While most people might automatically assume some of the fastest cars ever made are from Europe or Japan, that simply isn't the case because you've got some pretty serious speed machines conceived right here in America. This list is composed of cars from both mainstream automakers and boutique manufacturers who produce just a handful of super-exotics per year.

Our list of the fastest American cars was already pretty comprehensive, but we've beefed it up with five more models, including some super fast 200 mph sedans and a hypercar made from 3D printed components. We also included a 1970s classic with a claimed top speed of 242 mph. Find out which models they are below.

UPDATE: 2024/03/31

There is no shortage of fast American cars, which is why we added a few more to the list. We've included two relatively obscure and underappreciated cars built by small American companies that are powerful and fast enough to rival the fastest cars in the world.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturers and other authoritative sources, including TopGear, Car And Driver, MotorTrend, Hotcars, and Ultimate Specs. Models in this list are ranked based on top speed, arranged from the slowest to the fastest model.

Okay, I get that there isn't a single EV on this list. They could have been included if I were looking at the quickest American cars. You'd have the usual suspects, including the likes of the Tesla Model S Plaid, the Model X Plaid, the Lucid Air, and even the Rivian R1T. But if you're interested, we have a list of the fastest electric cars in the world. As for gas-powered models, here is a list of some of the fastest American cars of all time.

25 Rossion Q1

Top Speed: 185 MPH

Dean Rosen and Ian Grunes, owners of 1G Racing, created Rossion Automotive after acquiring the US rights to build the Noble M400. They set up shop in Florida and got to business building the Rossion Q1, one of the fastest American supercars of the 2000s. Based on the Noble M400, the Q1 shared the British car's dimensions and twin-turbocharged V-6 engine. However, the Rossion featured a redesigned carbon-kevlar body, a new front fascia, and a retuned suspension.

Rossion Q1 Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Car And Driver)

Despite its track-ready characteristics, the Rossion wasn't as stripped down as the Noble. Convenience features included power windows, a touchscreen display, and remote power side mirrors. Buyers could also opt for leather upholstery, navigation, and air conditioning.

24 Cadillac ATS-V

Top Speed: 189 MPH

Designed to compete against the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-AMG C63, the Cadillac ATS-V was one of the fastest cars in North America at the time of its release. It was a dual-purpose machine designed to offer luxury and performance in equal doses. Underneath the ATS-V's scalloped hood lay a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V-6 mated to either an eight-speed slushbox or a six-speed manual transmission.

Cadillac ATS-V Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Cadillac)

Power leather seats were standard in an interior that featured acres of leather upholstery. Buyers could opt for Recaro seats designed to provide better support during performance runs. The ATS-V matched the Mercedes-AMG and BMW in terms of performance, but lagged behind its German rivals when considering refinement and build quality.

23 Vector M12

Top Speed: 190 MPH

Vector is one of those obscure brands that never quite made it. The car company is mostly known for the Vector W3, which we mentioned above. The company went bankrupt in the 1990s, but before that happened, it managed to churn out a second model – the M12. Despite the unusual styling and very 1990s, three-spoke alloy wheels, the Vector had all the right ingredients. It was built in the US, but the chassis was designed by people from Lotus.

Vector M12 Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Ultimatespecs)

The engine was the most interesting aspect. Instead of a tried-and-tested American V-8 like the one used on the W3, the M12 relied on a V-12 borrowed from the Lamborghini Diablo. The Vector M12’s biggest problem was the extremely poor build quality, which could explain why only 17 cars were built between 1995 and 1999.

22 Chevrolet C8 Corvette Z06

Top Speed: 196 mph

The C8 Chevrolet Corvette is an automotive blue-collar hero. With the C8 generation switching from a front-engine configuration, the Corvette is a seriously athletic mid-engine supercar that can challenge sports cars from around the world and charge to nearly 200 mph while ringing it at under $100,000. What makes the C8 Corvette interesting is there are sportier models offered, like the Z06 and the hybrid, all-wheel drive E-Ray that recently debuted.

