There have been many different ways of measuring a fast car’s performance over the years, whether it be the time taken to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles an hour, or its top speed. Measuring the time a car takes to get from a standstill to the end of a quarter-mile drag strip, however, is one of the most lauded performance metrics to ever be used, and it is just as relevant now as it has ever been. This is because we now have a large number of cars, not all of which are million-dollar hypercars made of myrrh, that can do the quarter-mile in under ten seconds. The idea of a sub-10-second car was unheard of just decades ago, and even today some of the best performances cars like the Ford Mustang Dark Horse can’t get it done. However, there are now some cars in which the whole family can experience such blistering performance.
The advent of electrification has helped to make cars of many different shapes and sizes quick off the line, redefining what a 10-second car is, thanks to the instant torque that an electric motor provides. Indeed, all the cars on this list are powered, at least in part, by batteries and electrons. However, that is just about where the similarities end, and you will see cars with a wide range of body styles and powertrain configurations at many different price points as we rank the top ten fastest 10-second cars.
This article contains our pick of the latest cars that are able to complete a quarter-mile distance from rest in under 10 seconds, all of which are available for purchase – if you have deep pockets. All information about each model comes directly from the manufacturer, and quarter-mile times are the most accurate ones available, correct at the time of writing. We rank these from slowest to fastest.
10
McLaren W1
Quarter-mile time: 9.6 seconds
McLaren W1 specs
Price
$2,100,000 (approx)
Engine
4.0L Twin-turbo V8 Hybrid
Transmission
8-speed Dual-clutch Transmission
Power
1,258 hp
Torque
988 lb-ft
Trap speed
160 mph
McLaren has churned out a great many cars since becoming a fully-fledged mainline supercar maker just fifteen years ago, but only three in the company’s history have been deemed worthy of wearing the number ‘1’ on the end of their names. Those are the F1 of the 1990s, still the fastest naturally aspirated car ever made, the P1 of the 2010s hypercar “holy trinity,” and this, the W1.
All of those other cars pushed the boundaries of what is possible from the Woking-based automaker, and the W1 looks like it may do the same, given it is the most powerful McLaren ever, with its hybrid V8 powertrain developing 1,258 horsepower. Along with a claimed 0–60 time of just 2.7 seconds, the official quarter-mile trap time is 9.6 seconds. While there are less powerful cars here that can do it quicker, this can be explained by the McLaren’s old-school rear-wheel-drive setup.
9
Ferrari 296 Speciale
Quarter-mile time: 9.5 seconds
Ferrari 296 Speciale specs
Price
$475,364
Engine
3.0L V6 Twin-turbo Plug-in Hybrid
Transmission
8-speed Dual-clutch Transmission
Power
868 hp
Torque
557 lb-ft
Trap speed
154 mph
While the number 1 being fastened to a McLaren is significant, the word ‘Speciale’ being attached to a Ferrari is, well, special. What it denotes in the case of both this and of the nat-asp V8 holy grail, the 458 Speciale, is essentially the more powerful and track-focused version of the mid-engined “baby” in Ferrari’s supercar range. The 296 GTB is a car whose performance you can hardly call babyish, with a V6 plug-in hybrid powertrain that produces over 800 hp and a quarter-mile time of 9.7 seconds.
The 296 Speciale improves on this with a power bump that brings up the total output to 868 hp, which, with 132 pounds of weight lost, results in a quarter-mile time of 9.6 seconds. Maybe it would be even faster on the straight if the body were not sculpted primarily for downforce on the track.
8
Lamborghini Revuelto
Quarter-mile time: 9.5 seconds
Lamborghini Revuelto specs
Price
$604,363
Engine
6.5L V12 Plug-in Hybrid
Transmission
8-speed Automatic Transmission
Power
1,001 hp
Torque
534 lb-ft
Trap speed
150 mph
When Lamborghini showed us its most recent flagship hypercar, the Revuelto, it showed us that even something as sacred as the V12 engine isn’t safe from the creeping influence of electrification. Rather than thinking of this as something that corrupts the purity of the experience, we should perhaps think of it as something that enhances it, as the power output the Revuelto produces is not one that an internal combustion V12 could produce on its own.
With its 6.5-liter V12 and a trio of electric motors, two on the front and one on the rear, the total power output is over 1,000 horsepower. Given that a large portion of this power is electric, and unlike the Ferrari and the McLaren, the Revuelto sends its power to all four wheels, you can expect the acceleration to be pretty mind-bending. With a 0–60 time of a little over two seconds, it is, as is the 9.5-second quarter-mile time.
