7 Cars That Fell Just Short Of 200mph

There are a few vital achievements that a performance car manufacturer has to meet before classing its product as one of the supercar elite; eye-wateringly good looks, a knee-jangling soundtrack and above all else, a powertrain worthy of the sacred 200mph club. In the 1990s, the automotive world was obsessed with top speed figures, creating multiple long-geared performance legends that punched well over the 89.4 metres per second benchmark like the Jaguar XJ220 and McLaren F1.

The noughties brought an emphasis on usable performance, with the focus shifting to outright acceleration and grip rather than autobahn-storming top ends. But with technology now developing to a point where sub-3 second 0-60mph times can be coupled with 200mph+ top speeds, here is a list of cars that did everything they could to try and scrape into the 200mph ranks, but to no avail.

Audi R8 GT (2011)

The R8 GT was a limited edition, aero-clad road car that pushed the ‘everyday’ performance car to the limit. With only 333 cars being built, the GT is a rare beast, and features the 5.2-litre powertrain found in the standard V10 road car but tuned to 552bhp from 525bhp. This raised the top speed from 196mph to a frustrating 199mph (320kph).

Although the R8 GT was designed to be the slightly more hardcore variant of the R8 line, the car could maybe have done with a retractable wing rather than the fixed spoiler to push past 200mph using a little more aerodynamic efficiency.

Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06

The C6 Corvette was a gamechanger for Chevy as it finally brought the corvette on performance terms with some of the most prestigious supercars from Europe at a relatively low cost. Continuing the Z06 name from the C2 of the 1960s, the C6 Z06 increased power from the C5 variant from 380bhp to a much more inspiring 498bhp from its 7.0-litre LS7 block.

The official top speed was 198mph which was remarkable for a car priced at just under $66,000, and to Chevy’s credit a ‘Vette soon broke through the 200mph barrier with the C6 ZR1 which used a supercharged 6.2-litre LS9 V8 producing 629bhp.

Nissan R390 GT1

Possibly the coolest car on this list, the R390 was a one-off homologation special that was designed to allow Nissan a route into Le Mans racing in the late 90s. This mid-engined grand tourer was conceptualised by the one and only Ian Callum, the man responsible for the Aston Martin DB7 and every modern Jaguar you can think of.

Although Nissan claimed top speeds of 220mph from its racing car, the road car was only ever capable of a respectable 196mph. After great success with the RB26-powered Skyline GT-R LMs, the engineers at Nismo decided that to keep up with the best of the GT1 class, the R390 would have to use the twin-turbocharged V8 block derived from the older R89C Group C racer. Developing 632bhp in full GT1 form, the road car was sadly detuned to just 542bhp, meaning it never quite collected the 200mph holy grail.

Porsche 911 996 GT2

Take a 911 Turbo, reduce its weight massively by removing the four-wheel drive system for a rear-wheel drive setup and give it a brutal suspension setup – that’s the basis of the genuinely scary prospect that is the GT2. A huge jump from the talented GT3 due to the twin-turbocharged engine from the Turbo, the 996 GT2 delivered 476bhp and 457lb ft of torque to send it up to 198mph.

Add in the fact that it came with a six-speed manual transmission and a high-revving, water-cooled 3.6-litre flat six and the GT2 has predictably become one of many Porsches that have sky-rocketed in value in the last couple of years. Auctions are now littered with these old-school performance legends while most Porsche showrooms are now sadly full of PDK gearboxes and downsized powertrains.

BMW M3 GTS

Taking the 4.0-litre NA V8 from the standard E92 and boring it out to 4.4-litres, the M3 GTS is about as desirable as BMW M cars can get. A naturally-aspirated 444bhp powertrain and a spectacularly ostentatious rear-wing meant that the stripped-out M3 sold out easily, with only 135 vehicles being produced.

With weight dropping by 136kg along with the power increase, the GTS was capable of 0-60 in 4.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 193mph. Oh yeah, and it only came in THAT orange.

Ferrari 550 Maranello

Front-engined V12 Ferraris have become extremely sought-after beasts, with the 550 holding its value unbelievably well. It was Ferrari’s first two-seat, rear-wheel drive, front-engined, 12-cylinder model since the Daytona and was built up until the 575 took over in 2002. The Pininfarina-designed body managed a low drag coefficitent of 0.33 which when coupled with 471bhp from its 5.5-litre NA V12 took the 550 Maranello up to a 199mph limit.

It seems even a big V12 just wasn’t enough to haul the 1,774kg kerb weight past the elusive 200mph mark, but the 550 is still one of the most-desirable and collectible Ferraris in the classifieds today.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

We can’t wait to see the Giulia on the streets of the UK as – from the initial reports from the Italian launch – the QV has finally brought Alfa back on the map as a serious performance contender. The combination of a Ferrari-derived V6, a couple of turbochargers and a seemingly well-designed rear-wheel drive chassis, this Italian performance saloon appears to be the answer we’ve all been looking for from my personal favourite European automaker.

It has already monstered the Nordschleife in a frankly ridiculous 7 minutes 32 seconds, but falls short of 200mph with a top speed of ‘just’ 191mph.

What do you think defines a supercar? Is a 200mph top speed a must? Or is it more down to the looks and overall experience? Comment below with your thoughts!