Top Speed Shootout (March 2007)

Flight Club

Wheels Magazine
February, 2007

» Aston Martin Vanquish S
» Bugatti Veyron EB16.4
» Chevrolet Corvette Z06
» Dodge Viper SRT-10
» Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
» Ford GT
» Lamborghini Murchielago
» Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
» Porsche 911 Turbo

It's the stuff of octane-fuelled dreams: nine of the world's most powerful supercars lined up and ready to burn rubber on one of the most expansive automotive playgrounds anywhere - Volkswagen's vast Ehra-Lessien test and development facility in northern Germany.

You might have heard of this place. It's the same banked oval on which Bugatti ran the official top-speed tests for its Veyron EB16.4. Ehra-Lessien might not be as well known to fast-car aficionados as either Italy's Nardo Prototipo ring or Millbrook in the UK - both used by Europe's automotive elite to develop new models - but nowhere in Europe will you find a straight quite as long or as wide as that located behind a heavy blanket of security in the woods not far from Volkswagen's Wolfsburg headquarters.

Up until now, we've had to rely on the individual top-speed claims of each of the car makers represented here, but in this shootout we've put them head-to-head on the same stretch of road and under the same weather conditions, to confirm not only which is the quickest up the strip, but also which can claim the highest top speed.

The title of world's fastest car had long been held by McLaren's 386km/h F1, set back in 1998. In the post-McLaren world, the highest independently tested speed was a sizzling 352km/h achieved by the Ferrari Enzo at Nardo. The Enzo might be out of the picture now, having ceased production after a run of 400 cars, but Maranello is back to defend its honour with its 599 GTB Fiorano, which has arrived with a whole team of engineers from Michael Schumacher's former employer to ensure that it's kept in good health. Keeping it company is its Sant'Agata neighbour, Lamborghini's demonic Murcielago LP640.

We've also thrown in a trio of American greats in the form of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper SRT-10 and Ford GT - the latter having just gone out of production, but as such an icon, it had to be included.

Add to that bunch the Aston Martin Vanquish S, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and the more-recently launched Porsche 911 Turbo, and you've got a list of contenders that spans just about every conceivable division of the supercar league.

Then, to put this latest supercar shootout into clear perspective, we've also brought along the mighty Bugatti Veyron EB16.4.

0-100km/h
When you manage to bring together nine of the world's most powerful supercars in one place, there are many things to consider and about which to pray that they won't go wrong. Not least of all is the weather. While our test day dawned fine, it progressively deteriorated as we got into the business of strapping our GPS-guided data logger onto each car. While ultimately not too disruptive, our testing was nevertheless upset by some light showers.

As expected, the 736kW Veyron stormed into the distance recording a phenomenal 0-100km/h time of just 2.5sec, but the fight for second place was close. In the end, it was the Lamborghini's all-wheel-drive traction that ultimately proved decisive, allowing it to launch more cleanly off the line to keep it ahead of the Ferrari by the scantest of margins; 3.4sec playing the Ferrari's 3.5sec. That's taking nothing away from the 599 GTB, though, as topping our rear-wheeldrive contenders, its traction off the line is remarkable.

Next up was the Porsche, although it was kept honest by the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, which managed to stay very much in touch with its Stuttgart neighbour. The Porsche's combination of turbocharged torque at extremely low revs, along with the very latest in four-wheel-drive technology, saw it leap off the line in a cold, almost clinical fashion; no rubber-destroying pandemonium here, just pure acceleration. With the lowest power rating of the lot, though, the Porsche's 353kW, twin-turbocharged, 3.6-litre flat six just didn't have the sort of muscle required to push it into the top three once its initial burst of speed from standstill subsided.

Still, you can't argue with the Turbo's 0-100km/h time of just 3.7sec. Not when it pips the significantly more powerful SLR by 0.1sec, at any rate. Interestingly, the Mercedes-Benz McLaren's 3.8sec split was exactly the same as it recorded at Nardo back in 2004. As we've said before, there's no great trickery in extracting its performance. You simply build up revs while holding it on the brakes before sidestepping the left-hand pedal and letting its five-speed automatic gearbox do its stuff.

Sixth place in our 0-100km/h run was closely fought out between our American trio; the super-sleek GT just managed to beat the Corvette Z06 at 3.9sec, against 4.0sec. Despite packing 33kW and 41Nm more than the Chevrolet, the Ford's extra 159kg kerb weight clearly proved its handicap, allowing the less powerful, but lighter, Corvette Z06 to stay in touch with the GT. Neither time managed to duplicate Ford's or Chevrolet's official claims, but in such company they were impressive, nonetheless.

