the point in ranking cars based on what the manufacturers say they'll do - especially from an unknown manufacturer like SSC. I think it's a bit odd that none of their videos give any quantitative info - the quarter mile doesn't have timing, and both dyno videos don't actually show a dyno readout, just "hey look, we put it on a dyno!"
Lets wait till they have third party verified tests before claiming it's the fastest, yeah?
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Rob Faltinson 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Sounds like there needs to be a head-to-head competition between the SSC Ultimate Aero and the Bugatti EB16.
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Fred 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
I agree with Colin. If you are going to list the claimed performance numbers then put "claimed" in front of it. Same for the Saleen. The only way that car will see 273 mph is in the belly of an airplane when they ship it to the Sultan of Brunai.
When the car mags test these cars they should test the cars with pump gas only. Don't say you have the fastest production car if you have to go to the track to find gas for it. Now if it was powered my a Mr Fusion then you could refuel anywhere and that would OK.
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John 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Post #3 Brian Lee.....
I concur.
I give credit to the Corvette Z06 for making the top half of the list for its price.
If it would be a world's list the Z06 may not even make the list. The M and AMG cars from BMW and MB would easily make the list.
Those Hemi powered cars would not even register in the top 20 or even 30.
Goes to show that aside from a handful of cars American brand cars are not made for speed but rather torque.
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Corey W. 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Wow!! American cars get bashed on an American only list!! Give me a break. Hell, if they did fastest cars in the WORLD, few stock M or AMG wouldn't even be close to top 20. Who cares!! Rate the article on what it is, why does every topic get turned into to some sort of bashing whether it be import or domestic..
"Goes to show that aside from a handful of cars American brand cars are not made for speed but rather torque." Huh!! What?? Explain if you want, although I can't imagine how you would validate this...
I agreee on the "claimed" rankings, some of those numbers are definitely off. I think they just looked at stats on paper and listed the 10 fastest. Hey, what happened to Shelby, Cobra, Mustang GT. I thought the last head-2-head (R&D) between the new Mustang and Changer, the Mustang came out on top.
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Brian Lee 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Actually it wasn't American Car bashing. In the middle of my post I realized that it was only American Cars, but I decided to finish the post anyway. It really is quite a stupid article anyway, unless you get them on a track it means nothing. My 2005 WRX can go an estimated 221 MPH. See I can do it too, wohoo. I think Motor Trend did it right a few months ago when they got a bunch of those cars and actually tested them. Estimated top speeds don't hold a lot of value in my mind.
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Brian Lee 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
PS. if you get your car information out of Forbes, ummmm yeah, good luck with that....
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Nick 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Anyone besides me notice that the SSC Ultimate Aero has Ford Focus headlights? Granted, they're the HID lights only available in euro and a select few US models, but I thought it was amusing. On the other hand I understand that economies of scale prevent manufacturers from creating bespoke componentry but it doesn't keep me from chuckling now and again.
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Brian Lee 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
I kind of looks like a cross between a Jaguar xj220 and a Maclaren.
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B. Horn 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
To clear this all up, Forbes is only looking at cars produced this year.
Otherwise, they would have included the Mosler Raptor(175 mph) and the Vector W8 (218 mph).
Most American supercars end in mystery like the Vision K2 and the whole Cunningham Car Company, which was touted by Bob Lutz...
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Gandhi 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
There is no way the SSC can hit 260-273 mph.
Those Forbes editors are a bunch of morons. They just like to list stats and try to pawn it off as business journalism. Forbes 500 - biggest companies, most expensive homes, richest americans. They have an obsession with a top 10 list. I can do that too using publicly available info.
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Joe Cheng 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
>> If it would be a world's list the Z06 may not even make the list. The M and AMG cars from BMW and MB would easily make the list. <<
This list is just about top speed, which on MBs (except SLR) and BMWs is still limited to 155mph AFAIK.
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Brian Lee 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Yeah, pretty much no BMW would have a chance at that list. But obviously Ferrari, Lambo, Porsche, and possibly Mercedes would be on there. The only BMW I can think of that would have a chance would be the Z8, but I think that was limited in the 160's.
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Aaron O. 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Brian Lee.. what are saying?? that the charger/300c isn't good enough for caddy or the other way around. If it's the first way around i hope everyone points and laughs at you when you walk by. the 300srt-8 is as fast as the CTS-V if not more.. not really sure on that. If you haven't checked out the new models from DCX maybe you should.. i liked them alot better than cadillac
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Brian Lee 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
I don't remember comparing the CTS-V and the SRT8, but hey, good call on that. So what did you say?? How can a car not be good enough for another car?? That doesn't make any sense. And you are right the SRT8 and the CTS-V are very comperable cars, but maybe you should re-read the post before you make a comment like that.
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Richard 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Um, that's 1046hp on race gas for the SSC. The spec sheet says that's on 104 octane.
Although, I suppose if you can afford the car, you can afford your own race gas stockpile. But it doesn't make for a fair comparison to other vehicles running 93 octane.
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Aaron O. 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
You have to be kidding me, the Charger/300c and the CTS-V?? That is pretty funny. Oh wait, only American cars, I guess that makes sense then.
Brian Lee.. Thank you for pointing this out for me. I did not fully interpet what you were trying to say. I thought you were inferring something else. Sorry for the misunderstanding
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