Why Straight-Line Speed Still Hooks Us
Drag racing is the purest adrenaline rush you can get behind the wheel. Feeling the impact when the throttle is floored, listening to the rumble or shriek and watching the scenery elongate as your vehicle blasts off the line. Here is our list of drag tracks fastest performers ranked by brute efficiency.
1. Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170
The Demon was engineered to embarrass just about everything at the drag strip on a prepped ribbon of tarmac. Thundering down the quarter mile in a street-legal vehicle that makes over 700 hp feels like cheating. Buy this car if numbers are everything to you.
2. Tesla Model S Plaid
Tesla’s flagship electric sedan whispers quietly coming to the line, but speaks quickly when that traffic light turns green. The instantaneous torque of this thing will pound just about any gas car into submission. Step on it and hold on.
3. Chevrolet COPO Camaro
COPO doesn’t bother trying to act like a daily driver. From the factory it’s a drag car that only wants to run races. Special equipment and bulletproof reliability are built into each COPO to give drivers perfect launches race after race. Buy this car if you want pure drag race potential straight from the factory.
4. Ford Mustang Cobra Jet
Cobra Jet is Ford Motor Company’s homage to its history in NHRA sanctioned drag racing. Naturally, everything about this street legal Mustang is designed to launch and run absolutely bulletproof quarter miles. Buy this car if winning at the strip is your goal.
5. Dodge Challenger SRT Demon (2018)
When it was released the original Demon reset everyone’s expectations for what a production car could do on a drag strip. Special launch controller gear and ultra-fast torque figures made the Demon an overnight legend. Even years later it outsells nearly every car here.
6. Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye
Yes, a big four-door sedan should not be this quick off the line. Hellcat Redeye power and surefootedness makes fools of people who don’t think you can bring your friends drag racing. Buy this car if you want people’s weekends.
Jorge Simmons-Valenzuela on Unsplash
7. Nissan GT-R
The magic with the GT-R is how consistent it launches. Between launch control and magic all-wheel drive traction you can run pull after pull with zero drama. Leave it all to the electronics and press go.
8. Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C8)
Mid-engine grip gives this Corvette a huge advantage off the line. Massive tire crush and eager power make it feel planted as it launches forward. There’s little to no flare before this baby punches you forward.
9. Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Raw power and surprising sophistication. The Shelby GT500 dumps all of its horsepower into the pavement hard, but it doesn’t get wildly thrown around like we once expected modern muscle to. Buy this car if you like hardcore rocket-powered Mustangs that have learned to behave.
10. McLaren 720S
Efficiency is key even when going straight down the road. McLaren’s 720S builds speed rapidly without ever feeling completely insane. Notice how smoothly it pulls away as the needle ticks higher and higher.
11. Porsche 911 Turbo S
Smoothness is this car's claim to fame. Launch it clean, hook up, and go. The Turbo S will do this every single time you mash the accelerator to the floor. Buy this car if launch lane drama really stresses you out.
David Villarreal Fernández on Wikimedia
12. BMW M5 CS
Not every car on this list is a secret sleeper. The M5 CS makes headline grabbing power numbers and it knows it. Turn on your BMW turbo and watch it devour the competition with gusto. Buy this car if you want ridiculous power wrapped up in a luxury sedan.
13. Audi RS7 Performance
Quiet does not mean cunning. Hidden away behind luxurious styling and a barely there whistle from the rear are monster numbers. Floor it baby and the Audi RS7 Performance will prove how quickly it too can pull. Buy this car if you like dragger sleepers.
Rutger van der Maar from Leiden, The Netherlands on Wikimedia
14. Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (C7)
Front engine? Yeah, this monster had aftermarket horsepower numbers that put supercars to shame at the drag strip back in its day. Bottom line, when you get hooked up in the ZR1 you better respect it because it comes charging hard. Buy this car if you love modern V8 Corvettes.
15. Toyota Supra MK4
Let’s be honest, the Supra MK4 can be a monster. Used as a platform by tuners for years the Supra became synonymous with danger. The legacy many of these cars have is too hard to ignore.
16. Ford GT
Ford GT was never meant to be a drag racer but a roadster that just so happens to beat rivals at the strip too. Thanks to wicked power and insane grip, this car accelerates like you’d think it would in a straight line. Engineering that’s good just does that sometimes.
17. Lamborghini Huracán EVO
Drama and Lamborghini go hand in hand. This Italian beast will give you loads of it as it launches. While lithe and controlled the AWD launch feels explosive. Don’t hate because you know this car can back it up.
18. Chevrolet Chevelle SS
Old school torque monsters were fast on the street and stayed respectful at the strip too. Chevelle SS found a little bit of both with heavy low-end torque and smooth power throughout. Proof that old school muscle can still hang.
19. Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda
Drag racing pulses through this car's veins. Built during the golden age of NHRA supremacy, few cars come close to the pedigree this little muscle car has. Buy this car if you want to feel like you’re racing against history.
20. Mazda RX-7 FD
Lightweight tricks and turbocharging go hand in hand with this Japanese icon. Earning drag-race wins has less to do with how loud your RX-7 is and more about who knows how to build it right and launch it. The RX-7 can be very sneaky.