The same can be said for the torque-laden Viper SRT-10. On spectacle alone, nothing comes close to matching the Dodge's antics as its whopping great 725Nm are dumped to the rear wheels and it explodes off the line in a cloud of tyre smoke and dust, without any expensive electronic aids to keep things in order. In the end, it stopped the clock at 4.3sec, a few tenths off its homeland rivals, but fast enough to keep it away from the bottom of the timing sheets.

Unable to make any impression on the day, however, was the Aston Vanquish S. With a time of 5.3sec, the big coupe just wasn't in the hunt, trailing the Dodge by a yawning 1.0sec up to the first timing marker. Disappointing? Yes. However, it is clear that the Aston Martin's combination of the least torque of the group - a mere 577Nm - and its weight contributes to its lack of vigour off the blocks. But, boy, does it sound great! Once the initial tyre-chewing antics subside, it delivers a wonderfully memorable baritone-driven soundtrack.

0-200km/h
It's no surprise to find the Bugatti once again sitting alone at the top of the bunch at the 200km/h mark. With a quad-turbocharged, 8.0-litre W16 powerplant - coupled with all-wheel-drive traction and lightning reflexes from its seven-speed, Riccardo-engineered dual-clutch gearbox - it continued to romp away with the sort of in-gear qualities none of its rivals could match, or even come close to attaining.

The way the Veyron EB16.4 gathers pace on a wide-open throttle really has to be felt to be believed. It's Formula One quick. With a veritable mountain of torque heading to each wheel via an electronically controlled, multi-plate clutch, there's absolutely no let-up in the brutality of its acceleration, no discernable interruption in drive, no apparent strain as first gear gives way to second, and then to third. The faster it travels, the more determined the distinctive French-built coupe becomes. If we didn't know better we'd say it was rocket-powered. And, given the size of its central exhaust poking out back, it just about could be.

Consider, if you will, the fact that the Bugatti's time of 7.4sec to 200km/h is 2.9sec inside the time recorded by the next-fastest car here, the highly acclaimed 599 GTB Fiorano, there's no doubting its effectiveness up the strip. This leather-lined two-seater is simply in a class of its own.

The really big surprise, though, is just how much quicker the Veyron is than the Vanquish, which trailed the field with a time that was a whopping 9.1sec slower than the Bugatti at the 200km/h mark. And we don't ever remember thinking that the Aston Martin felt especially leisurely. Indeed, to the contrary...

After trailing the Murcielago LP640 by the slimmest of margins to 100km/h, the 599 GTB Fiorano began to take big chunks out of its Sant'Agata rival as speeds increased, the Ferrari eventually hitting the 200km/h mark at 10.3sec, 0.9sec ahead of the taller-geared Lamborghini's 11.2sec.

Also sneaking into the reckoning was the SLR. The UK-built 460kW, supercharged, 5.4-litre V8-powered coupe clawed back an impressive 0.4sec against the Murcielago LP640 between the first and second timing markers to equal the Lamborghini's times to the tenth of a second, placing the brutalsounding Mercedes-Benz McLaren in equalthird place overall.

The big mover as speed built, however, was the underrated Corvette Z06. It punched well above its weight, climbing two places in the rankings by overtaking the more highly rated Ford GT and Porsche 911 Turbo on the way to an esteemed 200km/h split of 11.9sec, thanks to its big 637Nm 7.0-litre V8.

Left languishing at the bottom of the timesheets was the Dodge Viper at 13.8sec and the Aston Martin with 16.5sec - or more than double that taken by the Bugatti.

0-300km/h
By the time our supercar stable got around to the 0-300km/h test, we already had one car less to consider, the Dodge Viper SRT-10 ultimately failing to crack the third of our acceleration markers by a scant 2km/h, due in large part to the drag created by its fabric hood. If nothing else, the 380kW, 8.3-litre, V10-powered convertible had, though, won over the hearts and minds of our pit crew with its bellowing exhaust note, which reverberated off Ehra-Lessien's retaining walls with all the olde-world intensity of a NASCAR racer at full tilt. In the end, though, its early exit was not at all unexpected, having failed to make much impression on the score sheets.

