What does it mean to be the firm railway car in the earth ? You could necessitate the squad behind the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport , the car that held the Guinness Book criminal record from 2010 until the title was taken off in other 2013 , and reelect within Clarence Day . The Guinness decision - God Almighty were hang up on a rule that could have disqualify the Veyron because the specific machine used to plant the platter had a deactivated swiftness limiter , which change the railcar ’s straight - off - the - saleroom - floor status . In the destruction , they decided , it did n’t matter . Or maybe you may ask the engineers behind the Hennessey Venom GT ( the machine responsible for for shortly dethrone the Bugatti ) what it meant to be the " fast " if even for a light menses of time . And in the centre of some ( though not the stroke - caller at Guinness ) the Venom GT reigns anyway .

As you ’ll see , the rules are almost everything , and even the fastest cars in the world can get caught up on small details , no matter what thespeedometersays . That ’s why the Guinness Book of World Records has an official documentation process for cars seek to lay claim the title . Most hoi polloi turn to the book as the federal agency on this matter , but in some cases , the ranking are candid to deliberate . And , what if a car has the chop to make it on the list , but has n’t been certified by the Guinness Book ? Such a berth can spur even more disputation .

Every inclination has its own criteria , and even though we are n’t the Guinness Book of World Records , we do need to mention some of our own . First , only street - legal yield car qualify . That ’s a pretty vernacular regulation for this type of listing , and , to put it simply , that means modified motorcar or one - offs do n’t reckon . Theoretically , this ensures a degree playacting field because we ’re talking about cars that have to be design so that anyone could grease one’s palms one and legally take it anywhere . ( Obviously , receive the money to do so is another issue entirely . ) In the case of a necktie for the same top focal ratio , the immediate one , the one with the fast 0 to 60 - mile - per - hour ( 96.6 - kilometer - per - hour ) acceleration time , take the honor ( even though that ’s more along the line of the " quickest motorcar , " which is another fight entirely ) .

That said , if you ever get the chance to ride in – or even see – one of these beauties in person , you probably wo n’t care about which one is technically the fastest , or why . And nor should you .

10: Pagani Huayra: 230 miles per hour (370.1 kilometers per hour)

The Pagani Huayra comes from Italy , like so many record - setting car before it . Though Pagani has only been established since 1992 , the troupe quickly gained a repute among motorsports enthusiasts , both for its amazing auto and its gift for working with carbon fiber – the strong , lightweight , expensive fabric that ’s become one of the go - to composites for six- and even seven - form vehicles . In fact , the party ’s founder , Argentinian Horacio Pagani , formerly managed composite material for Lamborghini . The Huayra was introduced in 2011 . It ’s powered by a matching - turbo , 6 - liter , V-12 locomotive engine borrowed from Mercedes - Benz , and the Huayra is known for its track artistry as well as its amphetamine in a straightforward line of credit . There was a morsel of drama in February of 2013 , when the Huayra break the record for the lap time on the trial run caterpillar tread at thetelevisionshow " Top Gear " and was right away accused of using illegal tires , but the smoke clear and the " Top Gear " track record stand . It ’s not the Guinness Book disc for the fastest top swiftness , of course , but the Huayra can obviously excel in dissimilar environments , and we do lie with a multitasker .

9: Zenvo ST1: 233 miles per hour (375 kilometers per hour)

What ’s the most hefty plaything to come out of Denmark in recent memory ? If you guessedLEGO bricks , you ’re not even nigh . This plaything is definitely undesirable for the kids . Zenvo ’s atomic number 6 fiber ST1 , introduced in 2009 , is equipped with a 7 - cubic decimeter , V-8 locomotive that put 1,250poniesto the rear wheels . Zenvo wins distributor point for exclusivity , too : role are jaw - droppingly expensive , and any extensive mend require the car to be shipped back to the country of origin . Just three deterrent example of the 15 - elevator car product running play were allocated to the United States , prompting a rush for the perquisite of paying the base cost of $ 1.8 million . That would buy a lot of plastic building pulley .

8: McLaren F1: 240 miles per hour (386.2 kilometers per hour)

When theMcLaren F1was introduced , it had an prescribed top speed of 231 miles per hour ( 371.8 kilometers per hr ) , but that upper limit has been pushed a little higher since then . McLaren Automotive , the British automaker , introduce the F1 coupe in 1992 , released the first production framework for sale in 1994 , and canceled it in 1998 . However , it still bind its space among the fast cable car in the humankind more than 20 years after its entry and more than 15 years after the last examples left the manufactory .

