The Quickest Cars We Tested in 2023
Our annual list of the fastest cars shows that the golden age of gas-powered performance is being threatened by hella quick EVs and hybrids.
Our roster of more than 200 vehicles tested in 2023 was stacked with everything from pickup trucks to Porsches, EVs to V-8s, and the economical to the extravagant. The slowest car of the year, the 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid, needed 9.7 seconds to hit 60 mph—an eternity compared to the 10 quickest vehicles we tested in 2023. But that's enough about the slow stuff.
The ten cars that got our hearts racing hardest in the past year made between 518 and 1,513 horsepower, a spread that reveals just how different the contenders on this list are. Some are lightweight, purist sports cars while others are technological heavyweights on the cutting edge of the electric revolution. Based on quarter-mile time and trap speed, these are the quickest cars MotorTrend tested in 2023.
10. 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT
0-60 mph:2.9 seconds
Quarter mile:11.2 seconds @ 121.5 mph
While it slayed a handful of records during its test session, the 2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante missed our list of the quickest cars of the year by one tenth of a second. That makes the 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT the only SUV to sneak into this year's top ten. Within 28 feet of the start line, the Cayenne Turbo GT had reached 30 mph. That speed figure doubled to 60 mph at a record-breaking time of 2.9 seconds, making it the quickest SUV to 60 mph that MotorTrend has ever tested. Do you want these bragging rights parked in your garage? Spec your Turbo GT just like our tester and it'll ding you just over $200,000.
9. 2023 BMW M4 CSL
0-60 mph:3.2 seconds
Quarter mile:11.1 seconds @ 128.8 mph
Quick German lesson: CSL stands for Coupé Sport Leichtbau. That's "lightweight" auf Englisch. Making this car worthy of that historic acronym meant shaving more than 100 pounds from an M4 Competition with a titanium exhaust, M carbon-ceramic brakes, forged wheels, springs, and struts, and a rear-seat delete. The "Sport" in the name is earned with a set of sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires and a 40-hp bump that turns up the twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six to 543 horses. The M4 CSL's launch control system starts in second gear, which makes for an anticlimactic but effective start. Even though the CSL doesn't have the traction benefit of all-wheel drive, it's still the quickest M3 or M4 we've ever tested through the quarter mile.
8. 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
0-60 mph:2.8 seconds
Quarter mile:10.9 seconds @ 126.8 mph
With its movable rear-wing drag-reduction system the 911 GT3 RS is said to make 895 pounds of downforce at 124 mph. If we had strapped on our downforce-o-meter during the August test session, we might have recorded a similar value as the car cooked through the quarter mile at 126.8 mph. The downward thrust, and other engineering marvels, make the 911 GT3 RS the most track-capable production model the automaker has ever produced.
7. 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
0-60 mph:2.6 seconds
Quarter mile:10.6 seconds @ 128.0 mph
Though hearing "hybrid Corvette" might leave Boomers quaking in their New Balances, the AWD E-Ray delivers some impressive track numbers. Here's the formula: mid-mounted 495-hp small-block V-8, Stingray chassis, 160-hp front electric motor, wider Z06 bodywork, carbon-ceramic brakes, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. You'll have to stumble through a maze of button presses and knob turns to unlock launch control, but that's arguably the only slow thing about this American arrow. Our test drivers watched the needles on the E-Ray and the Z06 pass 60 mph in exactly 2.6 seconds. Bizarrely, that's a disappointment of sorts, as Chevy claims this car is the quickest Corvette ever and should hit 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. As far as we're concerned, the Z06 is still the king of Corvettes, by the smallest margin.
6. 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with Z07 package
0-60 mph:2.6 seconds
Quarter mile:10.6 seconds @ 129.5 mph
Our long-term Corvette Z06 went to the test track armed with the Z07 performance package, an unbridled 670-hp flat-plane-crank V-8, and the factory street alignment rather than the track setup. While that last detail had an impact on cornering grip and the figure-eight lap time, it did nothing to hold back the Z06's landscape-blurring acceleration. The car that we called "the best American sports car ever made" belts out an unhinged war cry from its pipes as it revs to 8,600 rpm, which would be enough to settle the tiebreaker with the E-Ray if our editors were judging. Our test equipment came to the same conclusion, as the Z06 carried half a breath's worth more speed through the quarter mile and emerged victorious.
