Who's the Fastest?

June 3, 2013
Story By
Kristin Cline

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If you’re not a frequenter of car shows and don’t have the desire or free time to traipse around town visiting various car dealerships, then an auto show is a great opportunity to get up close with a huge range of new cars. During the 2013 New York International Auto Show, I realized what a unique experience it was to be able to sit inside such a diverse set of cars – from the new Bentley Flying Spur and Rolls Royce Wraith to more widely popular cars such as the VW Beetle and Scion FR-S. While there are plenty of things one must consider when purchasing a new car, the kid in me is only concerned with speed. Namely, how big will my smile be when I press that throttle to the floor? So rather than be distracted by the pretty colors, mpg ratings, seating room, and other amenities…I zeroed in on one thing, how high does the speedometer go? Read on to the bottom for some surprising comparisons!

Muscle: Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 vs. Dodge Challenger R/T Redline

While we all know that just because a car's speedometer goes to a certain mph it doesn't mean it can actually drive that fast, we'll assume that the max speed listed on the speedo correlates with the actual top speed of the car.

2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Speedometer goes to: 160 mph
MSRP: $54,000+
Engine: 6.2-liter supercharged V8
580 hp
0-60 in 3.9 seconds

Dodge Challenger R/T Redline

Speedometer goes to: 180 mph
MSRP: $30,000+
Engine: 5.7-liter V8 HEMI
375 hp
0-60 in low 5 seconds

Luxury: Bentley Flying Spur vs. Rolls Royce Wraith

All non-marked images courtesy of their respective manufacturers.

Bentley Flying Spur

Speedometer goes to: 210 mph
MSRP: $200,000+
Engine: 6.0-litre twin turbo W12
616 hp
0-60 in 4.3 seconds

Rolls Royce Wraith

Speedometer goes to: 160 mph
MSRP: $300,000+
Engine: 6.6-liter twin-turbo v12
624 hp
0-60 in 4.4 seconds

Mileage Economy: Smart Fortwo Electric vs. Ford Fusion Hybrid

Smart Fortwo Electric

Speedometer goes to: 100 mph
MSRP: $25,000+
Engine: 55-kilowatt magneto-electric motor
??? hp
0-60 in 12 seconds

Ford Fusion Hybrid

Speedometer goes to: 120 mph
MSRP: $27,000+
Engine: 2.0-liter Inline 4 EcoBoost
141 hp
0-60 in 8.5 seconds

Fun to Drive: Scion FR-S vs. Volkswagen Beetle Convertible R-Line

Scion FR-S

Speedometer goes to: 160 mph
MSRP: $25,000+
Engine: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, boxer
200 hp
0-60 in 6.2 seconds

Volkswagen Beetle Convertible R-Line

Speedometer goes to: 160 mph
MSRP: $30,135+
Engine: 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder
210 hp
0-60 in 6.6 seconds

Dream Cars: Aston Martin Vanquish vs. Nissan GT-R

Aston Martin Vanquish

Speedometer goes to: 220 mph
MSRP: $280,000+
Engine: 5.9-liter AM11 Gen4 V12
565 hp
0-60 in 4.0 seconds

Nissan GT-R

Speedometer goes to: 220 mph
MSRP: $99,590+
Engine: 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6
545 hp
0-60 in 2.7 seconds

Good and Better: Porsche Boxster vs. Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

Porsche Boxter

Speedometer goes to: 195 mph
MSRP: $65,000+
Engine: 2.7-liter Flat 6
265 hp
0-60 in 5.5 seconds

Porshce 911 Carrera 4S

Speedometer goes to: 200 mph
MSRP: $150,000+
Engine: 3.8-liter Flat 6
400 hp
0-60 in 4.3 seconds

While you may not base your next car buying decision off of these comparisons, they reveal some interesting contrasts, such as: Horsepower doesn’t necessarily correlate with price. While the most expensive car of this list, the Rolls Royce Wraith also brings the most horsepower, you’ll be paying top dollar for it (price per horse: $481). Cars such as the Dodge Challenger (price per horse: $80) and Nissan GT-R (price per horse: $183) offer a good bang for the buck. While the Nissan GT-R would find it easy to beat all these others on the drag strip with the lowest 0-60 time listed, there are a number of other fun to drive cars that come with a significantly lower price tag – such as the Scion FR-S, Chevrolet Camaro, and even Porsche Boxster. Speedometers lie. While they usually show numbers higher than what the car is capable of, we're wondering about examples such as the Rolls Royce Wraith - topping this list in terms of horsepower at 624, its speedometer has a very conservative 160 mph. While we know the Wraith was designed with luxury in mind, and as such carries more weight, with a 0 to 60 time of just 4.4 seconds (nearing Aston Martin Vanquish's 4.0 speed), we're pretty sure the Wraith is capable of faster speeds then you'd initially think by peering at the dash. But of course, there's also always those dang speed limiters! If you’re paying per mph listed on the speedometer, here’s how the cars compare ($MSRP/max mph listed on speedometer): Scion FR-S: $156/mph Dodge Challenger R/T Redline: $167 VW Beetle Convertible R-Line: $188 Ford Fusion Hybrid: $225 Smart Fortwo Electric: $280 Porsche Boxster: $333 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1: $338 Nissan GT-R: $453 Porsche Carrera 4S: $750 Bentley Flying Spur: $952 Aston Martin Vanquish: $1,273 Rolls Royce Wraith: $1,875 Which car would you choose? -Kristin Cline