List of automotive superlatives

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This page lists superlatives of the automobile industry - that is, the smallest, largest, fastest, lightest, best-selling, and other such topics.

In order to keep the entries relevant, the list (except for the Firsts section) will be limited to automobiles built after World War II. Many odd vehicles emerged in the early days of the automobile industry. There is a section for early superlatives, however.

The list will also be limited to production road cars that meet the following conditions:

  1. 20 or more examples must have been made by the original vehicle manufacturer and offered for commercial sale to the public in new condition - cars modified by either professional tuners or individuals are not eligible
  2. They must be street-legal in their intended markets and capable of passing any tests or inspections required to be granted this status
  3. They must have been built for retail sale to consumers for their personal use on public roads - no commercial or industrial vehicles are eligible


Some notes about units of measurement used herein

Engine capacity/displacement

Engine output

Power

  • 1 horsepower (hp) = 1 brake hp (bhp) = 1.0139 metric hp (PS) = 0.7457 kilowatts (kW)
  • 1 metric hp = 0.9863 hp = 0.7355 kilowatts
  • 1 kilowatt = 1.3410 hp = 1.3596 metric hp

Torque

  • 1 foot-pound force of torque ( ft·lbff) = 1.3558 newton-meter (N·m)
  • 1 newton-meter = 0.7376 foot-pound force

Fuel economy

  • 1 mile per US gallon = 1.2009 miles per imperial gallon = 0.4252 kilometers per L = 235.208 liters per 100 kilometers
  • 1 mile per imperial gallon = 0.8327 miles per US gallon = 0.3540 kilometers per L = 282.4731 liters per 100 kilometers
  • 1 kilometer per L = 2.3521 miles per US gallon = 2.8247 miles per imperial gallon
  • 1 L per 100 kilometers = 235.208 miles per US gallon = 282.4731 miles per imperial gallon

Power to weight or weight to power

(See also: weight-to-power ratio)

  • 1 hp per short ton = 1.12 hp per long ton = 0.82199 kilowatt per metric ton
  • 1 hp per long ton = 0.89286 hp per short ton = 0.76890 kilowatt per metric ton
  • 1 kilowatt per metric ton = 1.2166 hp per short ton = 1.3625 hp per long ton
  • 1 pound per hp = 0.60828 kilogram per kilowatt

Engine capacity

Dimensions

Overall

Wheelbase

Track

  • Widest Front - 1819 mm (71.6 in) - 1993 Hummer H1
  • Widest Rear - 1819 mm (71.6 in) - 1993 Hummer H1
  • Narrowest Front - 1200 mm (47.2 in) - Isetta
  • Narrowest Rear - 521 mm (20.5 in) - Isetta

Weight

  • Heaviest passenger vehicle - 3550 kg (7826 lb) curb weight - 2006 ZIL-41047 - Russian limousine
  • Lightest passenger vehicle (4 wheels) - 350 kg (770 lb) DIN - 1956 Isetta
  • Lightest passenger vehicle (3 wheels) - 59 kg (132 lb) DIN - 1962 Peel P50

Other

Power

Most power

Most torque

Most specific power (power to weight ratio)

  • 100–200 hp — 288.75 hp/metric ton (7.64 lb/hp) — Lotus 340R, 190 hp (142 kW) and 658 kg (1451 lb)
  • 200–300 hp — 657 hp/metric ton (3.35 lb/hp) — Ariel Atom 2 supercharged 300 hp (224 kW) and 456 kg (1005 lb)
  • 300–400 hp — 381 hp/metric ton (5.79 lb/hp) — 2003 TVR Tuscan S 400 hp (298 kW) and 1050 kg (2315 lb)
  • 400+ hp — 683 hp/metric ton (3.12 lb/hp) — 2004 Koenigsegg CCR supercharged V8 engine 806 hp (468 kW) and 1180 kg (2513 lb)

Most specific engine output (power per unit volume)