Chevrolet Corvette C8 Z06 Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Chevrolet)

While the base Stingray is impressive, the Z06 takes it to new performance heights, with the first-ever, GM V-8 with a flat-plane crankshaft, and it screams all the way up to 8,600 RPM. While the C8 Stingray is, arguably, a better bargain, the C8 Z06 is a straight challenge to European exotic carmakers. The C8 Corvette Z06 body features a more aggressive aero, generating more downforce. This slows it down, but it still manages a 196 mph top speed, which is a hair faster than the C8 Stingray.

21 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

Top Speed: 200 MPH

The CT5-V Blackwing may not be Cadillac’s biggest sports-luxury sedan, but it is the most performance-infused. The lineup of GM’s luxury arm has long switched from lofty, luxury barges to luxurious canyon carvers with fire-breathing V-8 engines. The CT5-V Blackwing is, currently, the most high-performance model from Cadillac, and we are glad to see it still relies on a supercharged pushrod V-8. The LT4 engine is the same one you find in the C7 Corvette Z06, and it’s also the basis for the C7 ZR-1’s LT5.

Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Cadillac)

Even more bonkers is the fact you can get the CT5-V Blackwing with a manual, although the automatic is slightly quicker to 60 mph. The revised GM Alpha II platform and MagneRide suspension make the mid-size luxury sedan one of the most athletic models in the segment, allowing it to match supercars not just on the straights, but also in the corners.

20 Dodge Charger Daytona

Top Speed: 200 MPH

Classic muscle cars are, generally, known for slaying the drag strip, especially when fitted with shorter gearing that prioritized acceleration times rather than top speed. Some of these muscle cars, however, were homologation specials for various racing series, including NASCAR. The Dodge Charger Daytona was one such car and, thanks to its aero-body, it is extremely aerodynamic even by today’s standards, with a drag coefficient of 0.28.

Dodge Charger Daytona Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Ultimatespecs)

While it shared the B-Body platform and overall esthetics with the more mass-produced Dodge Charger, the Daytona stood out with a cone nose and a gigantic rear wing. Despite, essentially, being a race car, it was a road-going model. The Charger Daytona was only produced in 1969 and just 503 examples were built. Of those, only 70 came with the 426 Hemi V-8, which was needed for the dash to 200 mph.

19 Cadillac CTS-V

Top Speed: 200 MPH

According to Cadillac, the Cadillac CTS-V was a road-going version of the Cadillac DPi-V.R race car. You would have been forgiven for assuming it was a four-door Corvette, as, despite its size and weight, it was fast enough to give the fastest cars in America a fright. The CTS-V's ferocity and speed emanated from a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Cadillac didn't offer a manual for the CTS-V.

Cadillac CTS-V Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Cadillac)

Magnetic ride control adjusts the suspension according to the driving mode, stiffening the car during performance runs and softening the ride for normal driving. It featured several traction control modes that allowed the driver to adjust the degree of driving assistance on track. To stop this huge and fast car as quickly as possible, Cadillac fitted the CTS-V with high-performance Brembos and grippy summer tires.

18 Equus Bass 770

Top Speed: 200 MPH

The Equus Bass 770 was a modern interpretation of iconic muscle cars from the 1960s and 1970s. Featuring a fast-back silhouette, muscle car proportions, and a long hood, the Bass 700 looks like a car that rolled out of the production line in the mid-20th century. However, a closer inspection of the Equus reveals a performance machine in tune with the times.

Equus Bass 770 Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Equus)

Bolted to the vehicle's aluminum chassis was a handcrafted LS9 V-8 tuned to produce 640 horsepower. Layered over the chassis was an aluminum and carbon fiber body. The vehicle's interior featured a mix of archaic and contemporary, with old-style dials sharing the same dashboard with an infotainment display. Equus offered buyers a wide range of interior and exterior options, including colored brake calipers and infotainment system enhancements.

