The Acceleration Obsession with Cars
Greg Wilson
I feel like we live in an age of automotive craziness. When I was a teenager, any car that could accelerate from 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds was considered extremely “sporty” (and out of reach). We’ve come a long ways — I recently had the opportunity to drive a car that could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.3 seconds, and wow—it was both exhilarating and bit unsettling. Many of my passengers would become physically ill when I demonstrated this capability. It got me thinking: what are the practical limits of acceleration in production cars, and are we approaching them?
The Human Experience of Extreme Acceleration
I’ve always been drawn to cars, roller coasters, and airplanes that can accelerate quickly. The most intense acceleration I've ever experienced was 3.2g in a Decathlon airplane doing a loop during an aerobatic lesson, and it felt like my absolute upper limit. At that point, I could feel the blood struggling to reach my brain, my vision starting to narrow, and my chest compressed by an invisible elephant.
To put this in perspective, when a car accelerates from 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds, you're experiencing around 1.2g of force—enough to make most passengers uncomfortable. At 2.0 seconds, you're approaching 1.4g. Professional drivers can handle this repeatedly, but for the average person, it's an intense experience that the body isn't accustomed to.
The Physical Limits: Tires, Traction, and Frames
The acceleration we're seeing in modern hypercars isn't just challenging for human bodies—it's pushing the limits of mechanical engineering in several ways:
Tire Traction
The fundamental limit for acceleration is ultimately traction. Modern performance cars produce enough power that they could easily spin their wheels without moving forward if not for advanced traction control systems. Even with the stickiest street-legal compounds, conventional tires on pavement have a coefficient of friction that maxes out around 1.5. This means that without additional downforce, the theoretical limit for acceleration would be around 1.5g or roughly 1.8 seconds from 0-60 mph.
Vehicle Structure
At extreme acceleration levels, the forces exerted on a car's frame are enormous. Every component experiences stress as the vehicle launches forward. For example, drivetrain mounts must withstand thousands of pounds of force without flexing. This is why hypercars often feature carbon fiber monocoques and intricate internal structures—they need to maintain rigidity under these extreme conditions.
The McMurtry Spéirling: Defying Conventional Limits
The most remarkable advancement in acceleration technology today comes from a small British company called McMurtry Automotive. Their Spéirling hypercar has shattered acceleration records with its innovative approach.
According to McMurtry, the Spéirling can zoom from 0-to-60 mph in just 1.4 seconds and cover a quarter-mile in 7.97 seconds. This beats previous production vehicle records by significant margins.
How is this possible? The key innovation is the car's "Downforce-on-Demand" fan system:
The McMurtry Spéirling's unique performance differentiator is its fan-powered downforce system, producing 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) of downforce at a standstill. This incredible technology means the car has massive grip before it even starts moving.
Behind the cockpit are two fans that spin up to 23,000rpm to suck air out from underneath the car, creating more than two tonnes of downforce from standstill—enough so it could theoretically stick to the ceiling with the fans at full speed.
And in fact, it recently did exactly that! In April 2025, McMurtry demonstrated this capability by having the Spéirling drive upside down. The car drove up a ramp onto a metal platform that then rotated 180 degrees, with the fans keeping the car firmly attached to the surface.
This downforce-on-demand system fundamentally changes the acceleration equation. With over two tons of downforce pushing the car into the ground, the effective traction far exceeds what would be possible with just the car's weight and conventional tires. I have to admit, when I saw this video, I immediately wondered what would happen if you made the fans blow the other way! :-)
Other Acceleration Monsters
While the McMurtry Spéirling currently holds the crown, several other production cars offer mind-bending acceleration:
Rimac Nevera: 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds
Tesla Model S Plaid: 0-60 mph in 1.99 seconds
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport: 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds
Pininfarina Battista: 0-60 mph in 1.79 seconds
Aspark Owl: 0-60 mph in 1.69 seconds
What's notable is that most of these ultra-quick cars are electric. The instant torque delivery of electric motors gives them a significant advantage for off-the-line acceleration.
Marques Brownlee got to drive the Rimac Nevera last year. It’s a must watch. He accelerates at the 3 minute mark.
