The following article is written in English, the official language of the United States.
The 14 Vehicles That Lit the Fuse on the Horsepower Wars
We now take engine output and outright speed for granted. Any supercar that doesn’t pack north of 600 horsepower (441kW) simply isn’t worth the price of admission, while many performance-oriented electric family cars can hit 0-62 mph in less than four seconds—a feat that, not so long ago, was the exclusive domain of the most exotic and advanced hypercars.
Progress is relentless, and it has been for quite some time, as evidenced by what is known as the “horsepower wars.” This has been a race between manufacturers over the last three decades, specifically to outgun their rivals’ performance models for power. The result is a world where we have 400-horsepower (294kW) hot hatches, 600-horsepower (441kW) ultra-luxury sedans, and 800-horsepower (588kW) hypercars. But there were several key turning points along the way. We decided to list them, though only a few of the purebred mid-engined supercars truly stand out in terms of sheer power.
Lotus Carlton
This was a car so potent and so fast that the legality of its very existence was debated in Parliament. The Lotus Carlton perhaps defined the “sleeper” concept—a car that belied its actual performance. It wasn’t exactly subtle, with a bulbous front bumper, stubby wheel arches, and a determined spoiler, but even this hint of menace didn’t betray the sheer violence lurking beneath the surface. The twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter straight-six engine, developed by Lotus, produced a staggering 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 terrifying speed and power. It was, quite frankly, the first time we had to ask ourselves if this was really necessary.
Ford Focus RS
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, performance hatchbacks started with a 1 in their name, followed by a 2, and we were incredibly grateful for it. The Golf GTI, 205 GTI, Clio Williams, and many others brought real performance to the people. So how did their power outputs end up doubling in just 30 years? Slowly, though not without some significant landmarks, one of which was the 2002 Ford Focus RS.
Okay, the Escort Cosworth was more powerful, but that was a special all-wheel-drive version that really had no rivals or equals. The Focus, on the other hand, set the template for the decade-long horsepower race in high-performance hatchbacks. It featured a 215-horsepower (158 kW) turbocharged four-cylinder engine, sending its power exclusively to the front wheels, just as a traditional hot hatch should. It also upgraded the spec alongside the power increase, adding a Quaife torque-biasing differential to help manage the output. The RS was a divisive car, remembered for its raw, gritty personality.
Honda S2000
The Honda S2000 doesn’t stand out for outright power but was a very significant car in the history of horsepower production. Its 2.0-liter DOHC F20C four-cylinder engine produced 250 horsepower (183 kW) and revved to 9,000 rpm. More importantly, it produced 125 horsepower (91 kW) per liter… back in 1999. That figure would only be surpassed by the Ferrari 458 Italia in 2009 and would only be matched by the Porsche 911 GT3 in 2013. It still holds its place among the highest specific output naturally aspirated engines, sitting alongside the Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 Spyder, GMA T.50, and Aston Martin Valkyrie.
Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG
But when you wanted real power, nothing could quite beat displacement… combined with a heavy-handed approach to turbocharging. That’s why the Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG could boast a colossal 612 horsepower (450 kW) way back in 2003, thanks to its 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12. It was easily the most powerful series-production (non-limited production) car in the world. This was supercar-level power at the time and, honestly, it was too much, as evidenced by how hard the traction control system worked whenever you tried to put all that power down through the rear wheels. It was at its best when moving at high speeds, accelerating from 70 mph to 140 mph with the kind of ferocity you’d expect from a performance car already doing 70 mph.
Bugatti Veyron
We simply couldn’t leave this one out, could we? The Bugatti Veyron was always the benchmark for pure engine power. While its successors have gone on to shatter the 1,600 horsepower (1,176 kW) barrier, 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, all bets were off. A colossal engineering feat that cost the VW Group an absolute fortune, so much so that even the production of the Chiron (which, admittedly, used a developed version of that engine) couldn’t recoup the costs. You’ve seen it thousands of times, but it still doesn’t fail to boggle the mind: 8.0 liters, 16 cylinders, four turbochargers. It’s insane.
BMW M5
The BMW M5 has always been at the heart of what we generally refer to as the “horsepower wars.” But the race between it and Mercedes to increase power with each generation reached a fever pitch in 2004 when BMW launched the E60. It featured a mighty 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V10—no increase in displacement, two extra cylinders, and, incredibly, 100 horsepower (73 kW) more than the E39 it replaced. That’s a significant jump, but the most impressive figure is the one that followed: 507 horsepower (372 kW). To put that into perspective, it took the M5 almost 15 years to add another 100 horsepower (73 kW) like the E60 did to the E39, with the launch of the 2018 M5 Competition reaching 625 horsepower (459 kW).
Audi RS6
However, the biggest step on the road to the new M5 was arguably the Audi RS6 C6. While Mercedes-AMG had thrown a decent punch with the E63, Audi delivered the knockout blow. Launched in 2009, the C6 RS6 featured a 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V10, producing no less than 580 horsepower—a phenomenal figure at the time for a family car. This was the final leap in power in the executive saloon segment, at least for internal combustion engines. Every model launched since has topped out between 570-625 horsepower (419-459 kW) and not much more. The C6 RS6 wasn’t a particularly good car, given its two-ton weight and the way its chassis struggled to cope, but it was certainly a legend in the car wars.
Corvette ZR1
It wasn’t just the Teutonic performance stalwarts pushing the envelope on power, 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 launched in 2006. Then, in 2008, the Corvette ZR1 appeared. The naturally aspirated 7.0-liter LS7 V8 was replaced by a 6.2-liter supercharged LS9, giving 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 beating hypercar rivals in performance tests. Sure, the C7 ZR1 would go on to make 765 horsepower (562 kW), but at the time of its launch, you could buy a more powerful Dodge Challenger. At that time, the C6 was the most powerful series-production (non-limited edition) car on sale in the world.
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Ford wasn’t about to take that lying down, of course. How did they respond? By giving the Mustang a bigger engine than the actual supercar, with a solid rear axle. The 2013 Mustang GT500 produced 671 horsepower (493 kW), utilizing a special 5.8-liter V8 Trinity engine—an engine unique