5. 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo S
0-60 mph:2.4 seconds
Quarter mile:10.2 seconds @ 136.0 mph
Not to spoil any fun of the hit MotorTrend+ showHead 2 Head Drag Race, but the fellas hit the runway where they pitted the 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo S against the 1,050-hp Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance. Can EVs beat supercar stalwarts? You'll have to tune into the show for the details, but we can give you a small hint: Yes.
4. 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance
0-60 mph:2.6 seconds
Quarter mile:10.0 seconds @ 146.0 mph
Still think EVs are slow, unexciting appliances? That kind of thinking is about a decade out of date. Startup automaker Lucid makes some of the most luxurious and quickest sedans you can buy, with no caveats about what's powering the wheels. After experiencing the arresting thrust of our long-term Air Grand Touring Performance during initial testing, we had the irresistible urge to drag race the thing. Lining up against gas-swilling, purpose-built drag racers at a Michigan dragstrip, the Air earned more respect than skepticism.
Read our dragstrip test with the 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance.
3. 2022 Ferrari SF90 Spider
0-60 mph:2.3 seconds
Quarter mile:9.8 seconds @ 146.0 mph
Tipping the checkbook at over $650,000, the 986-hp Ferrari SF90 Spider was the most expensive car we tested in 2023. However, it wasn't even the quickest Ferrari. Its Formula 1 tech and hybrid powertrain put it shoulder to shoulder with the 296 GTB in our testing until 80 mph, when it gave up the lead.
2. 2023 Ferrari 296 GTB Asseto Fiorano
0-60:2.3 seconds
Quarter mile:9.6 seconds @ 149.6 mph
Tip your hat to the quickest rear-wheel-drive production car MotorTrend has ever tested and thealmostquickest car we tested in 2023. In a fierce battle with its electric-motor-assisted cousin, the additional heft of the electric componentry held back the SF90 Spider and let the 818-hp 296 GTB spring ahead toward the win in the quarter mile.
Read our first test of the 2023 Ferrari 296 GTB Asseto Fiorano.
1. 2024 Lucid Air Sapphire
0-60:2.2 seconds
Quarter mile:9.2 seconds @ 157.1 mph
Say hello to the new champion, the quickest production car MotorTrend has ever tested. The previous carrier of this prestigious torch, the 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid, ripped through the quarter mile in 9.3 seconds to the tune of 152.2 mph. The 2024 Lucid Air Sapphire steals the record with three motors good for a combined 1,513 horsepower and 1,327 lb-ft of torque. In a maddening demonstration of electric propulsion, the Sapphire laid down a 9.2-second quarter mile while the speedo read 157.1 mph.
Read our first test of the 2024 Lucid Air Sapphire prototype.
Top 10 Fastest Cars of 2023 ||0-60 mph / Quarter mile
- 2024 Lucid Air Sapphire: 2.2 sec / 9.2 sec @ 157.1 mph
- 2023 Ferrari 296 GTB Asseto Fiorano: 2.3 sec / 9.6 sec @ 149.6 mph
- 2022 Ferrari SF90 Spider: 2.3 seconds / 9.8 sec @ 146.0 mph
- 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance: 2.6 sec /0 sec @ 146.0 mph
- 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo S: 2.4 sec /2 sec @ 136.0 mph
- 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06: 2.6 sec /6 sec @ 129.5 mph
- 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray: 2.6 sec /6 sec @ 128.0 mph
- 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS: 2.8 sec / 10.9 sec @ 126.8 mph
- 2023 BMW M4 CSL: 3.2 sec / 11.1 sec @ 128.8 mph
- 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT: 2.9 sec / 11.2 sec @ 121.5 mph
From the soggy backwoods of Ohio to the barren New Mexico desert, Jered has continued his quest to test the limits of the unmodified Jeep Wrangler, and make it back to work on Monday.
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