At the sharp end of the field, the Veyron, 599 and Lambo all held station. But, while it took the EB16.4 just 10.8sec to charge from 200km/h up to 300km/h, the gallant Ferrari and its nemesis, the Murcielago LP640, required a comparatively lengthy 19.6sec and 20.6sec, bringing real clarity as to just how superior the Veyron is when the wick is turned up.

Its seemingly inexhaustible reserves of power and torque aside, what really sets the Bugatti apart from the others is the ease with which it runs up towards 200mph (322km/h). Its stability is fabulous. At big speeds, it feels immensely robust and requires the least movement of the steering wheel to keep it tracking on line.

The Ferrari felt inherently stable - about as stable as anything out of Maranello, ever, indicating that its aerodynamic properties haven't been compromised by its stunning styling - and it never gave the impression that it was running out of steam at the 300km/h mark. But it ultimately lacked the high-speed refinement of the EB16.4 Veyron. It's more intense, edgier in its movements, and requires greater concentration to guide down Ehra- Lessien's long back straight.

And the Lamborghini? To put it bluntly, it's a handful. There's no doubting its potency. The naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 buried away within its tautly drawn bodywork is memorable, not only for the 471kW it manages to deliver to all four wheels, but also for the tremendous noise it makes. But, as it fires you along at over 4.8 kilometres per minute, it's clear the Murcielago LP640 could do with a rather larger wing at the rear. Its front end tracks wonderfully, but a lack of downforce out back leaves you wondering what it might do next.

Unable to sustain the momentum it had built up between 100km/h and 200km/h, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren found itself falling off the pace somewhat. It needed 36.9sec to get to 300km/h, a great 25.7sec of that between 200km/h and 300km/h. Although it felt terrifically capable off the banking and onto the straight, with seemingly endless reserves of speed to come, it appeared to run into an aerodynamic wall at around 260km/h. From there on, it felt challenged, which, given that it boasts the group's second-highest torque figure of 780Nm, was slightly disappointing.

Not so the Ford. It managed to bag the SLR, recording a most convincing 33.6sec. In doing so, the GT was just 1.0sec slower between 200km/h and 300km/h than the Lamborghini Filling in the minor placings was the Porsche, whose initial burst of speed had begun to wane considerably, owing to its lack of firepower against some of the world's most powerful supercars. After its impressive showing earlier on, the Chevrolet also found itself running out of steam, albeit just 1.1sec behind the all-paw 911 Turbo.

Bringing up the rear was the Vanquish S, which felt out of its depth in such exalted company. It's a beautiful-looking car, the Aston Martin. But, despite the 388kW and 577Nm delivered by its wonderful-sounding frontmounted 5.9-litre V12, its comparatively long gearing doesn't allow it to get anywhere near any of its rivals up the strip. The intent is there, but it is clearly more of a GT than the rest of the pack, something which was borne out in its 0-300km/h time of 57.1sec - a full 38.9sec slower than the Bugatti, no less.

Top speed
As dazzling as each of the cars here is in isolation, none comes close to matching the phenomenal efforts of the Veyron EB16.4. The bullish Bugatti had no real peer on the day, establishing a set of performance figures that hardly seem creditable by existing productioncar standards. Not only did it annihilate the top speed of each of its high-priced supercar rivals with a run of 402.1km/h to be exact, it bettered them by a wide margin on each of the individual standing-start acceleration runs, too.

The way it manages to compress time with its outrageous turn of speed is truly breathtaking, and goes a long way to justifying the low-slung two-seater's tortured development process. The Bugatti is not exactly relaxing to drive when you're licking along at 6.7 kilometres per minute, but it doesn't ask any more of its driver than the other cars we assembled for this year's top-speed shootout. All that was really required to get the best from the weighty French-built coupe was a heavy right foot and some steely determination heading out of the banked curves onto the long back straight, which it devoured with rabid resolve.

The key to the Veyron's dominance is its outrageous output. It kicks out a whopping 265kW more than the next most powerful car here, the Murcielago LP640. It's also got 383kW more power than the 911 Turbo; itself an absurdly rapid car. With an enormous 1250Nm, the Bugatti is also in a league of its own for outright pulling power - 470Nm more than the SLR McLaren. It needs it. A kerb weight of 1888kg makes it the heaviest, too.

At points where other contenders began to feel challenged, the Bugatti simply charged forward with seemingly no constraints. It also gets better the faster you go; its stability increases markedly as the rear spoiler deploys.

