The exclusive 1,000PS+ club | Axon’s Automotive Anorak
“How fast will it go, mister?” That was the question every young car enthusiast would want to know when I was a lad. In time, that cry changed to “what’s its fuel consumption?” during the 1970s fuel crisis, then to “how much does it cost?” in the 190s and ‘90s, followed by “what’s it worth?” from the early Noughties. Now, that youthful car enthusiasts’ question is more likely to be “what’s its range?” whilst admiring a new electric vehicle!
So, whilst briefly seeing some family friends for a fleeting visit to their part of the world, their car-crazy 14-year old son made a bee-line for me as he knew I was a fellow car enthusiast. After braving the cold to take a slightly disparaging look at my hard worked but now ailing Fiat Panda 100HP, the keen young car fan mocked the 100HP badge on the tail of my beloved Fiat. “100HP! Is that all it’s got?” he exclaimed laughingly, oblivious to the eager little hot hatch’s huge fun factor courtesy of its engaging dynamics, low-weight and zesty power delivery.
Sure, in the great scheme of things, 100HP (101PS) may not seem exceptional today, but rewind only a few years and the 71PS (52kW) of my Mini-powered Innocenti De Tomaso made it a hard-to-match flyer in the mid-80s, with the piccolo hatch able to embarrass many more potent cars away from the lights.
My Panda compares very favourably to my 1951 2.0-litre Bristol 401, which develops 94PS (69kW) from its 2.0-litre straight-six engine, this being quite something in the early ‘50s, to the 70PS (51kW) of my 1965 Matra-Bonnet Djet, which tips the scales at a featherweight 600 kilos, and especially to the mere 9PS (8kW) developed by the much loved old (and admittedly painfully lethargic) 1953 Citroen 2CV that I stupidly sold many years ago.
The first road legal production car to attain (and exceed) the mythical 1,000PS mark was introduced 20 years ago, in the form of the much-heralded Bugatti Veyron 16.4. This supercar developed a then unrivalled 1,001PS (736kW), setting a new power benchmark at the time of its 2005 launch. At that time, only one other car could claim to produce most than 1,000PS: the V10-powered gullwing Bristol Fighter R, which was promoted as developing a mighty 1,026PS (755kW).
Within just a decade however, a small but growing number of cars were developing 1,000PS or more, with the ultimate Super Sport version of the Veyron pumping out up to 1,200PS (883kW). The 2009 SSC Ultimate Aero TT peaked at 1,305PS (960kW) and by 2014, the Koenigsegg One:1 and later Regera RS were making 1,360PS (1,000kW), with the Japanese 2020 Aspark Owl developing 1,980PS (1,456kW).
The race to produce obscene power outputs has become the automotive phenomenon of the 2020s, with more than 40 road legal cars today developing at least 1,000PS or more. By way of contrast, the least powerful new cars currently on the market are the electric Citroen Ami and its Fiat Topolino and Opel Rocks-e twins, which develop a sobering 6PS (4kW).
The Sunbeam 1000 HP Mystery (a.k.a. The Slug) of 1927 was the world’s very first car to develop such power, in its successful aim of breaking the land speed record of over 200 mph. It achieved this feat on Dayton Beach on 29th March 1927, driven at a record 203.79 miles per hours by Henry Seagrave.
Almost 100 years on you are spoilt for choice (if you have deep pockets), with an embarrassment of almost 40 exclusive but expensive cars that produce at least 1,000PS. From the Aston Martin Vanquish V12 and Ferrari SF90 which just make it on the list, up to Red Bull’s RB17 and McLaren’s W1 breaking the 1,200PS (883kW) mark and the top performing Lotus Evija joining the Swedish Koenigsegg Gemera in breaking the 2,000PS mark, the latter developing a mammoth 2,300PS (1,692kW).
Considering this rapid rate of development, fast forward to 2035 and it is likely that more than 100 cars will be producing 1,500PS (1,103kW) or more, including a few mainstream family cars. By then my friend’s car-mad teen will be 24 years old, and I look forward to him driving at 1,000PS+ battered hatchback. Now that’s what I call progress!
Sunbeam 1000HP image courtesy of Getty Images.
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