The '90s decade was fantastic for the auto industry and is widely regarded as the peak of automotive culture. Manufacturers finally figured out how to create incredibly powerful cars that didn't violate the newly introduced emission restrictions, resulting in a new generation of high-speed machines that blew gearheads away with their phenomenal performance.
This list highlights the fastest and most innovative sports cars of the '90s, with the main metric being their top speeds.
Dauer 962 Le Mans
- Top speed: 251 MPH
The Porsche 962 sports prototype racing car had a successful career from 1984 to 1994, winning nineteen constructor's championships in competitions such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Following the end of sports prototype racing in the early '90s, Dauer Sportwagen decided to honor the 962's legacy by building a road-legal version of the race car, resulting in the Dauer 962 Le Mans.
Dauer started with stripped-down bodies of the 962, replacing bodywork components with revised carbon fiber and kevlar panels, adding a hydraulic suspension system, and installing a second seat and leather upholstery in the co*ckpit.
The Dauer 962 Le Mans used the same water-cooled twin-turbo flat-six as the racing Porsche 962, but since it didn't require an air restrictor to meet racing regulations, it produced 720 ponies. With a top speed of 251 mph, the Dauer 962 Le Mans was the fastest street-legal production car of the '90s.
McLaren F1
- Top speed: 240.1 MPH
When naming the greatest British sports cars, the McLaren F1 has to be in the top three, if not the top spot. The F1 was McLaren's first street-legal production car, but it's hard to know since it excelled in every way possible.
A brainchild of the renowned Gordon Murray, the F1 brought forth revolutionary technologies that have influenced supercar designs to date, some of which came from the best Formula One cars.
These include a complete carbon fiber reinforced polymer monocoque chassis, a central driving position that gives drivers superior visibility, a gold foil lining in the engine bay to provide improved thermal insulation, and more. Powering this beast was a BMW-sourced 6.1-liter V12 engine with 618-hp on tap, enough to give it a top speed of 240.1 mph. The F1 still tops the list of the fastest naturally aspirated production cars ever decades later.
Bugatti EB 110 SS
- Top speed: 221 MPH
Before Volkswagen Group acquired Bugatti in 1998, the legendary French brand was in dismay. Despite efforts by Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli (who owned Bugatti from 1987 to 1995) to bring the brand back, things didn't quite work out. The only good thing that came out of the Romano Artioli era was the Bugatti EB 110, particularly the top-of-the-range “Super Sport” trim.
The EB 110 Super Sport was a lighter and more powerful version of the original EB 110. Its 3.5-liter quad-turbocharged V12 produced 603-hp, enough to propel it to a top speed of 221 mph.
Jaguar XJ220
- Top speed: 217 MPH
The '90s decade was fantastic for Jaguar. After many years of failing to replicate the iconic E-Type's success, Jaguar finally rediscovered how to build proper sports cars, resulting in models like the XK, XJR-15, and, arguably the best of the bunch, the XJ220. Although the XJ220 received a lot of criticism when the production version debuted in 1992 with a twin-turbocharged V6 instead of the naturally aspirated V12 in the concept version, it was still an absolute beast.
The turbo-aided V6 made 542-hp and 475 lb-ft of torque (higher than the concept), all of which went to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. With its top speed of 217 mph, the XJ220 is still the fastest production car Jaguar has ever made.
Ruf CTR2
- Top speed: 217 MPH
Ruf Automobile is a small German automaker that made its name by using Porsche bodies to build incredibly fast cars. Ruf's most popular car is the CTR “Yellowbird,” which claimed the production car speed record in 1987 after hitting a top speed of 213 mph. The CTR's successor, the CTR2, was even faster.
Introduced in 1995, the CTR2 used the 933-chassis Porsche 911 Turbo's body but had a 520-hp twin-turbo flat-six based on the Porsche 962's engine, a kevlar body with lightweight glass, a Ruf coil-over suspension system, and the option of an all-wheel-drive system. The CTR2 could accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds before reaching a top speed of 217 mph.
Vector W8
- Top speed: 217 MPH
For much of the 20th century, American automakers couldn't compete with their European rivals in the ultra-fast sports car market. There were valiant efforts by the likes of the Ford GT40, Shelby Cobra, and some versions of the Chevy Corvette, but beautiful exotic cars were far superior. However, that changed in 1989 when American automaker Vector built a proper Lamborghini rival in the form of the W8.
The Vector W8 had a superb wedge-shaped design, lightweight carbon fiber and kevlar body panels, a luxurious interior upholstered in leather and suede, and a mighty 6.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making 625-hp. Official tests by popular magazines revealed that the W8 had a top speed of just under 220 mph, but Vector claimed it could hit 242 mph. Only 22 W8s exist, making it one of the rarest American sports cars ever.
