Top 10 Cars With Over 500 Horsepower
By Jakob Hansen, 4/8/2022
Think the 60's were the Golden Age of Motoring? Just look at what we have today.
Not long ago, horsepower wasn’t such an achievable figure. 500 horsepower was achieved by only a limited number of cars in the top echelon of motoring. Anything with that kind of power was aiming to battle the best cars in the world.
500 plus horsepower is no longer an exclusive club reserved for only for supercars and track-focused race cars. The accessibility of horsepower in this modern era means that everything from family wagons to SUVs with off-road pedigree, the 500 horsepower figure is no longer reserved for the same mid-engined supercars it once was.
For many, the ’60s were regarded as the “Golden Age of Motoring”. Detroit was producing high horsepower pony cars were dominating Woodward Ave and the Europeans were releasing cars that could take racetracks faster than ever before. But don’t be confused, my friends, this is the Golden Age. You’re living it. There are more cars than ever before with more horsepower than your right foot can handle. There has never been this many cars available for purchase right now that’s sole purpose is to expose your body to more G-forces than previously thought possible. Showrooms are stocked full of cars that can outperform any car from previous era’s. Think about this figure. A Honda Accord, the most normal of the normal cars that you can buy, can out sprint a Lamborghini Miura to 60. That's the first mid-engined supercar with a mid-mounted V12, and the current Honda accord will beat it to 60. If a Honda Accord can do that kind of damage, just think of what the real performance cars can do.
Here’s our list of our favorite 500 horsepower cars available today. The best part is, our number one pick has the most power, and the lowest base MSRP. What a world we live in.
#10. BMW M5
Base MSRP Range: $102,700-$110,000
The BMW M5 isn’t exactly the epitome of “affordable power”, but it is a four-door sedan with more back seat room than most SUVs that puts out over 600 horsepower. That earns it a spot on this list. Not to mention, the M5 can out handle, out turn, and out sprint many supercars of recent years. Round that off with the fact that the M5 now comes with AWD with 100% of the power being able to be put to the rear-wheels, it starts to become an unbeatable deal.
#9. Nissan GT-R
Base MSRP Range: $113,540-$210,740
The GT-R has always been the “affordable supercar”. Affordable is clearly a very subjective term, however, when pitted against cars that are three, four times its value, the GT-R can still outshine the competition. Updated for 2020 to produce over 600 horsepower from its 3.8l twin-turbo V6, this AWD coupe can push you further into your seat then you ever thought possible.
#8. Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
Base MSRP Range: $74,245
Alfa’s return to the US was an exciting event. The Italian manufacturer had been disappointingly absent from the US for far too long, and when the gorgeous Giulia was brought to us, we didn’t know what to do. Now that we’ve had some time with the car, we’re still as excited about it as we were first when it arrived on US shores. The Giulia Quadrifoglio, with its 505 horsepower Ferrari-based twin-turbo V6, is a charm of an engine, and despite early rumors of reliability issues, modern Alfa’s have proven to be the same charming cars they were when they left our shores so long ago.
#7. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (Trackhawk)
Base MSRP Range: $85,900
The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT started life al the way back in 2006 with 420 horsepower, impressive figures even then. Today, the Grand Cherokee SRT puts out an impressive 475 horsepower from its 6.4l V8. You keen readers may have noticed that 475 isn't exactly 500. Good eye. However, the SRT Trackhawk, with a supercharged 6.2l V8 puts out 707 horsepower. Now, you keen readers, how that for over 500? The 6.2l is the same engine found in the Charger Hellcat and Challenger Hellcat, and it’s equally impressive in the Grand Cherokee. With enough power to move you and your family around at quite a pace, the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk will go down in history as quite an impressive specimen.
#6. BMW X4 M
Base MSRP Range: $73,400
SUVs are not going away, and that means that the people who want power, but still want an SUV, need to be satisfied. Don’t worry, BMW has you covered. With up to 503 horsepower, the X3/X4 M both carry over the M3’s powertrain and put it to good use in their raised platforms. You may be put off by an M car being an SUV, but that’s where the market is heading, and honestly, we will never complain about anything with over 500 horses.
#5. Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Base MSRP Range: $80,900
The last of the front-engined Corvettes. It’s the end of an era folks. The engine in the Corvette is moving, but don’t forget, you can still walk into your local Chevy dealer and drive away with 650 horsepower. You may be waiting it out for the new mid-engined C8 ‘Vette, but with the C7 Z06 still up for grabs, and with the discounts that Chevy is offering right now, you’d be crazy not to have this on your list.
#4. Range Rover Sport Supercharged
Base MSRP Range: $86,500
Range Rover may have strayed far from its off-road, farm truck past, but we don’t care. The Range Rover Sport lineup sets a standard in the SUV class that few have met, with an interior that is hands down the best in class. The up to 575 horsepower family SUV can haul your kids off to soccer way faster than ever needed, but to that I answer, what if you’re late?
#3. Cadillac CTS-V
Base MSRP Range:
Back in 2008, my neighbor worked for GM and had a test CTS-V sitting in his driveway one day. I couldn’t believe the way the thing looked, the harsh angles, the chrome grill, it was all so...mean. Look at the CTS-V today, and you can still see those harsh angles and angry face, only now, it has even more power to back it up. With 640 horsepower from the Corvette sourced supercharged V8, the CTS-V is a real German super-sedan beater.
#2. Ford Mustang GT350
Base MSRP Range: $59,140
Ford has slowly been turning the Mustang into a European sports car beating machine. The current Mustang platform is the stiffest, best handling chassis ever produced by Ford and the engine is no slouch either. The Shelby GT350 is Ford’s best handing, and highest power Mustang yet, until the GT500 comes next year to dethrone its baby sister. The current GT350 features a flat-plane crank 5.2 lV8 that screams up to 8200 RPM and puts out 526 horsepower. The GT350 is nothing to turn your nose to, just keep a keen eye when one’s leaving a cars and coffee event.
#1. Dodge Charger/Challenger SRT Hellcat
Base MSRP Range: $28,095-$59,245
Dodge is like the crazy redneck neighbor that lives next door. You know the one, he’s always coming up with the craziest concoctions, up until 2:00 AM revving whatever car he’s working on this time, and has 15 cars in his backyard, each one with a crazier engine set-up than the last. Yeah, that's a Dodge. Dodge seems to go by the moto “If it fits, it ships,” stuffing their massive 6.2l supercharged, 707 horsepower engine into everything they can. Oh, 707 isn’t enough for you? Dodge has you covered. Que the 808 base and 840 peak horsepower Challenger Demon. If 840 peak horsepower isn’t enough for you, I have a neighbor you should meet, I think you’d get along well.
Closing
Honestly, we had to trim so many cars off of this list. We could make a top 20 500 horsepower cars list, and still have some models left off at the end. With so many 500 plus cars, it’s crazy to think that highway speeds have not been raised to 100 mph by now! We truly feel this is the Golden Era and in twenty years we will all look back and think how crazy it was that it was this easy to have access to this much power. It’s a brave new world out there folks, better get out and take advantage of all this power before it's not there anymore.