In the end, we didn't quite manage to verify the official top speed of 406km/h, but as we approached the southern turnaround point on Ehra-Lessien's back straight, we did see that magical 402km/h (250mph) figure flash up on the digital readout of our data recorder mounted to the windscreen.

In doing so, it topped the Lamborghini by a margin of 62km/h, and left little doubt who is the new king of the hill. This is not to detract from the Murcielago LP640, however. After closely challenging the 599 GTB Fiorano all day, it finally got the better of its Italian neighbour, eking out 340km/h on its final run to give it a 5km/h edge over the Ferrari.

Also bounding back into contention was the Ford. The GT's slippery aerodynamics saw it hit 330km/h, pushing it to a highly creditable fourth place, and, in doing so, relegating the more powerful Mercedes-Benz SLR back into fifth spot with its 324km/h run.

The most pleasing factor about the topspeed runs, however, was the resurgence of the Aston Martin. After its poor showing in the acceleration runs, the Vanquish S pipped the Corvette Z06 by 2km/h at 317km/h. That leaves the 911 and Dodge Viper at the tail end, with figures of 311km/h and 298km/h, respectively.

There was never any doubt which car would walk away with the silverware: it's patently clear that the 736kW Bugatti is on an altogether higher performance plane than the rest of the cars assembled here. It was conceived and developed with a ruthless singlemindedness to eclipse previous performance benchmarks, and alter perceptions of what constitutes 'fast'. From the results achieved here, we offer two words - job done.

Bugatti Veyron EB16.4: One record book, torn up
Can it possibly be as awesome as people say? Of course not. It's much faster than that. There really is nothing on four wheels that delivers the eerie, head-scrambling, unrelenting, brutal,corrupting, addictive, heartpounding rush of a Veyron with the afterburners lit. Drive one in anger and nothing is ever quite the same.

Despite the extraordinary, allconsuming power, there's something passionless about the Veyron. Perhaps when you're an engineer tasked with taming 736kW there's no room for even a pinch of Latin temperament or mid-engined malevolence in the mix.

Bugatti's achievement should not be underestimated, for what they've created is akin to NASA building a Space Shuttle for Cessna pilots. Any 400km/h car that's as happy shuffling to the shops as it is hunting down the horizon is little short of miraculous. Love it or loathe it, the Veyron is a wonder of our world.

Lamborghini Murcielago LP640: Faster pasta
With its scissor doors and a baying V12 that can trace its roots back to the days of Ferruccio himself, the Murcielago is an iconic Lamborghini from the old school.

In LP640 specification it's also the fiercest, fastest flagship to emerge from Sant'Agata - and as much as this will offend the purists, that's all down to Audi's engine gurus. Fresh from creating the RS4's sensational, high-revving 4.2-litre V8, attention was turned to the Murcielago's V12.

The 6.2-litre motors in early cars were rough, but the LP640's 6.5-litre unit has a renewed urgency, and an appetite for revs that challenges the Ferrari 599 for ‘Best V12' honours. The way it kicks at 7000rpm is breathtaking.

Careful chassis development has tamed the intimidating effects of the rear-biased weight distribution without numbing the dynamics. No wonder that for many, it remains the definitive supercar.

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano: Bellow from Maranello
With the 599, Ferrari has succeeded in splicing the savagery of a supercar with the sophistication and maturity of a GT. Adapting the Enzo's V12 and slotting it into the front of the Fiorano is a magnificent starting point. Mating it to the F1 Superfast transmission is vindication and reward for the flak Ferrari has taken over the last decade of paddle-shift development.

For a car that oozes technology - magnetorheological dampers, ceramic brakes, and fivestage dynamic control system - the Ferrari has all the heart and soul you could wish for. A faithful front-engined, rear-drive balance means you can drive it on instinct. The adjustable dynamic settings are beautifully progressive: gradually sharpening the throttle and suspension while feeding you a little more slack into the ASR with every click of the Mannettino dial.

No other car combines the 599's long-distance stamina and fasttwitch ability.

Ford GT: Vinyl for the iPod era
There's something heroic about the Ford GT. Unashamedly retro yet capable of delivering cuttingedge performance, the hip-high GT shuns fancy paddleshift transmission and sophisticated stability control to remind us how good an analogue car can feel in a digital age.