The McLaren F1 quickly became known not only for its hurrying , but for its alone cockpit layout . The driver is positioned centre and forth of the auto ’s two passenger seats , offering an undivided vantage percentage point . power by a BMW - source , 6.1 - liter V-12 engine , the McLaren F1 render something dissimilar to buyers looking for asports carthat stood away from the pack , and the car ’s design has stand the test of time .

7: Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo: 248 miles per hour (399.1 kilometers per hour)

It ’s rare to see an American car keep back its own against the Europeans on a leaning such as this , but we ’re deck with a precious few . Saleen is found in Corona , Calif. , and got its scratch tuning Mustangs before branching out into create its own supercars . The original Saleen S7 , which was released in 2003 , boast a racy 7 - cubic decimeter , V-8Ford powerplant – along the same lines as those used forNASCAR . A couple years later , Saleen decided to hunt down down the Bugatti Veyron and its ilk , and updated the S7 with a pair of Garrett turbos . The twin - turbo setup was supposedly the programme all along , but Saleen decided to get down ( relatively ) small and upgrade when the penury arose . Chasing down the Earth ’s profligate cars was plainly sufficient justification for pushing this goliath to the 750 - horsepower mark . Saleen go on to produce this coupe in small numbers until 2009 , but by then , the S7 Twin - Turbo had already made its mark .

6: Koenigsegg CCR: 250 miles per hour (402.3 kilometers per hour)

This submission was a niggling challenging to classify out , because the Swedish auto maker Koenigsegg made two cars with like specs and alike name , the CCR and the CCX , and top-10 listing elsewhere on theInternetrefer to the models as if they were standardised .

For a while , the Koenigsegg CCR held the top slot with a report top - speed of 250.7 miles per hour ( 403.5 kilometer per hour ) . Koenigsegg ’s Web site says the CCR took the Guinness record at the clip , although , with just 14 CCRs produced , Guinness must have waived its essential that 30 cars must have been build for a model to qualify as aproduction vehicle(or the requirement was instated afterwards ) . In 2006 , Koenigsegg phased out the CCR and brought in the CCX , which was designed specifically to foregather United States safety and discharge standard . Like the CCR , Koenigsegg build just 14 CCXs over five long time , so this car is super rare , and its eligibility for the Guinness record is confutative at well . And , like the CCR , its top speed is estimated at about 245 miles per hr ( 394.3 kilometers per hour ) . It might be easy to fuddle the two cars , but sources agree that the criminal record - setting run was made in 2005 , which narrows it down .

5: 9ff GT9-R: 257 miles per hour (413.6 kilometers per hour)

The GT9 - R , from the German Porsche piano tuner 9ff , was limited to just 20 machine . That might help explicate why the company did n’t make a big deal about trying to chase down any prescribed records . Or maybe 9ff just did n’t care , conceive instead that this car speaks for itself . The GT9 - R is essentially a reconfigured Porsche 911 , powered by a 4 - liter , six - cylinder pugilist engine that push the horsepower well into the four - figure grasp . Really . The 9ff GT - R has 1,120 - H.P. .

Though the 9ff GT9 - R became known for being one of the first street - effectual subspecies railway car to pass over the 400 - kilometer - per - hour threshold , and it was before long certify that the auto could in reality go quite a bit faster than the equivalent 248.5 Roman mile per minute – but that accomplishment did n’t result in celebrity and luck . Instead , 9ff filed for bankruptcy in late 2013 , so it ’s unbelievable they ’ll be churning out any more monsters , Porsche - base or otherwise .

4: SSC Ultimate Aero: 257 miles per hour (413.6 kilometers per hour)

The Ultimate Aero , which actually held the speed record for a while , comes from Washington - based SSC North America , formerly know as Shelby SuperCars . This vehicle eschew electronic drive aids such as adhesive friction control and anti - lock pasture brake , instead concentrating on the purity of its speed . The Ultimate Aero that made the 2007 speed - book runs was power by asuperchargedV-8 sourced from Chevrolet . After some examination at theNASAfacility , the Ultimate Aero raced down Highway 93 in Nevada that March , and the Guinness - O.K. run was in Washington in September . Guinness harbinger that they had verified the new disk that October , in brief preempt the Bugatti Veyron from the top spot .

And for those keeping track , the 257 mile per hour ( 413.6 kilometre per time of day ) statistic does tie with the 9ff GT9 - R , but the Ultimate Aero ’s 2.7 - second 0 to 60 international mile per 60 minutes ( 96.6 km per minute ) dash throw it the edge .

