Highest horsepower vehicles in Australia?

You can thank/blame (take your pick) Scottish engineer James Watt for the confusing way we measure engine performance in cars. He was the person that came up with the bright idea of measuring power based on a horse.

So, you’re probably asking, what is a horsepower? Well, a quick history lesson is needed. In the late 18th century he wanted to compare the output of his new steam engine to a draft horse and thus came up with a formula that compared the two.

He calculated the effort of a horse at being capable of lifting 250kg by 30cm in one second, which equates to 745 watts - or 0.745kilowatts.

You probably don’t care about steam engines, but you’d probably be interested in the cars with the most horsepower? And you might be wondering what does it mean if a car has a lot of horsepower? Or even what is considered high horsepower?

In this story we’ll explain what the average car horsepower is and reveal the highest horsepower car on sale in Australia today.

But, just to make life confusing, Australian cars are more typically rated by kilowatt (kW), as we use the metric system in Australia, so that’s what you’ll find listed in most CarsGuide stories.

And then, to make it even more confusing many European carmakers have begun listing power in metric horsepower (usually abbreviated to ‘PS’ or ‘cv’) because it’s only 735w, which means a higher number.

But to keep things simple we’re going to give you both the kilowatt (kW) and horsepower (hp) for the 10 most powerful cars in Australia.

To define our list, we’ve restricted it to cars that are available to Australians to buy in what we’d consider reasonable volumes, so one-off or extremely rare models from Bugatti, Koenigsegg and similar are excluded.

So while cars like the 1257hp McLaren W1, 1184hp Ferrari F80 would top our list if included, the reality is neither will be made in right-hand drive and so few will make it here that it’s not really a true indicator of what you’ll find in Australia.

With the rise of turbocharged and hybrid performance cars, many brands are able to provide an ‘overboost’ function that allows for a short burst of more performance, but as it is only available for a limited time, we are not classifying that as a car’s actual output.

While it’s incredibly difficult to declare an ‘average’ horsepower for Australian cars, to put our list in context we’ve looked at two of the most popular cars on sale today - the Ford Ranger and Toyota RAV4.

The Ranger’s 2.0-litre, twin-turbo, four-cylinder diesel engine makes 154kW/206hp, while the RAV4 Hybrid produces 163kW/218hp.

As you’ll see on our list below, to even make the top 10 you need more than 500kW/670hp, so there’s a very big difference between the most powerful car engine available and what most of us are driving.

For an added layer of context, let’s answer the question - how much horsepower does a F1 car have? Regulations require F1 cars to use a 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine paired with a hybrid system, and while the secrecy around each team makes precise details impossible to know, it’s believed the engines produce around 850hp most of the time with more than 1000hp available when the hybrid system’s energy boost is deployed.

Top 10 most powerful cars on sale in Australia

1. Aston Martin Valhalla - 793kW/1063hp

This so very nearly didn’t make the cut, due to it likely carrying a $3+ million price tag and the fact it's expected to be sold in very limited numbers as such. But, crucially, unlike the McLaren W1 and Ferrari F80, the Valhalla will be built in right-hand drive.

However, it is limited to only 999 units worldwide, so it will be an incredibly rare sight on Australian roads. Still, its plug-in hybrid powertrain is a masterpiece of performance. It combines a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine with three electric motors to achieve its staggering horsepower figure.

Aston Martin designed the Valhalla to expand its range beyond front-engine GT cars and make its presence known to Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and others. Mission accomplished.

2. Ferrari SF90 XX - 758kW/1016hp

To understand just how far modern supercar makers are pushing the limits of performance, Ferrari’s XX program was originally designed strictly for track-only cars.

But with buyers demanding more power, Ferrari created the SF90 XX Stradale and Spider, which took the already powerful SF90 and extracted even more performance from its twin-turbo V8 and tri-motor hybrid system.

The result is a 1016hp output and a 0-100km/h time of 2.3 seconds - staggering performance for a car that can legally be driven to your local shops. With its track-inspired aerodynamic package the SF90 XX Stradale set a new lap record around Ferrari’s private test track in 2023.

3. Lamborghini Revuelto - 746kW/1000hp

How do you exceed the expectations set by iconic models like the Diablo, Murcielago and Aventador? Well, if you’re Lamborghini you create a new type of car - the so-called high performance electrified vehicle (or HPEV).

With emissions regulations tightening but customers demanding a V12 engine, Lamborghini had to create an all-new powertrain for its hero model. The solution is a 1000hp powertrain that combines a 6.5-litre V12 petrol engine with three electric motors, that should keep both performance car buyers and emissions regulators happy. 

