2003 Mercedes-benz Sl55 Amg Kompressor Convertible 2-door 5.5l on 2040-cars

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Fastest cars in the world by top speed, 0-60 and quarter mile

A claim for the title of “Fastest Car in the World” might seem easy to settle. ItÂ’s actually anything but: Are we talking production cars, race cars or customized monsters? And what does “fastest” even mean? For years, car publications have tended to define “fastest” in terms of an unbeatable top speed. ThatÂ’s distinct from the “quickest” car in a Usain Bolt-style dash from the starting blocks, as with the familiar 0-60 mph metric. Professionals often focus on track lap times or elapsed time-to-distance, as with a drag racer thatÂ’s first to trip the beam of light at the end of a quarter-mile; or the 1,000-foot trip of nitromethane-powered NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car dragsters. Something tells us, however, that you're not seeking out an answer of "Brittany Force rewriting the NHRA record books with a 3.659-second pass at a boggling 338.17 mph." For most barroom speed arguments, the focus is firmly on cars you can buy in showrooms, even if many are beyond the financial means of all but the wealthiest buyers and collectors. Here are some of the enduring sources of speed claims, counter-claims, tall tales and taunting dismissals that are the lifeblood of car enthusiasts – now with EVs adding an unexpected twist to these passionate pursuits.   Fastest from the blocks: 0-60 mph Thirty years ago, any car that could clock 60 mph in five seconds or less was considered extremely quick. Today, high-performance, gasoline-powered sedans and SUVs are routinely breaking below 4 seconds. As of today, the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 crushes all with a 0-60 mph time of just 1.66 seconds. That's simply absurd, but keep in mind the Demon was engineered with the single-minded purpose of going fast in a straight line. It's also important to realize that direct comparisons are difficult, because not all of these times were accomplished with similar conditions (prepped surfaces, adjustments for elevation and so on). The moral here is to take these times with a tiny grain of salt. After the Dodge, the Rimac Nevera comes in with an officially recorded 0-60 mph time of just 1.74 seconds. EVs crowd the quickest list, with the Pininfarina Battista coming in a few hundredths slower (1.79 seconds) than the Nevera and the Lucid Air sapphire (1.89 seconds) right after that. Eventually, you arrive to the Tesla Model S Plaid, which has a claimed 1.99-second 0-60 mph time, though instrumented testing by Car and Driver shows it accomplishes the deed in 2.1 seconds.

2015 Chinese Grand Prix shines bright sun on the dark days of racing

Yes, we tuned into the Formula One Grand Prix in Shanghai China to see a race. But we all know we really tuned in to see if Ferrari, or any other team, could make it a competitive race with Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Based on qualifying, things didn't get off the best of starts: Lewis Hamilton made it four-out-of-four at the front, leading all three Free Practice sessions and then taking pole position in his Mercedes. Nico Rosberg is making the most of his time in the simulator, getting closer to Hamilton as the months go by. This time he lined up in second, just 0.042 in arrears. Ferrari did its best to temper expectations after Malaysia. Even though Sebastian Vettel qualified in third, almost a second behind Hamilton, the Scuderia's race pace is still considered a danger. Kimi Raikkonen's final hot lap went sour in Turn 3 and dropped the Finn to sixth place on the grid. In between the Ferraris, Williams is another team desperately working to maintain its advantage, and both of its drivers capitalized on Raikkonen's misfortune. Felipe Massa took fourth, Valtteri Bottas was in fifth. Daniel Ricciardo led the Infiniti Red Bull Racing charge in seventh, ahead of Romain Grosjean in the Lotus earning a spirits-lifting eighth. The two Saubers continue to show how good the Ferrari engine is, with Felipe Nasr taking ninth position and teammate Marcus Ericsson in tenth. Yet when the lights went out, so did the racing, for the most part. At the end of the first lap, because of some excellent moves by Raikkonen on both Williams' and a terrible start by Ricciardo that dropped him to seventeenth, the order was Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen, Massa, Bottas, Grosjean, Nasr, Ericsson, and Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus rounding out the top ten. At the end of the race, the only positions that had changed were the final two: Ricciardo had a laps-long battle with Ericsson, passing, getting repassed, then passing again to take ninth for good, with Ericsson finishing tenth. Maldonado suffered the worst in a battle with Jenson Button in the McLaren, when Button misjudged the entry into Turn 1 for a pass and clouted the back of the Lotus. Button was able to finish but Maldonado had to retire. Yes, there were some decent moments in between, like Bottas getting by Massa at the start, then Raikkonen getting past Massa in the first few corners and the Finn's move on Bottas also letting Massa through.

Eight Mercedes Fuso Canter E-Cell trucks now in service

Portugal is far better known for its scenery and seascapes (not to mention some of its alcoholic beverages) than its place as a vehicle-testing center. But the European country is serving just that purpose for Daimler's Mercedes-Benz division and a new line of trucks. And they are of the battery-electric variety. Daimler has sent eight of its Mercedes-Benz Fuso Canter E-Cell battery-electric trucks for customer-trial purposes to various parts of the Western European country. And these customers include the Portuguese cities of Lisbon, Porto and Abrantes as well as delivery company Transporta. These entities will be testing trucks that have about a 60-mile single-charge range and deliver 150 horsepower. The trials for the trucks, which have 14-foot beds, will last one year. Daimler hasn't released a whole lot of details on further development or sales possibilities of the model. The hybrid version of the Fuso Canter debuted in the fall of 2009 and was under the Mitsubishi badge at the time, even though it was 85-percent owned by Daimler. That model is said to boost fuel economy relative to conventionally-powered trucks by as much as 23 percent. Take a look at Daimler's press release on the Fuso Canter E-Cell and its Portugal testing below. Zero emission and quiet as a whisper: eight new Fuso Canter E-Cell in customer trials Eight Fuso Canter E-Cell in real-life testing with customers for a year Locally emission-free and virtually noiseless Powerful, high-torque electric motor Battery capacity ensures range of more than 100 km Highlight of anniversary year for the Canter assembly plant in Tramagal, Portugal The drive system to suit: Canter Euro VI, Canter Eco Hybrid and Canter E-Cell The cleanest technology, whatever the application: Fuso is a pioneer of "green" drive systems in the commercial vehicle sector. The Daimler subsidiary in Japan is the home of Daimler Trucks' centre of competence for hybrid technology, and with this experience behind it, Fuso has also been responsible for developing the new battery-electric-powered "Zero Emission" Canter E-Cell. The first all-electric light-duty truck, produced in a small series, runs emission-free and almost silently. The Canter E-Cell for Europe is manufactured at the Tramagal plant in Portugal. Eight vehicles have now been released for customer trials.