7
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
Quarter-mile time: 9.4 seconds
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT specs
Price
$246,050
Engine
Dual e-motor Configuration
Transmission
N/A
Power
1,019 hp
Torque
914 lb-ft
Trap speed
157 mph
The Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, a four-door sports sedan, being faster down the quarter mile than supercars from McLaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini is something that is truly only possible with electric power. The Porsche Taycan redefined what we thought was possible from an electric car when it first arrived seven years ago, by not only having quick acceleration, but also having some of the handling poise and driver engagement of a traditional supercar.
The Turbo GT variant, especially when fitted with the Weissach pack, takes things up several notches with a power output of over 1,000 horsepower courtesy of two electric motors and an aggressive weight loss program which does everything from making the glass thinner to chucking out the rear seat. These things together are the reason why the Taycan Turbo GT does 0–60 in under two seconds and the quarter mile in 9.4 seconds.
“The straight-line speed blurs your vision while the 10-piston carbon ceramic brakes cause your eyes to pop out of your head and your stomach to turn inside out.”
– Jared Rosenholtz, Editor-at-Large, CarBuzz
Related
2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT First Ride Review: So Fast It Hurts
The Taycan redefines what electric performance can be.
6
Koenigsegg Gemera
Quarter-mile time: 9 seconds
Koenigsegg Gemera specs
Price
$1,700,000
Engine
5.0L Twin-turbo V8 Plug-in Hybrid
Transmission
9-speed Hydracoup Direct Drive
Power
2,300 hp
Torque
2,028 lb-ft
Trap speed
188 mph
While it may now seem that we are back to the sort of two-door, two-seat thoroughbreds we were looking at higher up on the list, closer examination of the Koenigsegg Gemera reveals that this is not entirely the case. The Gemera, like many other Koenigseggs, is powered by a twin-turbocharged V8 engine with power in the four figures, and does indeed have those two signature dihedral synchro-helix doors. Power, however, is in fact more than any previous Koenigsegg before it, thanks to the five-liter twin-turbo V8 motor being paired with what’s called a ‘Dark Matter’ electric motor, giving it a power output of 2,269 hp. This makes it the most powerful plug-in hybrid in America right now, and is what allows it, like the Porsche, to do 0–60 in less than two seconds and do the quarter mile in an unbelievable nine seconds. It may not be the only Koenigsegg ten-second car, but it is the only car from the Swedish hypercar maker to have four seats. ‘Gemera’ in Swedish means ‘to give more,’ and this car certainly does do that.
5
Lucid Air Sapphire
Quarter-mile time: 8.9 seconds
Lucid Air Sapphire specs
Price
$249,000
Engine
Tri-motor Electric Powertrain
Transmission
N/A
Power
1,234 hp
Torque
1,430 lb-ft
Trap speed
158 mph
“The Lucid Air Sapphire is a devastatingly fast electric sedan that beats all comers at acceleration and top speed, while its chassis and brake package ensure that the massive urge is dispensed with discipline and composure.”
The Lucid Air Sapphire is perhaps the best example we have of how electric power is the best way to give cars a crazy amount of straight-line speed. The Air Sapphire is by no means the quickest 10 sec car on this list, and, indeed, there are other fully electric cars that can do the quarter mile even faster, but none of them are full-size four-door luxury sedans built to rival the Mercedes S-Class. Lucid from California is a relatively new EV automaker on the scene, but with the Air, its first model, it really did hit a home-run, with a car that has more space, higher quality materials and more range than the now-defunct Tesla Model S. It also has more acceleration, with it being a full tenth of a second quicker to 60 mph and a quarter-mile time of an unfathomable 8.9 seconds.
4
Bugatti Tourbillon
Quarter-mile time: 8.8 seconds (est.)
