14 Cars That Fueled the Horsepower Race
January 25, 2023
Ethan Jupp
Today, we take horsepower and top speed for granted. Any supercar worth its salt packs north of 600 horsepower (441kW). Similarly, many performance-oriented electric family cars can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in under four seconds—a feat that, not long ago, was reserved for the most exotic and cutting-edge hypercars. Progress marches on, and it has done so for quite some time, as evidenced by what’s known as the “horsepower wars.” This has been a three-decade-long battle between manufacturers, specifically to outgun their rivals’ performance models in terms of raw power. The result? We live in a world of 400-horsepower (294kW) hot hatches, 600-horsepower (441kW) ultra-luxury sedans, and 800-horsepower (588kW) hypercars. But the journey to this point wasn’t without its pivotal moments. We decided to look back at them, even though only a select few supercars truly stood out in the power department.
Lotus Carlton
So potent and swift was this machine that its very legality was debated in Parliament. The Lotus Carlton perhaps defined the concept of a “sleeper car”—one that didn’t shout about its performance credentials. It wasn’t exactly subtle, with its aggressive front bumper, flared wheel arches, and substantial spoiler, but even that hint of aggression couldn’t prepare you for the power lurking beneath. Lotus’s 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six engine churned out a monstrous 382 horsepower (280 kW), propelling the Carlton to a top speed of 177 mph (280 km/h). In 1990, when the contemporary BMW M5 and Porsche 911 Turbo offered 315 horsepower (231 kW) and 320 horsepower (235 kW), respectively, this was genuinely frightening speed and power. It was, arguably, the first time we had to ask: is this too much?
Ford Focus RS
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, performance hatchbacks started with a “1” and added a “2” after it, and we were incredibly grateful for it. The Golf GTI, 205 GTI, Clio Williams, and many others brought genuine performance to the masses. So how did we end up with a 30-year span where horsepower doubled? Gradually, though there were significant waypoints. One of the most crucial was the 2002 Ford Focus RS. Granted, the Escort Cosworth was more powerful, but that was a limited-run, four-wheel-drive special that had no real peers or imitators. The Focus, on the other hand, set the precedent for a decade-long horsepower war in the hot hatch segment. Its 215-horsepower (158kW) turbocharged four-cylinder sent its power exclusively to the front wheels, just as a traditional hot hatch should. It also upgraded its game to match the power hike, adding a Quaife torque-biasing differential to handle the grunt. The RS was a controversial car, remembered for its raw, brutish character.
Honda S2000
The Honda S2000 doesn’t stand out for sheer brute force, but it’s a landmark car in the history of horsepower output. Its 2.0-liter DOHC F20C four-cylinder engine produced 250 horsepower (183 kW) and revved to an eye-watering 9,000 rpm. More importantly, it delivered 125 horsepower (91 kW) per liter… in 1999. That figure was only surpassed by the 2009 Ferrari 458 Italia and was only matched by the 2013 Porsche 911 GT3. It still holds its place among cars with the highest power-per-liter ratios using naturally aspirated engines, alongside the Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 Spyder, GMA T.50, and Aston Martin Valkyrie.
Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG
But when you want real power, nothing beats displacement… combined with a robust turbocharger. That’s why the Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG could boast a colossal 612 horsepower (450 kW) as early as 2003, thanks to its 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12. It was easily the most powerful non-limited production road car in the world. This was supercar-level power back then, and, frankly, it was too much, as evidenced by the struggle of the traction control system every time you tried to put all that power down through the rear wheels. It was best deployed at high speed, surging from 70 mph to 140 mph with the kind of force a hot hatch might exhibit getting up to 70 mph.
Bugatti Veyron
We couldn’t leave it out, could we? The Bugatti Veyron has always been the pinnacle of pure engine power. While its successors have surpassed the 1,600-horsepower (1,176 kW) mark, the Veyron’s 1,000 horsepower (735 kW) in 2005 was still a massive statement and a signal to every performance manufacturer that, when it came to power, the gloves were off. It was a gargantuan engineering feat that cost the VW Group a fortune—so much so that even the production of the Chiron (which, admittedly, used a developed version of that engine) likely never recouped the costs. You’ve seen it a thousand times, but it still doesn’t cease to amaze: 8.0 liters, 16 cylinders, four turbochargers. Madness.
BMW M5
The BMW M5 has always been at the heart of what we call the “horsepower wars.” But the race between it and Mercedes to increase power generation over the years reached a crescendo in 2004 when BMW launched the E60. It ditched the E39’s V8 for a mighty 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V10. Displacement didn’t increase, it added two cylinders, and astonishingly, it was 100 horsepower more potent than the E39 it replaced. That’s a massive jump, but the most staggering number is this: 507 horsepower (372 kW). To put that into perspective, it took the M5 nearly 15 years to add another 100 horsepower (73 kW) like the E60 did to the E39, with the 2018 M5 Competition arriving at 625 horsepower (459 kW).
Audi RS6
However, the most significant stride on the path to the modern M5 was arguably taken by the Audi RS 6 C6. While Mercedes-AMG had made a decent play with the E63, Audi delivered the knockout blow. Launched in 2009, the C6 RS 6 housed a 5.2-liter twin-turbo V10, producing a staggering 580 horsepower—an extraordinary figure for a family car at the time. This was the last leap in power for the executive segment, at least where internal combustion engines were concerned. Every model since has hovered between 570-625 horsepower (419-459 kW) and not much more. The C6 RS 6 wasn’t a particularly good car to drive, given its two-ton weight and lackluster chassis tuning, but it was a legend in the power race.
Corvette ZR1
It wasn’t just the Germans pushing the envelope on horsepower during this era, and how could we compile a list of “horsepower heroes” without mentioning our friends across the pond? We thought the 505-horsepower (371 kW) C6 Corvette Z06 was a monster when it arrived in 2006. Then, in 2008, the Corvette ZR1 appeared. The naturally aspirated 7.0-liter LS7 V8 was swapped for a supercharged 6.2-liter LS9, delivering a colossal 647 horsepower (475 kW). The “Blue Devil” Corvette crossed the Atlantic and made waves in Europe, setting Nürburgring production car lap records and humbling supercar rivals in performance tests. Sure, the C7 ZR1 would later hit 765 horsepower (562 kW), but at its launch, you could buy a more powerful Dodge Challenger. At that time, the C6 was the most powerful non-limited production car on sale worldwide.
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Ford, of course, wasn’t going to take that lying down. How did they respond? By stuffing a Mustang with more horsepower than that supercar, albeit with a solid rear axle. The 2013 Mustang Shelby GT500 packed 671 horsepower (493 kW), using a special 5.8-liter V8 Trinity engine—unique within the Ford family. The supercharger alone, a TVS unit, was larger than the entire engines of most performance hatchbacks, measuring 2.3 liters. This car could hit over 200 mph (around 320 km/h), and a limited-slip differential was optional—pure American
