The Best Of The Best: Top Achievements In The Automotive Industry

February 14, 2023

The auto world is full of wondrous accomplishments, from piloting a car through the sound barrier to parking in your office. There is little we can’t achieve with four wheels, some ingenuity, and enough willpower to make our dreams a reality. Let’s take a look back and see what significant accomplishments our species has been driven to do in the name of the automobile. Our first is here to get us up to speed before we take off.

Top Acceleration In The World

This one is a toss-up. Technically, Tesla’s Model S takes this one with an acceleration of zero to sixty-two in just 2.28 seconds. That’s only 0.02 seconds faster than the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon which reaches speed in a blistering 2.3 seconds. The theoretical acceleration limit for cars on Earth is just under two seconds, which means we’re now entering the race to be the first to reach that threshold instead of manufacturers just pushing each other into more Gs off the line. The Model S obviously gets a ludicrous boost from its 100kW battery pack and dual motors.

If you’re more about maintaining pace than the sprint off the start and you’ve got the cash to throw around, our next cars are for you.

Most Expensive Production Car

The list of seven-figure vehicles seems to grow as super-luxury automakers up the ante year after year, making quarter million dollar rides from Aston Martin and Lamborghini look like Corollas by price comparison. While I am tempted to give this one to the $13 million Rolls Royce Sweptai, it seems unfair to give the title to a one-off custom build, instead of a dedicated model on offer. That said, the title goes to the McLaren P1 LM. The record-setting P1 was commissioned by Lanzante Motorsport so they could build a roadworthy variant. The company produced six of the road-legal variants, selling five for $3.7 million apiece. They kept the sixth one for 'lab testing,' which I’m sure is a euphemism for the world’s greatest office toy.

While the P1 LM is pricey, our next car managed to make it look affordable.

Most Expensive Car Ever Sold

There’s a world of difference between the off the lot cost of a vehicle and what a car pulls in at auction. The history of a vehicle can profoundly influence the price at auction, whether it is previous ownership, historical events the vehicle was present for, or limited production numbers, certain collector vehicles can rake in millions of dollars when the gavel drops. This 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold at auction in 2013 to an unnamed buyer for $51 million and took the record for the most expensive car ever sold. Ferrari only crafted thirty of these 300hp racers, which saw actual track time. It’s no surprise, however, between the exorbitant price, its classic styling and prowess on the track in its day that this car is often regarded as a masterful work of art instead of just another car.

If tens of millions of dollars isn’t quite in your budget, maybe this next car is more reasonable.

Most Affordable Car

The title for Most Affordable Car goes to the Tata Nano, with a base price of just $2000 when it first launched in 2008. Even after the price has crept upwards, the supermini still retails for under $5000 new. This little two cylinder hasn’t made it to North American shores since the cost-cutting measures to produce a car this cheap includes losing some safety and eco-tech. Cost and space-saving measures to produce the microcar include removing the passenger side mirror, housing the fuel filler under the hood without a cap, and early models could only access the trunk from inside the vehicle.

Carry on if you want something many people have found an affordable option, even if it is a bit pricier than the Nano.

Top Selling Car

Launched in 1966, the Toyota Corolla takes this honor handily with 44.1 million units to date, that’s a whole ten percent more than the runner-up, Ford’s F-Series trucks with 40 million units sold. Part of the Corolla’s success comes from the fact that it has kept its name across more than a few revisions and model changes, as well as being sold in 150 countries around the globe. Regardless, a Corolla is sold approximately once every fifteen seconds during business hours. Between the relatively low price and the proven quality and resale value of Toyota’s ‘little crown,’ it is unlikely that the Japanese sedan will be bumped off the sales podium anytime soon.

Our next car is as astronomical as the Corolla’s sales figures.