Bugatti Tourbillon specs
Price
$4,600,000 (approx)
Engine
8.3L V16 Hybrid
Transmission
8-speed Dual-clutch Transmission
Power
1,775 hp
Torque
1,464 lb-ft
Trap speed
176 mph
After nearly 20 years of producing the iconic quad-turbo W16 engine that powered hyper-GT cars like the Veyron and the Chiron, we were all half expecting the next chapter in Bugatti’s history to be far more electric, given the joint venture the company is now in with Rimac. While there definitely is electrification involved with the latest Bugatti model, called the Tourbillon, it is not fully electric, and Bugatti has refreshingly not downsized from the W16 to a V6 or a V8 but rather incorporates a whole new 8.3-liter Cosworth V16 engine. With three electric motors, it produces 1,775 hp combined. This power does, of course, go to all four wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, which is why it does the 0–60 sprint in just two seconds and 0–186 mph in ten seconds. It makes it onto the list of 10-second quarter-mile cars thanks to a time estimated by Chevrolet as they tested a car which can do it even faster…
3
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X
Quarter-mile time: 8.7 seconds
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X specs
Price
$209,700
Engine
5.5L Twin-turbo V8 hybrid
Transmission
8-speed Dual-clutch Transmission
Power
1,250 hp
Torque
973 lb-ft
Trap speed
159 mph
That car they tested is by far and away the fastest and most powerful car General Motors has ever made. The Corvette ZR1X is what happens when you take the already ludicrous ZR1 and introduce it to the sort of hybrid boost that has helped many other 10 second quarter mile cars to blast past the line in record time. The result is a power figure of 1,250 hp thanks to the 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged LT7 V8, the same engine used in the “normal” ZR1, and the same e-motor used in the first ever hybrid Corvette, the E-Ray. America’s sports car is supposed to compete with the supercars of Lamborghini and Ferrari, not beat them, but that is exactly what the ZR1X does, with an 8.7 second quarter-mile time, almost a whole second faster than the gas ZR1, and all for a fraction of the price of a European supercar.
Chevrolet promises it’ll hit 60 miles per hour in less than two seconds, potentially approaching the performance of the $2 million Rimac Nevera EV (1.74 seconds) and even the drag radial–shod Dodge Demon 170 (1.66 seconds). With hybrid all-wheel drive clawing for grip, even a sedate 5-to-40 pull – to impress your nephew or freak out your mom, natch – will be over in the blink of an eye in a ZR1X.”
– Brett T. Evans, Senior Road Tester, CarBuzz
2
Czinger 21C
Quarter-mile time: 8.1 seconds
Czinger 21C specs
Price
$2,500,000
Engine
2.88L Twin-turbo V8 Hybrid
Transmission
7-speed Automated Manual
Power
1,250 hp
Torque
1,433 lb-ft
Trap speed
171 mph
While the Corvette ZR1X is deadly impressive, it isn’t the only one of the sub-10 second quarter mile cars to come from America thanks to this out-of-this-world machine. It takes a lot more than a four-figure power output and a big rear wing for a car to truly be otherworldly these days, and the Czinger achieves this with the way it is manufactured alone. With its cutting-edge use of 3D printing and AI-driven iterative refinements, Divergent Technologies, as it is called, is a design and production revolution – it’s one of the most high-tech cars in the world.
Related
The Most High-Tech Cars You Can Get In 2026
These are the most technologically advanced cars on the market right now – and they’re not all EVs!
The car is not bad either, with the most power-dense production engine ever made, a twin-turbocharged V8 engine with wheel-mounted electric motors that develops up to 1,350 hp combined, giving it a 0–60 time of 1.9 seconds. You sit in the middle surrounded by a very glassy canopy, like a fighter pilot, and if you survive that 0–60 sprint and go on, you will cover a quarter mile in about eight seconds.
1
Rimac Nevera R
Quarter-mile time: 7.9 seconds
Rimac Nevera R specs
Price
$2,400,000
Engine
Quad-motor Electric Powertrain
Transmission
N/A
Power
2,078 hp
Torque
1,914 lb-ft
Trap speed
185 mph
As much of a breath of fresh air as the Czinger is, it seems almost inevitable that the fastest car to cover a quarter mile distance would be electric. The EV in question, the Rimac Nevera, has set the benchmark for acceleration for many years now, but that didn’t stop the Croatian electric carmaker from removing some weight and lacing it with even more horsepower anyway.
One of the main goals for the Nevera R is quicker lap times, and that is the reason for the weight loss as well as the extra downforce this car has, but another result of all these upgrades is that the Nevera R is the fastest accelerating car ever made, one of 24 records it has broken. With a 0–60 time of an almost painful 1.66 seconds, you could be forgiven for backing out of a quarter-mile attempt, but if you keep your foot in, you will cover that distance in under eight seconds.
Sources: McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Koenigsegg, Lucid Motors, Bugatti, General Motors, Czinger, Rimac