3: Koenigsegg Agera R: 260 miles per hour (418.4 kilometers per hour)

Yeah , the Brassica napus napobrassica made the listing again – this prison term with the Koenigsegg Agera S. The Agera S is a more formidable competition for a top - slot than the CCR . It swash a " theoretical " top amphetamine of 273 miles per hour ( 439.4 klick per hour ) according to the manufacturer , but the good anyone ’s been able to do is about 260 Admiralty mile per minute ( 418.4 kilometers per hour ) . It ’s equip with a 5 - liter , twin - turbo V-8 , which yield a little less power than some of the competition , but the car ’s unaccented weight draw up for a lot .

Koenigsegg has been chasing Guinness earth memorialize for a while , and achieved four between 2003 and 2011 [ source : Spinelli ] . The Agera R in reality thrum the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in 2011 , although not in the all - important " fast car " category . Instead , the Agera R showed off its skills by accelerating from 0 to 300 kilometers per hour ( 186.4 miles per hour ) , and then brake back down to 0 , in just 21.19 second . That beat the Veyron Super Sport ’s sentence of 25.3 seconds by a rather comfortable border . Maybe the Koenigsegg Agera R is n’t the dissolute car in the creation , but its drivers are probably pretty happy with its shew acceleration andbrakingprowess .

2: Bugatti Veyron Super Sport: 268 miles per hour (431.3 kilometers per hour)

Some Bugatti loyalists might vehemently disagree with this phone number - two ranking . retentive story short , Bugatti ’s Veyronbroke the record in 2005 , just a match month after the Koenigsegg CCR ’s victory , but the run was n’t certified by Guinness . It was , however , good enough for some fan – and anyway , Bugatti made it official later . Or , rather , they stress . When the Veyron finally made a Guinness - sanction attack in 2010 , the car reach a top speed of 267.81 miles per hour ( 431 kilometers per hr ) . Then the Guinness official get hold out that the car had its fastness limiter removed , which violated the " no modifications " rule , so Guinness foray Bugatti of its title . In the death , the Guinness Book of World Records determine the change stop number limiter did n’t change the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport ’s mechanical abilities , so the elevator car was grant the " world ’s debauched " designation . At least by Guinness . But not byHowStuffWorks .

Oh , and a notable footnote to Bugatti ’s record - setting try : They got to use the Ehra - Lessien ellipse run track owned by Bugatti ’s parent fellowship , Volkswagen . It ’s a lot less complicated than using a unbent runway or pull strip , allowing the car to establish speed rather than making the equipment driver worry about turn back in metre to see the final stage of the pavement .

1: Hennessey Venom GT: 270 miles per hour (434.5 kilometers per hour)

Hennessey , a dress shop automaker based in Sealy , Texas , primarily used components from other manufacturers to create its super - fast Venom GT . That ’s okay , according to the in general accept definition of a product car : As long as a specific measure – at least 30 – are built . However , 30 Venom GTs do n’t exist yet , and the fellowship say it plans to build only 29 . So a hand - built vehicle consist of a stretched Lotus Exige torso and a 7 - litre , Corvette Z06 engine , boosted by twoturbochargers , may or may not be a legit contender , depend on who you ask . On Feb. 14 , 2014 , the Hennessey Venom GT coiffure out to take down the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport , anyway .

The Hennessey Venom GT is so fast it call for to adopt existent estate from NASA . That ’s correct . The space shuttlecock ’s landing place airstrip was the setting for the Venom GT ’s 270.49 - mile - per - hour ( 435.3 - kilometer - per - time of day ) run . However , John Hennessey , the company ’s founder , say that NASA only allowed one run , making it ineligible for the Guinness phonograph record found on the back - to - back run standard . Even if the result is n’t official , the Venom GT ’s GPS - qualified run stole some of the Veyron Super Sport ’s thunder . The current record holder for thefastest car in the worldis the Thrust SSC , set in 1997 at 763 MPH .

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The thought of buying one of these motorcar , particularly one from a dress shop car manufacturer such as Hennessey , is nous boggling . I ’m the type of girl who feels special if the bartenders recognise me at my favorite bar ; I could n’t imagine paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege of being a VIP with one of the most single carmaker in the world . And even though I ’ve spent a little fourth dimension on some of the fine tracks of the Midwest , I just ca n’t fathom that kind of fastness . It ’s fast than I fall when I went skydiving . The reason we simple soul care about such rankings , I mean , is because it ’s a way to sense conversant with things most of us will never experience . And perhaps we all care to see the Bugattis of the world taken down a snick or two .

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