Furthest From Earth

You probably thought we were going to talk about Elon Musk’s space-faring roadster, but we’re not. Starman may be headed out past Mars now, but several Rovers are roaming the Martian surface that beat him out there. The first two were Soviet builds called Mars 2 and Mars 3, but they failed upon reaching the planet. In 1997 the Sojourner rover spent eighty-three martian days and drove a total of about 328 feet collecting data before losing contact with Earth. Since then, three more rovers have been sent to the red planet, the latest being Curiosity, which had its mission extended indefinitely in late 2012 and is still sending data back to Earth. It’s pretty much the coolest autonomous car ever; eat your heart out Elon.

Continue to bring yourself a bit closer to Earth and read about a car that people drove.

First Off Planet Driver

The Lunar Rovers playfully referred to as ‘Moon Buggies,’ were the first vehicles to drive on an extraterrestrial terrain. The first was taken with the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 and drove a total of 17.25 miles across the lunar surface. The battery operated buggies rode on zinc coated, woven steel tires with titanium chevron treads for grip on the moon’s sandy surface and were driven using a T-shaped handle similar to that of the Firebird 3. Since NASA was unable to bring the rovers back after the Apollo missions, the moon now has the remains of three rovers left on the surface, preparing humanity for the first extraterrestrial collision whenever we get back up there again.

Read on to get a bit more grounded again.

Biggest Ever

To save dragging mining equipment and monster trucks into this battle, I’m limiting the scope of this category to production vehicles and discounting limousines such as the Mercedes Maybach Pullman. Our first winner by sheer mass is the massive Ford Excursion, weighing in between 7200 and 7700 lbs depending on the engine. The overall length of the extended SUV is 226.7 inches, which beat out by the second winner of this group by nearly fifteen inches; the Rolls Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase measures 240 inches. The giant luxury liner weighs almost 6,000 lbs and comes packed with an equally massive 6.7L V12, with more than enough power to haul any fat-cat that can afford such extravagance. The Phantom VII is stocked with enough expensive options to make opulence a tangible concept. The rear seats feature VIP legroom so you can stretch out and watch the fiber optic constellations that are woven into the fabric of the ceiling.

Of course, if you’d prefer something more conservative in size, read on.

World’s Smallest

The smallest car on the market is returning by popular demand, kind of. The P-50 was initially produced from 1962-65 and revived again in 2010 with updated gear. The original P-50 measured in at a measly fifty-one inches and had a petite three-speed manual with no reverse. The new release is the same size, but they replaced the antiquated transmission with a continuously variable transmission that can back up. The revamped model loses some power with that newfound agility, however, since Peel shifted from a fan-cooled 49cc engine that pumped a steady 4.2 hp, down to an equal sized four stroke that only produces 3.5 hp, or an even weaker 3.08 hp electric. The lower power output means the can only travel at 28 mph, which realistically is fast enough for a car you can drive and park in your cubicle with you.

28 mph might be a touch slow for some; maybe our next achievement is better suited for them.

Highest Top Speed

The world’s fastest car is not your standard Rolls Royce. The SSC is powered by dual Royce Spey turbofan jet engines, just like those found on the Phantom II fighter jet. The cockpit is nestled between the pair, which produces a healthy 110,000bhp. The fuel economy is simply terrible, burning 4.8 gallons of fuel per second, or 0.43 mpg. What it lacks in mileage, it more than makes up for in speed; the bullet racer hit 763 mph and was the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier. The record-setting run was piloted by Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green in the Al-Jafr desert in Jordan.

For more reasonable top speed, see our next slide.

Fastest Production Car

The winner for Fastest Production Car is a relative newcomer and company to keep an eye on. Koenigsegg's Agera RS takes this title away from the Bugatti Veyron with a top speed of 284.55 mph. The record-breaking car is loaded with a 5L twin turbo V8 that produces just under 1000 hp. While there are plenty of challengers vying for the title, including some unconfirmed reports that the Hennessey Venom F-5 may be able to break 300, these opponents have yet to prove themselves. This title will likely pass hands several times in the coming years, just as it has in the past, pushing us closer to our ultimate limitations - then we’ll stick some jet engines on it.

This wraps up our recounting of the greatest achievements and accomplishments out of the auto industry.

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