17 Cadillac CT6-V

Top Speed: 200 mph

Cadillac’s V Series models have produced a score of Mercedes-AMG and BMW M-rivaling models over the past 20 years that combine a luxurious cabin with serious outright speed. And the fastest of the bunch is also the biggest — the CT6-V. More specifically, the CT6-V with GM’s Blackwing V-8, a 550-horsepower, twin-turbocharged unit that could scoot the sizable sedan from 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds and on to a claimed top speed of 200 mph. The Blackwing was the ultimate expression of the CT6-V with its dual, twin-scroll turbos with four camshafts and a max boost of 20 psi.

Cadillac CT6-V Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Cadillac)

Though the CT6-V Blackwing delivered seriously impressive specs and performance from a luxury sedan, the model had a short run despite quickly selling out in 2019. It was discontinued in 2020, but the Blackwing legacy lives on the CT5-V, which can also crack a claimed top speed of 200 mph.

16 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

Top Speed: 200+ MPH

The 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 was an important car for Ford and the Mustang nameplate: it would be the first Mustang to hit 200 MPH. To get the Mustang to the magical 200 MPH mark, Ford tuned the car's V-8 to produce more power, installing larger fuel injectors, twin fuel pumps, and a three-row intercooler. The front fascia and splitter redesign reportedly reduced drag and increased front downforce.

2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Ford)

Ford claimed that the 2013 GT500 hit 202 MPH on a circular track in southern Italy. However, reviewers failed to hit that alleged speed: Car And Driver hit an average top speed of 189 MPH at a testing ground in Chelsea, Michigan, while MotorTrend managed 196 MPH at a Chrysler proving ground in Arizona.

15 Mosler MT900S Photon

Top Speed: 201 MPH

Another fast American car from a now-defunct car company is the all-but-forgotten, Mosler MT900S. An evolution of the early, MT900, the S model swapped the 5.7-liter, LS1 V-8 for the C6 Z06’s LS7 unit. This resulted in almost double the power in a car that was already extremely lightweight at 2,539 pounds. The mid-engine American supercar resembled a Saleen S7, but underneath, both cars featured different mechanicals. The MT900S was even lighter, especially if you ordered the Photon package, which resulted in the MT900S weighing just 1,980 pounds.

Mosler MT900S Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Ultimatespecs)

The mid-engine Mosler was a serious track weapon, and it sent its power to the rear, through a Porsche ZF transaxle. Aside from the insane power-to-weight ratio of 668 horsepower per ton, the Mosler MT900S featured a low drag coefficient of 0.25. Out of the 85 cars made, just 35 were road-going variants, of which just 20 were the more powerful MT900S.

14 Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye Widebody

Top Speed: 203 mph

Over the years we’ve seen plenty of cars that have ambitious speedometers, but the Dodge Charger Hellcat’s 220-mph speedo isn’t wishful thinking as this hunk of American muscle tops out at 203 mph. Unlike many of the cars on this list, the Charger Hellcat isn’t built purely for speed.

With four doors, seating for up to five, and a spacious trunk, you can take a whole brood of passengers beyond 200 mph. The Charger’s eyebrow-raising top speed is courtesy of its 6.2-liter V-8 Hellcat engine. In standard Hellcat models, it pushed out 717 horsepower, but the tweaked version in the Redeye ups the ante to 797 horsepower and 707 pound-feet of torque.

Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye Widebody Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Stellantis)

The Hellcat Redeye will scorch the pavement and roar from 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds and past the quarter-mile mark at 11.9 seconds at 124 mph as it chases its top speed. In addition to its unique standing on this list as a 200-mph car that could double as a family sedan, the Hellcat Redeye is certainly among the most economical of the bunch, showing you don’t have to spend six figures for 200-mph speed. The 2023 Hellcat Redeye Widebody starts at just under $90,000.

13 Dodge Viper ACR

Top Speed: 206 mph

One of Dodge's most influential cars of all time was the Viper. The car initially debuted over three decades ago, and it quickly gained a bit of a reputation for being one helluva of a car to drive. Why? It was thanks in part to that V-10 monster of an engine which I'll get to in a bit. The Viper was in production for over five generations, until production finally ended in 2017.

