10 Fastest European Supercars In The World, Ranked

Here's why the old continent has served as a Mecca for innovation and speed to several exotic high-performance automakers for over a century

Europe is the home of the supercar. Most marquee supercar manufacturers - Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Bugatti, Aston Martin, Pagani, Porsche, Koenigsegg - call Europe home. Having so many manufacturers clustered in one continent has benefited supercar development as each manufacturer races to have the fastest, the prettiest, or the most outrageous supercar.

Competition fueled by rivalry has inspired these venerated automobile powerhouses to push boundaries, building exciting, astounding, and, at times, outright bonkers speed machines. These European supercar makers have invested vast resources into building supercars - and the results have been spectacular. Here are the fastest European supercars in the world.

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When the Aston Martin One-77 was launched, it was the most powerful naturally aspirated vehicle in the world: its 7.3-liter V-12 engine produces 750 horsepower. Naturally aspirated engines may generate less power than their turbocharged and supercharged counterparts, but they are less complex and easier to handle. Aston Martin placed the engine in the One-77 lower than usual, where it would have an even lesser effect on drivability and handling.

The One-77 was light as well, featuring carbon fiber monocoque and aluminum panels. With the potency and stability offered by its naturally aspirated engine and the vehicle's lightweight construction, the One-77 could comfortably hit a maximum speed of 220 MPH.

Aston Martin seemingly went berserk with the Valkyrie, doing its utmost to build a car that could go quick everywhere - around bends and on straights. Powering the Valkyrie is a hybrid powertrain delivering 1,139 horsepower and 682 pound-foot. The weight-saving measures of the Valkyrie are extreme.

It has rear-facing cameras in place of exterior mirrors, no rear window or a rearview mirror, and all-around carbon fiber construction. Aston Martin claims that the Valkyrie had no steel components in its structure. Consequently, the Valkyrie is rapid: the vehicle's top speed is electronically capped at 220 MPH. The Valkyrie AMR Pro, the vehicle's track-only variant, has a top speed of 250 MPH.

Lamborghini's entry into supercar production provides a great example of how competition and rivalry have inspired some of the best supercars in Europe. The Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae is the Lamborghini twelve-cylinder swan song - it was the last-ever Lamborghini to feature a naturally-aspirated V-12. Lamborghini retired the V-12 in style, placing a 6.5-liter mill inside the Ultimae, making it the most powerful Aventador ever produced. The Ultimae's heart produces 769 horsepower and 531 pound-feet, enough to catapult the car from zero to 60 MPH in 2.8 seconds.

Flat out, the Lamborghini Ultimae peaks at 221 MPH. The vehicle's lightweight construction and slippery body allow it to achieve such phenomenal speeds. Sporting features like four-wheel steering, the Ultimae is also a juggernaut track.

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Pagani built the Huayra as the Zonda's successor. The company's founder, Horacio Pagani, said the Zonda felt outdated, signaling the need for a better flagship model. The Pagani Huayra debuted in 2011, featuring, according to Horacio, more than 10,000 individual components, with the engine and gearbox considered individual parts.

It had a turbocharged Mercedes AMG V-12 generating 730 horsepower. The Huayra could reportedly hit a top speed of 230 MPH; some claimed the Huayra could hit speeds as high as 238 MPH. The most extreme Huayra, the R, is a track-only variant that can reach 240 MPH. It's powered by a 6.0-liter naturally-aspirated V-12 engine specially built by HWA Racelab to produce 850 horsepower.

McLaren wasn't looking to set the record for the world's fastest production car when it started developing the F1. Nevertheless, the British manufacturer fitted the lightweight vehicle with a 6.1-liter V-12 engine made by BMW. In 1993, a prototype limited to 581 horsepower hit 231 MPH, breaking the 217 MPH record set by the Jaguar XJ220.

Five years later, McLaren set out to find out how fast the monster they’d manufactured could really go. They placed Alan Wallace - the same man who maxed out the Chiron Super Sport - in the cockpit of a McLaren F1 and told him to have a go. The McLaren set an average top speed of 240.1 MPH, maxing out at 242.9 MPH on its fastest run. The McLaren F1 is still the fastest naturally-aspirated vehicle in the world.

