This is our list of the world’s most powerful production cars, ordered from least to most powerful and including every current or upcoming production car we’re aware of – electric, hybrid or combustion – that claims to make more than 1,000 horsepower. Enjoy, and please tell us if we’ve missed anything, or if you spy something new! We’ll update the list regularly.
The Rezvani Tank X: “over 1,000” horsepower (combustion)
Well, here we are starting off our list of hyper-exotica with a freakin’ SUV. Or is it a tank? Rezvani has been building military-inspired Hummer-humblers for a long time now, and the Tank X takes things to a whole new level. This hulking, armored monster is powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged Dodge Demon V8, and can be specified with more ludicrous gadgets than any Bond car ever had. We’re talking smoke bombs, thermal vision, electrified door handles, tire-destroying caltrop droppers and plenty more. Perfect for popping out to get groceries in the Gaza strip.
The GMC Hummer: 1,000 horsepower (electric)
GM teases the new face of Hummer . We don’t know what the rest will look like yet, but we do know it’ll rock more than a thousand ponies.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger famously convinced AM General to make a road-going variant of its M988 Humvee in the early 1990s, it immediately earned a couple of different reputations. Among die-hard fans, it was famed for its military-grade toughness. Among anyone with a green bone in their body, it was best known as the pinnacle of wasteful American gas-guzzling. No more. Early in 2020, GMC announced it was re-releasing the Hummer as an all-electric powerhouse with a truly obscene 1,000 horses and a hilarious 11,500 lb-ft (15,590 Nm) of torque. Even more excessive than the originals, but with a touch more conscience. We don’t know what it’ll look like yet, but we suspect it won’t be a car for introverts.
The Mercedes-AMG Project One: 1,000 horsepower (hybrid)
The Mercedes-AMG Project ONE show car is expected to have a kerb weight around 1200kg. The car was developed jointly by AMG in Affalterbach, Germany, its High Performance Powertrain sister company located in Brixworth, England and the Mercedes-AMG Formula One team based in Brackley, England.
Priced at US$2.72 million, Project One is Mercedes-AMG’s vision of a Formula One car for the road, and a wildly interesting machine. Its 1.6-liter turbo engine is the smallest combustion unit you’ll see on this list, but insanely powerful for its size at 510 horsepower, thanks to a 90-kilowatt electric motor boosting the turbo to force-feed the engine. There’s another 120 kW electric motor on the crankcase, and these three motors combine their talents to operate on the back wheels. Up front, there’s a pair of powerful, 50,000rpm motors to drive the front wheels as well. It’s a heck of a powertrain – Mercedes says it’ll get from 0-124 mph (0-200 km/h) in less than 6 seconds and top out over 217 mph (350 km/h). Yummy.