4. Lamborghini Temerario - 677kW/908hp

It’s not just the bigger Revuelto that needs to meet the stricter emissions protocols, the Huracan-replacing Temerario had to do the same. So, gone is the glorious-sounding V10 engine, replaced by a new twin-turbo V8 and (you guessed it) three electric motors.

The combination of turbocharging and electric motors has become a new pathway for high-performance brands like Lamborghini and Ferrari to explore in the search for more performance while using less fuel.

5. Lotus Emeya R - 675kW/905hp

The other way to save on tailpipe emissions is to just get rid of tailpipes and internal combustion engines altogether. Lotus (the new Lotus under the control of Chinese giant Geely) has decided to embrace electrification and high horsepower - two traits the brand never previously possessed.

The range-topping Emeya R sports sedan packs a punch, with its electric motors producing 905hp, which is enough to launch you and the whole family 0-100km/h in just 2.7 seconds.

And if you’re wondering why the 1020hp Tesla Model S Plaid didn’t make our list it’s actually a simple answer - the American brand doesn’t sell it in Australia. 

6. Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance - 620kW/830hp

If I said to you picture the most powerful production Mercedes-AMG ever made, chances are you didn’t picture a plug-in hybrid sedan. And yet that’s precisely what this 34-character long car is (excluding the limited-run AMG One hypercar, which doesn’t meet our criteria anyway), as the German brand tries to straddle the line between mind-blowing performance and planet-loving efficiency.

Not for the first time on this list, the AMG combines internal combustion engine performance with modern electric motors to create a massive amount of horsepower. The combined output of the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine and electric motor is a whopping 830hp, which is even more than the brand’s flagship sports car, the AMG GT Coupe 63 S E Performance that makes ‘only’ 805hp.

7. Aston Martin Vanquish - 614kW/823hp  

While Aston Martin has endured a more rollercoaster ride than Ferrari over the decades, the British brand has got its groove back in recent years and renewed its role as the United Kingdom’s answer to the Prancing Horse.

To that end the Vanquish is its rival to Ferrari’s 12Cilindri (more on that in a moment) and in order to lure buyers away from the Italian stable, Aston Martin has provided the one thing buyers seem drawn to - more horsepower. The Vanquish is Aston Martin’s last V12-powered model, but to ensure the advantage over Ferrari it has upped the ante with a pair of turbochargers. So the Vanquish’s twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 makes a deeply impressive 823hp - enough to make even the most die-hard Ferrari fans second guess their next purchase.

8. Ferrari 12Cilindri & 296 GTB - 610kW/818hp

Ferrari has a legacy of V12-powered front-engined sports cars dating back to the 1950s, and not even the tightest emissions laws on the planet could stop the company from continuing that heritage with its latest model, the 12Cilindri. As the name implies (or, actually, shouts), this is a V12 and it’s loud and proud. As it should be, making a very healthy 818hp at a screaming 9500rpm.

However… to disprove the old adage that there’s no replacement for displacement, the 296 GTB with an internal combustion engine half the size of the 12Cilindri manages to make exactly the same power. The combination of a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 engine and an electric motor that powers the 296 GTB makes the same 818hp, albeit in a different way.

With these two, Ferrari is demonstrating that there’s more than one way to make a lot of horsepower.

9. Porsche Taycan Turbo GT - 580kW/777hp

As we mentioned earlier, modern electric performance cars can make the question of performance and horsepower confusing, and Porsche’s Taycan is the perfect example of this. In its standard (if you can call the extremely focused Turbo GT a standard car) it makes 777hp from its electric motors.

However, it also has an ‘Attack Mode’ that can boost power to 938hp for 10 seconds and then, to make it even more confusing, with a combination of 'Launch Control' and 'Overboost' it can unleash 1092hp for just two seconds.

That 252hp difference, while only short, is an amazing display of the technological advances that electric performance cars can unlock. But only having it for two seconds isn’t enough to put it at the top of our list.

10. Bentley Continental GT Speed - 575kW/771hp

This British brand may be more famous for pampering luxury cars, but it also knows how to do performance. After all, you need a lot of horsepower to move all that leather and wood effortlessly.

This is yet another hybrid model on our list (with only the Vanquish and 12Cilindri avoiding an electrical assistance) but that’s not a bad thing for those wanting more horsepower.

Thanks to the combination of 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and electric motor, this new Continental GT Speed has 771hp, which is a 20 per cent improvement on the previous model.

But even amongst the prestigious and expensive models on this list, the Bentley stands out with its combination of luxury and horsepower.