The McLarens Speedtail, 720S, and 765LT share the same 4.0-liter turbocharged V-8 with virtually similar power outputs: the V-8 in the Speedtail is slightly more potent than the one in the 720S, and the engine in the 765LT produces nine more horsepower than the one in spaceship-like Speedtail. Nevertheless, the 765LT and 720S can only dream of matching the Speedtail's performance figures.

McLaren's premiere car features an electric motor that increases power output to 1,055 horsepower, accelerating the car from zero to 186 MPH in 13.0 seconds. Coupled with the Speedtail's lightweight and low-drag construction, the hybrid powertrain accelerates the vehicle to a maximum of 250 MPH. However, 250 MPH is the Speedtail's electronically-limited top speed. Without the limiter, the Speedtail could go much faster.

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Bugatti was unhappy when the SSC Ultimate Aero took over from the Veyron as the fastest production vehicle. Therefore, the French manufacturer set about building a car that could go faster than 256.23 MPH. The monster W-16 was tuned to produce 1,183 horsepower, nearly 200 more than the standard Veyron. Bugatti also stiffened the suspension and installed new NACA ducts.

The Super Sport and the standard Veyron shared identical zero to 62 MPH times, but beyond that, the Super Sport led the way. The Veyron Super Sport recorded an average speed of 267.9 MPH over two runs on the Ehra-Lessien test track. With that, Bugatti reclaimed its place at the top of the speed rankings.

The Agera RS was the last Agera model produced by Koenigsegg. It combined the best elements of its predecessors, the R, S, and the One:1. Like the R and the S, it featured a detachable hardtop and a luggage compartment. Like the One:1, the RS was lightweight and optimized for track performance. It differed from its forerunners in one crucial metric: it was faster.

A 5.0-liter twin-turbo producing 1,160 horsepower on 95-octane fuel powered the Agera RS. The optional MW upgrade increased the power to 1,360 horsepower. For a while, the Agera RS was the fastest production vehicle in the world: it set an average top speed of 277.9 MPH on a closed Nevada road and touched 284 MPH on one of its two runs. The Agera RS was the perfect car to end the Agera series.

Christian Von Koenigsegg named Koenigsegg's fastest car after his father, Jesko, who helped Christian achieve his dream of owning a car company. The Jesko has two variants: the Attack for track performance and the Absolut for straight-line speed. A 5.1-liter V-8 that produces 1,603 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet powers both variants.

The Absolut has two rear fins instead of the rear wing on the downforce-heavy Attack. It is slightly elongated and has a reprofiled nose with no winglets. Christian has quoted insane numbers when taking up the Jesko's potential: he stated that the Jesko Absolut has hit 330 MPH in simulations. However, he quickly pointed out that the 330 MPH figure is theoretical; simulation figures don't always translate to real life. Nevertheless, Koenigsegg feels confident that the Jesko will join the Veyron in the 300+ MPH club.

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The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ was built to commemorate the manufacturer's first vehicle to surpass 300 MPH. Bugatti's iconic 8.0-liter W-16 engine, introduced to thrust its vehicles beyond previously unimaginable speeds, propelled a prototype Chiron into the record books. Bugatti's iconic engine debuted in the Bugatti Veyron in 2005, producing 987 horsepower. Every new Bugatti after the Veyron featuring the game-changing W-16 had more power. The W-16 in the record-breaking Chiron was the most extreme, producing 1,578 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque.

To get the vehicle past 300 MPH, Bugatti optimized it to reduce drag: the manufacturer set the car lower, installed drag-reducing exhaust pipes, and removed the airbrake and rear wing. Bugatti also installed a new thermal management system for the transmission and engine and new software to manage the vehicle's main components.

A set of computer systems filled the space previously occupied by the passenger seat. In the hands of test driver Andy Wallace, the prototype Chiron hit 304.77 MPH. Bugatti made the Chiron Super Sport 300+ based on the record-breaking prototype. The 30 Chiron Super Sport 300+ examples conceived are electronically limited to 273 MPH. However, as the vehicle's name suggests, they can blast past 300 MPH.

Moses Karomo is an enthusiastic automotive writer who can talk and write endlessly about EVs. He has extensive automotive reporting experience, writing about all manner of automotive topics. He keeps up with innovations and trends in the car industry to provide readers with up-to-date information about the ever-evolving automotive industry. When not writing, Moses is traveling or cooking.