The ACR version, which stood for American Club Racing by far was the most extreme form of Viper that you could get. The ACR package first appeared on the second-gen Viper back in 1999, and it was mainly about the additional aero bits.

Dodge Viper ACR Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Dodge/ SRT)

The Final ACR, one of the fastest American sports cars ever made, hit the road in 2015 on the gen-five (VX) Viper and was essentially a racing car for the road. Dodge claims that the aero package produced the highest downforce of any production car, i.e. close to one ton at 177 mph.

Its mammoth 8.4-liter naturally aspirated V-10 engine was good for 645 horsepower, and it hit 60 mph in just 3.0 seconds. The Viper ACR can hit a top speed of 206 mph. All this through a manual transmission and in a car that weighed the same as a Golf GTI. The Viper will remain as one of the all-time greats and the ACR was its most extreme incarnation.

12 Dodge Demon

Top Speed: 211 mph

We can't talk fastest American cars and not bring up muscle cars now, can we? Before all these mid-engined American exotics came along, thorough-bred American muscle cars were not just the fastest cars Stateside, but some of the fastest in the world. Let's talk Demon. The Demon name itself dates back to the early 70s when it was used on the Dodge Dart. Today's SRT Demon is essentially a Drag Racer for the road.

It is the most extreme Dodge Challenger that money can buy today. Under the hood lies a 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI that puts out 840 ponies. With the right settings, the Demon is capable of 0-60 in 2.1 seconds, topping out at 211 mph, and, did I mention this thing getting some air while launching? From the factory, Dodge offers what is called the Demon Crate.

Dodge Demon Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Stellantis)

It has all the things that you'd need to annihilate the competition at your local drag strip. This car is all about 1/4 mile times, and it comes as no surprise that it comes with barely street-legal drag slicks, designed specifically for the Demon. Having said that, with a 9.65-second 1/4 mile time, the Demon can't take part in NHRA Drag races as any car with a sub-10 second time requires a roll cage.

11 Chevrolet Corvette C7 ZR1

Top Speed: 212 mph

This is a Vette that you don't want to mess with. The ZR1 nameplate is reserved for the Ultimate Corvette that money can buy and the C7 ZR1 is the ultimate Corvette in history. Chevy first used the ZR1 moniker on the C3 Vette back in the 70s, and since then, it has appeared on all generations except the C5.

Coming to the engine, the C7 ZR1 features a 6.2-liter supercharged LT5 V-8 that puts out 755 horsepower and 715 pound-feet of torque. The ZR1 takes the already potent Z06 and turns it up a notch. The Aero package is made up of a splitter, a rear wing, and an underbody spoiler developed in collaboration with Pratt and Miller's racing team. The result? 0-60 in is decimated in 2.8 seconds and the top speed is rated at 212 mph.

Chevrolet Corvette C7 ZR-1 Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Ultimatespecs)

To give you some context about how big a deal these numbers are, the C7 Chevy Corvette ZR1 has more power than most Aventadors, is faster than a Ferrari 812 Superfast, and has more than twice the torque of a Lexus LFA. But, that's not all, Chevy will do you one better. The optional ZTK Performance package for the ZR1 adds a higher fixed rear wing that generates 60 percent more downforce compared to the Z06 with the Z07 package. 2019 was the final model year of the C7 ZR1 Vette.

10 Ford GT

Top Speed: 216 mph

The Ford GT is one of the most iconic model names in automotive history. The OG GT40s, of course, became world-famous for giving Ferrari a run for its money at Le Mans back in the mid-to-late '60s. Now, nearly six decades on, the GT name lives on. While the first-gen GT hit the road back in the mid-2000s and features a V-8, the current model for the first time features a V-6. Not just any V-6, but a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 that produces 647 horsepower. The top speed is rated at 216 mph with all that power channeled to the rear wheels.

Ford GT Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Ford)

Back in 2016, Ford Performance along with Chip Ganassi Racing took the GT LM GTE-Pro back to Le Mans and managed to secure an emotional victory celebrating 50 years of Ford's first-ever win in the 24-hour endurance race. Coming back to the road-going car, production began in 2016 and around 1,350 units have been planned in total.

