Any list of the fastest cars in GTA Online is going to be specialized. Do you want to win in a quarter-mile drag race? In a longer loop with corners, braking and acceleration? By hitting the highest top speed in a straightaway?
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There are a lot of variables, but for the purposes of this updated article we're going to focus on two of the most useful—lap times and top speed. Listed below will be the ten fastest non-rocket-powered cars and motorcycles (no helicopters or airplanes!) around multiple laps of a regular circuit in GTA Online based on the Cutting Coroners track. Braking, cornering and acceleration all play a part in getting a quick lap time here.
The Expanded & Enhanced versions of the game on PS5 & Xbox Series X have access to Hao’s Special Works, which is a special mod shop within the Los Santos Car Meet. We're not going to cover those HSW cars here, since they're only available on console and not on PC.
The following results come from the very detailed and scientific car testing Adam Brough carried out on this YouTube channel over the past 10 years. Check out his lap times and top speeds documents for an overview of his methodology, and find exhaustive information about every car and its testing on his website at https://gtacars.net/.
This list only focuses on 'normal' cars and motorcycles—those that don’t get a benefit from external boosts, except the occasional nitrous—and can be used in regular races. That means that speedy-but-unraceable entries like the submersible Pegassi Toreador, which would have been in the top 10, aren't included. If you're interested in the performance of other cars or those below fifth place, check out Adam's channel.
The ten fastest cars by lap times
Benefactor BR8 (0:54.788) [Class: Open Wheel]
Western Powersurge (0:55.371) [Class: Motorcycles]
Progen PR4 (0:56.424) [Class: Open Wheel]
Declasse DR1 (0:56.790) [Class: Open Wheel]
Ocelot R88 (0:56.791) [Class: Open Wheel]
Nagasaki Shotaro (0:57.490) [Class: Motorcycles]
sh*tzu Hakuchou Drag (0:57.590) [Class: Motorcycles]
Progen Emerus (0:57.624) [Class: Supers]
Grotti Turismo Omaggio (0:57.775) [Class: Supers]
Pegassi Weaponized Ignus (0:57.824) [Class: Supers]
The ten fastest cars by top speeds
Again, none of these cars and motorcycles are HSW-upgraded, jet-powered or unavailable for normal races. For the complete list that includes those additional cars, see Adam's website.
Western Reever (162.99 mph) [Class: Motorcycles]
Maibatsu Manchez Scout (139.75 mph) [Class: Motorcycles]
Maibatsu Manchez Scout C (137.75 mph) [Class: Motorcycles]
BF Weevil Custom (137.50 mph) [Class: Muscle]
Nagasaki BF400 (137.0 mph) [Class: Motorcycles]
Ocelot Pariah (136.0 mph) [Class: Sports]
Pegassi Bati 801RR and 801 (tied at 135.0 mph) [Class: Motorcycles]
Grotti Itali RSX (134.5 mph) [Class: Sports]
sh*tzu Hakuchou (134.0 mph) [Class: Motorcycles]
Grotti Itali GTO Stinger TT (132.0 mph) [Class: Sports]
These lists should help you choose the cars you want if you have a corner-heavy race and a long top speed race. Having the best in one situation doesn't necessarily mean you'll have the best in the other. For example, the 811 is nowhere to be seen when it comes to the overall lap times list, despite being in the best 20 for top speeds.
In addition, the best top speed any Open Wheel car can muster is about 15 mph slower than that of the Weevil Custom from the Muscle class, despite dominating around a track due to their cornering abilities.
So what should you buy? Well there are a number of different situations you could find yourself in, and you’ll want a different car for each.
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Sports class races
The Sports class currently has some of the best balance we’ve ever seen at the top. While the Grotti Itali GTO remains the likely best on most tracks, it’s also possible to be competitive with an Ocelot Pariah, Penaud La Coureuse, Grotti Itali RSX and Vysser Neo. Take your pick!
Long highway races
If you’re going to be spending your time racing around the highways of Los Santos you might as well try to get it done as quickly as possible (since you’ll probably be bored after 30 seconds). In this case top speed matters most as corners are few and far between, so simply go with the cars listed in the top speed rankings further up in this article.
Supers class races
If you’re driving on a track that is either primarily corners or has a balance of corners and straights, and is set up like most regular racing circuits you’d see in real life, there are usually only a few options that you need to consider. With HSW unavailable, the top three options are the Progen Emerus, Grotti Turismo Omaggio and Pegassi Weaponized Ignus, all of which will be competitive with each other and demolish anything else when driven properly.
Open-wheel races
The introduction of Open-wheel cars and races added some complexity to things, because (unlike in other cars) different body modifications change their cornering and top speed abilities by affecting the amount of downforce the cars have.
Generally, you always want to stick to the BR8. As can be seen from the lap times list, it’s just that much quicker than the rest.
Muscle class races
The Vapid Dominator GT has edged out the perennial favorite Bravado Buffalo STX from a lap time competitive standpoint in the muscle class. HSW cars truly beat the rest of the pack in this class, but they're unavailable on PC.
Tuner street races
Street races are limited to the "Tuner" sub-class, which contains a number of cars from the Los Santos Tuners DLC that are in other classes (like Sports, Muscle, etc) but can also be raced together. There are three main contenders here if you want to be competitive:
Sultan RS Classic
Vectre
Calico GTF
The Growler and Jester RR lie in 4th and 5th places for Tuner races respectively, but are somewhat off the pace of the top three, who are all separated by around two tenths of a second across all of them.
With the Vectre having the best cornering ability, the Calico boasting the best acceleration, and the Sultan being the best all-rounder, it’s up to your own personal tastes which one you pick. Keep in mind that some tracks will also be better in one of these cars than the others, but choosing any of the top three ensures you’ll always be competitive.
