10 Cars With 400 Horsepower or More

2015 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack 

One of the best side effects of the quest for fuel efficiency has been the proliferation of horsepower. Technologies like turbocharging and gasoline direct injection have allowed engineers to create cars with 400 hp or more, when just a few years ago, 300 hp was the benchmark for high performance. Some of the truly high-performance/high-horsepower cars are exotics, supercars and hypercars, which is to be expected, and 1000 hp can be found on some spec sheets. But a surprising range of everyday cars can be ordered straight out of the factory with 400 hp or more. We’ve collected a list to demonstrate the breadth of that range.

Here, in ascending order of horsepower, are 10 cars with 400 hp or more.

2017 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 AWD

Infiniti has spent years chasing BMW’s 3 Series for sports coupe respectability. The 2017 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 AWD is the most powerful Infiniti coupe yet, pouring out – you guessed it – 400 horsepower from its 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 engine and 7-speed automatic transmission. Infiniti’s engineers used turbocharging and gasoline direct injection to smash the 100 hp per liter barrier. The engine’s compact dimensions and light weight contribute to a quick 4.4-second run from 0-60 mph, with a top speed of 155 mph (electronically limited), and fuel efficiency ratings of 19 mpg city/26 mpg highway. The starting price of $53,300 contributes to the excitement of this 400-hp car, which is not only the best-performing Infiniti coupe to date, it’s also the most beautiful.

Photo by Infiniti

2017 Mercedes-Benz AMG C63

When AMG applies its magic to Mercedes-Benz vehicles, you can bet that high horsepower is going to be part of the picture. The in-house tuner somehow manages to shoehorn a 4.0-liter bi-turbo V8 engine under the hood of the 2017 Mercedes-Benz AMG C63, which is based on the regular C-Class coupe. That hand-built engine produces 469 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, and sends it through a 7-speed automatic transmission. The C63 is very quick, scooting from 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds. Drive at a sane pace, and you may achieve 17 mpg city/23 mpg highway, per the EPA. That kind of performance isn’t cheap, starting at $67,000, but the C63 is the sleeper on our list, and it’s hard to put a price on that.

Photo by Rex Torres

2017 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack

When it comes to dollar per horsepower, the 2017 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack is the leader in the clubhouse on our list. One of nine variants in the Charger lineup, the R/T Scat Pack hits a sweet spot with its 6.4-liter HEMI V8 that produces 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque starting at $39,995. That’s a bargain, especially when it comes packed in a functional sedan that can get from 0-60 in 4.3 seconds. Dodge uses its MDS (Multi-Displacement System) with Fuel Saver Technology to squeeze 15 mpg city/25 mpg highway by selectively deactivating pairs of the HEMI’s cylinders in low-demand situations, like highway cruising. Pretty high-tech for just $82.46 per horsepower.

Photo by Dodge

2017 Bentley Mulsanne Speed

If you’ve never experienced accelerating from 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds in a fullsize ultra-luxury sedan, do yourself a favor and cadge a test-drive in a 2017 Bentley Mulsanne Speed. You may not be able to catch a ride all the way to the beauty’s 190 mph top speed, but you’ll never doubt that it is attainable with the Mulsanne’s 530 hp and 811 lb-ft of torque on tap from the 6.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine with 8-speed automatic transmission. You may need to convince the Bentley dealership that the $335,600 base price for the sedan is within your means. Tell them that you don’t care about its thirsty 11-mpg city/18-mpg highway fuel economy rating because you own an oil refinery.

Photo by Bentley Media

2017 Jaguar F-Type R

Jaguar Head of Design Ian Callum may have produced his masterpiece with the F-Type, but the roadster is really a triumph of engineering even more than it is a paragon of design. 550 hp and 502 lb-ft of torque flow from the supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine that lives beneath the 2017 Jaguar F-TYPE R’s long hood. The silky-smooth 8-speed automatic transmission translates that horsepower into rocket-like acceleration, allowing the F-Type R to shoot from 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, up to a top speed of 186 mph. Thanks to a combination of design and engineering, the sleek $105,400 roadster slices through the wind and operates at an efficient 15 mpg city/23 mpg highway, per the EPA’s estimate.

Photo by Jaguar Land Rover

2017 BMW M5

BMW makes headlines with its handling, but it’s a mistake to forget about BMW performance, especially when considering the 2017 BMW M5. BMW has been devoted to twin-turbo engines for a while now, getting more and more horsepower from compact engine designs. The M5’s 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 packs a significant 560-hp punch, backed up with 500 lb-ft of torque. BMW has not yet abandoned the manual transmission, either, as the M5 is available with a 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic transmission starting at $94,100. The automatic can propel the M5 from 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds up to a top speed of 155 mph (limited), and can get up to 14 mpg city/20 mpg highway, which is impressive for such a roomy sedan with 560 hp on tap.

Photo by BMW

2017 Lamborghini Hurácan Spyder RWD

The first mid-engine roadster on our list, the 2017 Lamborghini Hurácan Spyder RWD may be notable for the way that it pumps out only 580 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque from its 5.2-liter V10 engine, which uses gasoline direct injection but forgoes the popular turbocharging or supercharging option. The resulting linear acceleration, reminiscent of a muscle car’s performance, helps the $219,780 Hurácan deliver its stated mission, which is to be the most fun variant of the model. Fun, it is – and fast, too, running from 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds up to a top speed of 199 mph. Surprising fuel efficiency can be achieved, with a EPA estimate of 14 mpg city/26 mpg highway – if you can stay off the loud pedal.

2017 Cadillac CTS-V

It’s great to see Cadillac on our list of 400 hp cars. With a heavy hitter like the $83,995 2017 Cadillac CTS-V, the American luxury maker stakes its claim as the American performance car maker. The impressive sedan is fitted with a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine that is tuned to produce 640 hp and 630 lb-ft of torque. The CTS-V’s 8-speed automatic transmission helps to translate that horsepower into action, resulting in a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 3.7 seconds on the way to a 200-mph top speed. When was the last time we heard about a Cadillac with 640 hp and a 200-mph top speed? Maybe never. And the CTS-V is still able to post 14 mpg city/21 mpg highway fuel economy estimates.

Photo by Cadillac

2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

When it comes to prodigious horsepower, the muscle car poster child is the 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. It’s tempting to drop the mike after announcing that the Hellcat makes 707 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. The power is so potent that Dodge delivers the Hellcat with two key fobs – one that allows full power, and one that limits power, so that drivers are not overwhelmed. They also offer a day of performance driver training at the Bondurant School with purchase of the SRT coupe. That’s a lot of car and value starting at $64,195. Especially considering that 60 mph arrives from a start at 3.5 seconds, and fuel gets burned at a rate of 13 mpg city/21 mpg highway.

Photo by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

2017 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse

The current production horsepower king is the 2017 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, which uses an 8.0-liter W16 engine to produce 1,200 hp and 1,106 lb-ft of torque. That gob of power, sent through a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel drive, is enough to get the Vitesse from 0-60 mph in 2.4 seconds, up to a top speed of 254 mph – which makes it the fastest production car in the world (for now). It’s one of the fastest at chugging gasoline, too, with an EPA rating of 8 mpg city/15 mpg highway – and much faster if you’re traveling at high speed. If you’re thinking of buying one of these $2,400,000 cars, you’d better start scouring the classifieds, because all the new Vitesse roadsters have already been claimed.

Photo by Bugatti