9 Chevrolet Camaro Exorcist

Top Speed: 217 MPH

The sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro is a capable package in any form. Thanks to the GM Alpha platform, the Camaro, more or less, became a sports car rather than a pony/ Muscle car, allowing it to match the European and Japanese offerings in the segment, not just in straight-line performance, but also put down comparable lap times around a technical circuit. The Camaro ZL-1 is the ultimate expression of that as it was meant to be a road-legal track weapon. While the standard ZL-1 could do 200 mph, Chevrolet wanted an answer to the Dodge Demon.

Chevrolet Camaro Exorcist Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Hennessey Performance)

They gave the ZL-1 to Hennessey Performance and the Camaro Exorcist was born. While chassis enhancements were made, the tuner’s main focus was to breathe fire into the supercharged V-8, resulting in 1,000 horsepower and a serious appetite for rear tires. In 2018, Hennessey Performance did a top-speed run, with a verified result of 217 mph.

8 SCG 003S

Top Speed: 230 mph

The SCG 003, codenamed P33 is a limited run-supercar that was first announced by the boutique automaker back in 2013. Designed by Paolo Garella, the production version of the road-going racer first broke cover at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. The firm chose to produce three variants, the Competizione, the Competizione Stradale, and the Stradale.

The firm had previously developed and raced cars at places like Le Mans and the Nürburgring. The Stradale was essentially the road-going version and was by far the most forgiving of the three variants. However, that wasn't to say that it was forgiving in any way. Its BMW-sourced 4.4-liter twin-turbo S63 V-8 put north of 800 horsepower, enough to take the 2,866 pounds SCG 003 to some serious speeds. How fast? Well, over 230 mph.

SCG 003S Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Ultimatespecs)

The most extreme car of the bunch has to be the Competizione Stradale. While this car is street-legal, it is essentially a track weapon with license plates attached to it. The car features a beefier rear wing and a stripped-down cockpit. The SCG 003 is hand-built in a quaint little town up in Hollow, New York.

7 Vector W8

Top Speed: 242 mph (Claimed)

Many of the cars featured on this list are from boutique manufacturers who only produce models in seriously strict numbers, but perhaps the most unique, and relatively obscure, model of them all is the Vector W8. Vector was founded in 1971 in California, and its W8 prototype gained plenty of attention for its first model, the W2, in the 1970s.

In 1989, the company debuted the W8, powered by a massive 6.0-liter, twin-turbo V-8 that cranked out 625 horsepower at a time in which the Ferrari F40 was still boggling the minds of automotive enthusiasts with 471 horsepower, and the McLaren F1 was still years away from rolling off assembly lines.

Vector W8 Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Ultimatespecs)

Vector claimed that by upping boost pressure, the W8 could actually achieve 1,200 horsepower, and thus it could max out at 242 mph and could run from 0-60 mph in just 3.9 seconds. However, part of the reason the W8 is often forgotten is these figures were never confirmed independently, and Vector and its supercar proved to be an automotive flop with just 17 examples sold.

6 Saleen S7

Top Speed: 248 mph (Est)

The Saleen S7 was America's answer to the McLaren F1. It came to fruition around the turn of the century. The firm based out of California is, of course, most well-known for being a tuner of Ford Mustangs, but in the early 2000s, it decided to build its mid-engine supercar to take on all those high-speed exotics from Europe and Japan. The S7 with its aggressive styling and mid-engine layout, was essentially a racecar for the road. It was developed by Steve Saleen, Phil Frank, and Ray Mallock Limited.

Saleen S7 Specifications

(Performance specs sourced from Ultimatespecs)

The body was made completely out of carbon fiber and the S7 weighed just 2,865 pounds. The car featured a modified 7.0-liter Ford V-8 engine that put out 550 horsepower. If that wasn't enough, Saleen turned up the heat with a twin-turbo version in 2005 that made 750 horsepower. The S7 is rated at an estimated top speed of 218 mph. The supercar was made in a limited number with just 100 examples in existence. This includes cars that were primarily designed for the racetrack.