  • Honorable mention: 168 hp (125.3 kW)/litre - 2002 Radical Motorsport SR3 (252 hp (184 kW) 1.5 L I4 engine) - (Note: The Radical's status as a production car is disputed, and numbers refer to the competition version, there are no official data for the road version)
  • Honorable mention: 125 hp/liter - 1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (250 hp from a 2.0 liter V8 engine) - note: only 18 cars were built by the factory, at US$17,000 it was the most expensive car available to the public at the time.
  • Petrol/Gasoline (forced-induction) piston engine - 149 kW (203 PS/200 hp)/litre 400 hp - 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII FQ400 (298 kW (405 PS/400 hp) 2.0 L I4 (The FQ400's status as a "production car" is disputed)
    • Honorable Mention: 126 kW (171.4 PS/169.7 hp)/litre (441 kW (600 PS/594 hp) DIN 3.5 L V12 quad-turbo) - Bugatti EB110 Super Sport
    • Honorable mention: 179.3 kW (243.8 PS/240,5 kW)/litre (537 kW (730 PS/720 hp) 3.0 L flat-6 twin-turbo) - Dauer 962 LeMans (Road version of the Group C Porsche 962)
  • Diesel (naturally-aspirated) - 33.4 kW (45.4 PS/44.7 hp)/litre (100 kW (136 PS/134 hp) DIN 3.0 L I6) - 1995 Mercedes E 300 D
  • Diesel (forced-induction) - 66.8 kW (90.9 PS/89.5 hp)/litre (200 kW (272 PS/268 hp) DIN 3.0 L I6 twin-turbo) - 2005 BMW 535d
    • Honorable Mention: 81.6 kW (111 PS/109.5 hp)/litre (156 kW (212 PS/209 hp) 1.9 L I4 twin-turbo) - 2003 Opel Vectra OPC Concept (Not a production vehicle)

Most specific torque (torque per unit displacement)

  • Petrol (naturally-aspirated) - 114 N·m (84 ft·lbf)/litre (370 N·m (273 ft·lbf)) - 2003 BMW M3 CSL
    • Honorable mention: 119 N·m (87.8 ft·lbf)/litre (125 N·m (92.2 ft·lbf)) - Wartburg 353 Rallye Version (i3 engine 1050 cm3)
  • Petrol (forced-induction) - 216.6 N·m (159.5 ft·lbf)/litre (432 N·m (318 ft·lbf)) - 2005 Subaru Impreza S204
    • Honorable mention: 233.6 N·m (172.3 ft·lbf)/litre - 700 N·m/516 ft·lbf Dauer 962 LeMans (Road-going version of the Group C Porsche 962)
  • Petrol (naturally-aspirated rotary engine) - 170.8 N·m (126.0 ft·lbf)/litre (222 N·m (164 ft·lbf)) - 2005 Mazda RX-8
  • Petrol (forced-induction rotary engine) - 226.3 N·m (166.9 ft·lbf)/litre (294 N·m (217 ft·lbf)) - 1995 Mazda RX-7 Turbo
  • Diesel - 187.1 N·m (138 ft·lbf)/litre (560 N·m (413 ft·lbf)) - 2005 BMW 535d
    • Honorable mention: 210.5 N·m (154.8 ft·lbf)/litre (400 N·m (294 ft·lbf)) - 2003 Opel Vectra OPC Concept (Not a production vehicle)

Least specific engine output (power per unit volume)

  • Petrol - 22.5 hp (16.8 kW)/litre, 1973 Chevrolet 307 5.1 L V8, 115 hp (85.8 kW)
  • Diesel - 18.4 hp (13.7 kW)/litre, 1980 Oldsmobile LF9 engine 5.7 L V8, 105 hp (78.3 kW)

Economy

  • Highest USA EPA mileage - 61/66 mpg (3.9/3.6 L/100 km) - 2005 Honda Insight 5-speed
  • Lowest EU average fuel consumption - 2.99 L/100 km (78.6 mpg (US)) - 2002 VW Lupo 1.2 TDI 5-speed
  • Longest 90% range - 1500 km (932 mi) - 2005 Mercedes E220 CDI with 6-speed manual and optional 80 Liter fuel tank, calculated by using extra-urban Euro cycle mileage of 4.8 L/100 km (49 mpg)

