15 of the fastest accelerating cars on sale today

Last week Tom Ford got to drive the new Porsche 911 Turbo S, which among many impressive characteristics had an astonishing 0-60 time which would give even the most refined hypercar something to think about in a short dash for the lights.

More on that in a bit. It got us wondering: what are the fastest production cars in a race to 60mph (or 62mph, if you’re being pedantic) on sale today?

Definitive numbers are hard to come by, with official stats often proving wide of the mark in either direction. And sometimes both directions. So after a bit of digging, we came up with the following non-conclusive, in-no-way-one-hundred-per-cent-accurate list of vehicles which can hit the magic number as fast as the laws of physics will allow.

Quite a result, considering that this is supposed to be McLaren’s tame, baby supercar.

You get more power in the Huracan, but the 570S is quicker off the line as a consequence of being some 80kg lighter. And not only is it faster, but it’s £45,000 less expensive too. Which is a lot.

The replacement for the 458 does 0-60 in exactly three seconds, which isn’t surprising given that it has a whopping 670bhp at its disposal.

Intriguingly the convertible version of the 488 has exactly the same 0-60 time despite being slightly heavier due to the collapsible roof system. Worth considering if you’re faced with a choice between hard-top and soft-top.

The M600 is another car capable of doing zero to sixty in three seconds flat, which it achieves despite being 20bhp down on the 488.

Topping out at 225mph the M600 has most supercars beaten on speed, but you have to pay for the privilege. £200,000 to be exact.

Costing roughly £42,000 more than the 570S, the middle sibling of the McLaren supercar family gets to 60mph just 0.1 of a second faster than its younger brother.

It also has an extra 3mph on top speed, an added 80bhp and another 57lb ft or torque, but is it worth the outlay? We’re not sure.

The F12tdf is Ferrari’s other entry in the top fifteen, and the first on our list to dip underneath the magic 3.0 second mark.

As with the McLaren, the F12tdf is the pricier of the two F12s in the range: the standard version is the best part of £90,000 cheaper, just 0.2 of a second slower to 60mph with a shared top speed of 211mph. It might be the cleverer purchase...

Though the SV is Lambo's hardest iteration of the Aventador, the 'standard' car is no slouch. 

Sporting the same mid-mounted 6.5-litre V12, 700 horses, and a 0–62mph time of under three seconds, it's still mind-bogglingly fast. Oh, and a 217mph top speed.

Here’s the Turbo S we were on about. Our man on the scene claimed to be hitting 2.6 seconds time and time again on a dusty track surface at an altitude of 5000ft.

Porsche say 2.9. We say they’re being modest.

A car built for track days, it’s no wonder that the BAC Mono is capable of doing 0-60 in 2.8 seconds.

With just 100mm clearance off the tarmac, the total kerbweight of 580kg gives it a power to weight ratio of 525bhp per tonne. Which is about the same as a McLaren P1, but much, much less expensive.

An all-electric car in the top fifteen? Really?

You’d better believe it. The Model S P85D – coupled with the gloriously named ‘Ludicrous’ package – has a whopping 713lb ft of torque to propel it to 60mph faster than most cars on the market.

The top speed fizzles out at 155mph, so it’s best suited for short races.

The other car in the 2.8 second zone is the Caterham 620R, which officially streaks through 60mph in 2.79 seconds (we rounded up) according to their website.

With a 2.0-litre supercharged engine and a six-speed sequential gearbox, the 620R is pretty much the most fun you can have on four wheels. It’s also the most uncomfortable.

Sweden is known for many things: meat balls, furniture warehouses, being next to Norway... The list is infinite.

It should also be famous for speed, entirely thanks to Koenigsegg. And especially the Regera at that, with a 0-60 figure that will smash some of the fastest cars in the world when it rolls out at the end of 2016. Du milde!*

*We believe this is Swedish for ‘goodness gracious’. If it isn’t, we sincerely apologise.

Deep into the list, and we finally have a petrol-powered vehicle from the United States of Americaland.

Hennessey’s Venom GT is the unofficially the fastest production car in the world with a top speed of 270mph, as well as being one of the fastest to 60mph. Salute.

Third on the podium is the Nissan GT-R, which can do 0-60 in less than 2.7 seconds according to Nissan’s stats. Although they won’t say how much less.

For £107,500, this 3.5-litre V6 turbo will get you to 60mph in 2.6 seconds and onto a top speed of 185mph not much longer after that. And unlike the lower spec SR3, it comes with a roof too.

Radical by name, radical by nature.

The Atom should be called the Photon. Because it travels at the speed of light.

Well not really, but it gets closer than almost every other production car on sale today. 0-60 takes 2.5 seconds, with 100mph coming and going another 3.5 seconds later.

Not only that, but it’s affordable too. For the price of a LaFerrari you could buy 15 of these, and still have money left over for an entire Audi A4. Bargain.