Lamborghini Diablo GT
- Top speed: 210 MPH
After the massive success of the Countach, Lamborghini knew it had to build a proper successor to keep its momentum going. The much-anticipated successor, the Diablo, debuted in 1990. Even though the Diablo is nowhere near as iconic as the Countach, it was still among the top Italian sports car of the day.
Like the Countach, the Diablo had a wedge-shaped design and a fire-breathing V12 under the hood. Lamborghini produced several Diablo versions during its 11-year production run, and the 1998 GT is our pick of the day. Lamborghini increased the Diablo GT V12's displacement to 6.0 liters, resulting in a power boost to 575-hp and a top speed of 210 mph.
Cizeta V16T
- Top speed: 204 MPH
In the late '80s, a group of former Lamborghini employees got together and established Cizeta Automobili with one goal – to build the ultimate supercar that would compete with any Lamborghini of the day. The company's first and only car was the V16T, and it was a beast.
For one, the V16T had a superb wedge-shaped design created by the renowned Marcello Gandini – the man who had designed the Lamborghini Miura and Countach. Gandini had initially proposed the design to Lamborghini for the upcoming Diablo, but the then Chrysler-owned Italian marque altered it significantly, leaving him angry. Gandini brought the original design to Cizeta, who loved it.
The name “V16T” signifies the car's engine — a 6.0-liter V16 cranking out 540-hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, enough to propel the V16T to a top speed of 204 mph.
Ferrari F50
- Top speed: 202 MPH
The Ferrari F40 was a tough act to follow, as it was easily among one of the best sports cars of the '80s. Ferrari wanted its successor — the F50 — to reach similar heights, and thankfully, it didn't disappoint.
For starters, even though the F50 lacked the pop-up headlights that gave the F40 so much character, it still was a thing of beauty. Things got even better in the power department, as the F50 had a 4.7-liter naturally aspirated V12 instead of the twin-turbo V8 setup in the F40. With up to 512-hp to work with, the F50 only needed 3.8 seconds to hit 60 mph and topped out at 202 mph. It's no surprise that the F50 costs more than $5 million today.
Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
- Top speed: 199 MPH
When the FIA introduced the GT Championship series in 1997, every top automaker wanted to participate. Mercedes-Benz was among the first automakers to develop a car for the competition, and the result was the incredible CLK GTR.
Per the FIA's hom*ologation regulations, Mercedes-Benz had to build at least 25 road-legal versions of the CLK GTR. These road versions had larger engines than the race cars, which made 622-hp, all of which went to rear wheels via a six-speed sequential manual gearbox. The road car also had amenities such as air conditioning, ABS, an audio system, and a leather or Alcantara interior.
Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion
- Top Speed: 191 MPH
The Porsche 911 GT1 is another superb sports car from the FIA GT Championship era. However, unlike most race cars of the day, Porsche developed the 911 GT1 from the ground up as a race car as opposed to creating a heavily modified version of an existing road car.
Despite having “911” in its name, the 911 GT1 barely had anything in common with the 911 of the day, only sharing the frontal chassis, headlights, and taillights. Other key components – most notably its 3.2-liter water-cooled twin-turbo flat-six engine — came from race cars like the 962C. The street-legal version of the 911 GT1 had a slightly detuned version of the race car's engine generating 536 hp, allowing it to top out at 191 mph.
Jaguar XJR-15
- Top speed: 191 MPH
In the late '80s, the Jaguar XJR-9 sports prototype race car made history when it won popular races at Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and other top competitions. Jaguar knew that wealthy racing enthusiasts were willing to pay huge sums of money to own such a car, so the British marque collaborated with Tom Walkinshaw Racing to create an XJR-9-inspired road-legal sports car – the XJR-15.
The XJR-15 used a similar chassis to the XJR-9 but underwent several modifications to adapt it for road use, including a wider co*ckpit and a raised roof. The XJR-15 also introduced new technologies, most notably being the first road car made entirely of carbon fiber. At its heart was a 450-hp 6.0-liter Jaguar V12 paired with a five-speed manual.
1999 Pagani Zonda C12
- Top speed: 186 MPH
When Horacio Pagani established Pagani Automobili in 1992, he wanted to dominate the ultra-expensive supercar market. It took a while before Pagani built its first car, but every gearhead was in awe when it finally unveiled the Zonda in 1999. The Zonda had a polarizing yet breathtaking design and an interior displaying high levels of craftsmanship and attention to detail.
Being a new company, Pagani didn't have the expertise or resources needed to build a proper engine for the Zonda. As such, they collaborated with Mercedes-Benz, who agreed to supply the M120 V12 engine for the Zonda. This engine produced 444-hp in the original Zonda C12 version, enough to propel it to a 186-mph top speed.