A Historical Perspective: The Evolution of Acceleration
To appreciate how far we've come, let's look back at the acceleration kings of previous decades:
1970s
The 1970s were the tail end of the original muscle car era, but emissions regulations and the oil crisis had begun to strangle performance. The fastest accelerating cars of this era included the Ferrari 512 BB and the Lamborghini Miura P400SV, both capable of impressive speeds for their time. The quickest American muscle cars of the early 70s, like the Hemi 'Cuda and Chevelle SS 454, could manage 0-60 times in the 5.5-6.5 second range—fast for the time but pedestrian by today's standards.
1980s
During the 1980s, the Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 topped the charts with a 0-62 mph acceleration of 3.1 seconds, followed by the Ford RS200 Evolution at 3.8 seconds, and the legendary Porsche 959 at 3.9 seconds.
1990s
The 1990s saw significant improvements with the McLaren F1, Bugatti EB110 S, and Jaguar XJR-15 all achieving 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds. This decade marked the beginning of the modern hypercar era, with cars designed specifically to push the boundaries of performance.
2000s
The 2000s introduced the first production cars capable of breaking the 3-second barrier. The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 led the pack with a 0-62 mph time of 2.5 seconds, followed by the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport and Ultima GTR720 at 2.7 seconds.
Each decade has seen roughly a half-second improvement in the acceleration benchmark. But the 2020s have brought a quantum leap, with multiple cars now achieving sub-2-second times—a milestone that seemed physically impossible just a few years ago.
Airplane Acceleration: When Cars Just Can't Compare
While modern hypercars are impressively quick, they're still no match for aircraft when it comes to raw acceleration:
Calculations suggest a fighter jet like the F-22 Raptor with its 70,000 pounds of thrust propelling a 55,000-pound aircraft would achieve 0-60 mph in approximately 2.15 seconds—comparable to the quickest cars. But that's where the comparison ends. Aircraft continue accelerating long after cars have reached their limits.
Even more impressive is the acceleration experienced on an aircraft carrier: A carrier catapult can accelerate a 35,000 kg aircraft to 60 mph in just 0.796 seconds, subjecting pilots to forces so extreme they need special hand rests to avoid knocking themselves unconscious during launch. Yes, there are special hand rests that the pilots need to grab during a carrier launch, because there is a danger that they knock themselves out if they don't have their hands holding on to something.
The Practical Limits
So what are the practical limits of acceleration in production cars? With conventional technology (wheels on pavement), we're probably approaching them at around 1.5-1.7 seconds for 0-60 mph. The laws of physics impose hard constraints on what's possible without additional tricks like downforce-generating fans.
But the more relevant question might be: what are the practical limits for humans? Most people find acceleration beyond 1g to be uncomfortable and disorienting. The sensation of blood rushing from your head, your organs compressing, and your body being pinned to the seat is not something most of us want to experience on our daily commute.
For now, cars like the McMurtry Spéirling remain fascinating engineering exercises and demonstration platforms for technologies that might eventually filter down to more conventional vehicles. They show us what's possible when talented engineers refuse to accept conventional limitations.
Sources used:
McMurtry Automotive's official website about the Spéirling Pure electric fan hypercar:
Robb Report article about the McMurtry Spéirling becoming the world's fastest production car:
McMurtry Automotive's article about the Spéirling PURE track car:
McMurtry Spéirling Wikipedia page:
Jalopnik article about the McMurtry Spéirling driving upside down:
Carwow review of the McMurtry Spéirling:
Top Gear article about the McMurtry Spéirling driving upside down:
McMurtry Automotive's press release about the upside-down driving world first:
encyCARpedia data about fastest accelerating cars of the 1980s:
encyCARpedia data about fastest accelerating cars of the 1990s:
encyCARpedia data about fastest accelerating cars of the 2000s:
Information about the fastest cars from the 1970s:
TopSpeed article about fastest accelerating reliable used cars from the 1980s:
Aviation Stack Exchange discussion about fastest accelerating aircraft on takeoff:
Executive Flyers article about how fast planes accelerate on the runway:
Aviation Stack Exchange discussion about aircraft carrier catapult acceleration:
Subscribe to my newsletter
Read articles from Greg Wilson directly inside your inbox. Subscribe to the newsletter, and don't miss out.
Written by
Greg Wilson
Greg Wilson
My day job is leading the AWS Documentation and SDK/CLI teams but all views expressed here are personal and do not represent those of AWS. I blog about my interest -- these include coding, AI, networking, photography, aviation, EVs, and other ramblings.