Performance

  • Quickest 0-60 mph (roughly equal to 0-100 km/h):
    • 2.5 s - 2006 Bugatti Veyron
    • Sports car (4 seat) - 3.4 s - 2006 Porsche 911 Turbo
    • 4-door car - 3.5 s - 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII FQ400 2.0 L (Note: the FQ400's status as a "production car" is disputed)
    • Pickup truck - 4.9 s - 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10
      • Honorable mention: 1991 GMC Syclone - Car & Driver got 0-60 in 4.6 Seconds (Nov '90) and later 5.3 Seconds (Sep '91), Sport Truck (Jan '91) got 4.8 seconds, Off Road magazine (Feb '91) got 4.3 Seconds (Feb '91), and Autoweek got 5.2 seconds but quoted GMC's estimate of 4.6 seconds and cited unfavorable temperature and track conditions.
  • Quickest 0-100-0 mph:
    • Sports car (2 seat) - 9.9 sec - 2006 Bugatti Veyron [3]
      • Honorable mention: 9.4 seconds - 2006 Ultima GTR-720[4] - (Note: production numbers for GTR-720 are not available and the GTR's status as a "production car" is disputed)
  • Highest top speed:

Sales

See also List of bestselling vehicle nameplates
  • Best-selling models:
    • Best-selling car nameplate - Toyota Corolla (more than 32,000,000 sold in nine generations since 1966)
    • Best-selling vehicle nameplate - Toyota Corolla (more than 32,000,000 sold in nine generations since 1966)
    • Best-selling single model - Volkswagen Beetle (21,529,464 of the same basic design sold worldwide between 1938 and 2003)
    • Best-selling 2-seat car - Mazda Roadster/MX-5/Miata (nearly 750,000 of three generations sold between 1989 and 2006)
    • Best single-year sales - >1,000,000 - Chevrolet Impala, 1965.[6]
    • Best single-month sales - 126,905 - July 2005 Ford F-150 [7] (This number is for F-Series, not just F-150)
    • Best Selling Minivan - Dodge Caravan, over 11,000,000 sold.
  • Lowest-production models: (excluding limited-production vehicles)
    • Pickup truck - avg. 223 per month, Lincoln Blackwood (3,356 sold in 15 months)
      • Honorable Mention Mazda B-series (stated by Sutoline Detroit to be the worst selling vehicle currently on the market)
    • Sports car - avg. 6 per month, Toyota 2000GT (337 sold in 5 years)
    • SUV - avg. 4 per month, Lamborghini LM002 (301 sold in 6 years)
  • Marques and manufacturers:

For first ten months of 2005.*

Firsts

Full-production vehicles are listed here. Many were preceded by racing-only cars.

Engine types

Engine technologies

Hybrid vehicles

Body

Transmission

Layout

Suspension

Brakes

Driver-aids

Passive restraint

Tires

Lighting

Electrical system

Climate control

In-car electronics and entertainment

Other

American types

Pre-War

  • Best-selling pre-war vehicle - Ford Model-T (15,000,000 sold between 1908 and 1928)
  • Least-expensive full-featured automobile - 1927 Ford Model-T ($300 is about $3500 in inflation-adjusted 2005 dollars)
  • Largest vehicle - Bugatti Royale - 21 ft (6.4 m) long, 180 in (4.57 m) or 170 in (4.32 m) wheelbase depending on model
  • Largest pre-war Straight-4 - 21.5 L (21495 cc) - 1912 Benz 82/200
  • Largest pre-war Straight-6 - 21.1 L (21112 cc) - 1905 Panhard et Levassor 50 CV
  • Largest pre-war Straight-8 - 12.8 L (12763 cc/778 in³) - 1929 Bugatti Royale

See also

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