The supercharged V8's voice might lack a bit of grit, but it's smooth, responsive, and pulls like a force of nature. What really surprises is the GT's deftness. The gearshift is precise, the brakes strong but progressive, the steering light but linear and usefully feelsome. It might be best to leave the brave pills in their blister pack when it rains, but there's plenty of grip and strong traction on dry bitumen. Best of all there's also genuine feel, which allows you to push towards the GT's lateral limits with complete confidence. A classic supercar with new-age manners, the GT is a true great.

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren: Fast, but fun is bypassed
Let's be honest. What we hoped to get from the Mercedes-McLaren union was a successor to the epic F1. What we got was an SL55 given the X-Men treatment.

No matter, for we're still left with a remarkable machine: an oddball exotic without the highly-strung temperament. Its gullwing doors and wacky racer proportions give it crazy presence, while that thunderous, supercharged 5.4-litre V8 delivers massive urgency. A conventional auto (with paddleshift) makes it completely and effortlessly exploitable, and a miraculous ESP system makes it virtually as quick in the wet as in the dry. But the dynamics aren't totally resolved.

The brakes are extremely effective but have a horribly unnatural feel and non-linear response, while the steering is jumpy, which makes it hard to be smooth and harder still to balance a slide. Super-fast but not much fun, the SLR is an enigma.

Aston Martin Vanquish S: Ageing but still-fit Brit
The Vanquish may be long in the tooth and soon to be replaced by the James Bond DBS, but the S proves there's life in the old dog yet.

That muscular frame and apocalyptic voice are still a seductive force to be reckoned with, and its impressively reworked chassis manages to be both supple and incisive. Together with steering that has an organic and wellweighted feel, the Vanquish S remains the most finely resolved modern Aston Martin, and by quite a margin. The brakes will wilt if you monster them, but drive with a bit of sympathy and it's happy to hustle. Where it thrives is sustaining big speeds for big distances.

The interior is beginning to look its age, but that's forgivable. What's inexcusable is the clunky paddle-shift transmission. In this respect Aston's flagship has been left trailing by the competition. However, don't let that detract from what remains a truly great car. We'll miss it when it's gone.

Chevrolet Corvette Z06: Old-school, Yanked forward
Forget everything you know about Chevy's icon, for the new Corvette Z06 rewrites the rules. Combining the gargantuan grunt of a full-house 7.0-litre, 377kW V8 with the kind of trick detail engineering you'd expect to see in one of Porsche's homologation specials, this is America's most serious stab at series production supercar supremacy.

Despite covering the same area of bitumen as a 911, the 'Vette never feels as compact and wieldy as you'd expect. Get over the intimidation factor, though, and you'll find a chassis that's as happy cutting loose as it is digging for grip. Like all the best driver's cars, it alters its stance according to your mood and commitment. And it also goes like absolute hell.

The interior isn't high-grade, but it's extremely comfortable and well equipped. Practical too, with plenty of luggage space.

Challenging, engaging, rare and desirable, the Z06 is the 911 RS you can use everyday.

Porsche 911 Turbo: An animal for all seasons
For extraordinary any-time, anyplace, any-weather speed, there's little to touch the 997 Turbo. The 911 trades supermodel looks for superhero ability. Anything that delivers 9/10ths of the Carrera GT's performance for one third of the price has to be pretty special, but the Turbo isn't flawless.

The chassis can't match the sense of connection or intimacy you get from the GT3, and the four-wheeldrive system has some tricky on-limit traits, but you'll only discover them if you disable the stability control. Trust in the electronics, keep your foot in, and the Turbo makes imperious progress.

That it doesn't require you to play too active a role in the process is part of its job description, and what makes the 997 Turbo such a formidable machine.

Dodge Viper SRT-10: Thundering bass, in mono
If you like your palms permanently sweaty the Viper is the car for you. Hopelessly broad, hugely grunty and honed for lateral grip at the expense of feel, the Viper is a handful.

Of course there's still fun to be had in sitting behind an 8.3-litre V10, but there's an over-riding crudeness to the Viper that taints the experience. Subtle as a sledgehammer and about as easy to catch, you don't so much drive it as hold on tight and hope for the best.

Acceleration is epic, and the novelty of hooking fourth gear at walking pace and keeping your right foot floored for as long as you dare never wears off. But as you're denied the opportunity to get into a rhythm, to flow with the road and bond with the car, the Viper turns out to be a one-dimensional experience.

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