The Quickest Cars We Tested in 2022
Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
Every year, we test hundreds of new cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans. Our testing procedures run the gamut, and include digging into everything from a vehicle’s real-world highway fuel economy and driving range to its cargo-carrying capacity. The more fun stuff takes place at the track, where we push the vehicles we test to their limits, stabbing at the brakes from as fast as 100 mph and pinning the accelerator to clock a given model’s straight-line acceleration. While this includes the likes of a quarter mile run, 30 to 50 mph and 50 to 70 mph passes, and more, the trip to 60 mph often is the figure that’s most cited.
The below vehicles are the quickest such examples to hit 60 mph in 2022. These are not necessarily the quickest vehicles to undergo testing in our hands, but these are the quickest ones to show up at our test track between the first and last days of the 2022 calendar year.
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With a curb weight of 3737 pounds, the all-wheel-drive self-shifting 2022 Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS we tested carried 336 pounds more mass than a rear-drive stick-shift Carrera 4 GTS we also tested this year. Despite this, the Targa hit the mile-a-minute mark 0.3 second ahead of its coupe counterpart. Credit the 473-hp Porsche’s quick-shifting dual-clutch gearbox for this remarkable performance, as its ability to near-instantly change gears far outmatches the speed at which a human can swap cogs with a manual transmission.
That said, Porsche’s dual-clutch gearbox can only do so much to cover for the Targa’s additional pounds, as evidenced by the 2.8-second run to 60 mph we recorded in a so-equipped Carrera GTS in 2021.
MORE ABOUT THE PORSCHE 911
Despite us putting 40,000 miles on our 2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the mid-engine sports car’s on-track performance showed little-to-no regression from the start of our long-term test. Just as at the start of its time with us, our Red Mist Corvette Stingray accelerated to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. It even matched its original quarter mile time of 11.2 seconds with a trap speed of 122 mph. No matter how you feel about the eighth-generation Corvette, there’s no denying the fact it’s a machine that offers consistent and predictable performance capabilities.
MORE ABOUT THE CHEVROLET CORVETTE
Au revoir, Acura NSX. The Japanese luxury brand waved goodbye to its second-generation mid-engine supercar by giving it the Type S treatment for 2022. Despite making a full 600 horses, the gasoline-electric NSX Type S required the same 2.9 seconds to hit 60 mph as its earlier, 573-hp counterpart. Nonetheless, there’s no arguing the Acura NSX is quick, Type S or not, and its brisk straight-line acceleration made it among the quickest accelerating vehicles we tested in 2022.
MORE ABOUT THE ACURA NSX
Want to enjoy the sweet sound of the Porsche 911 GT3’s naturally aspirated flat-six sans the over-the-top aerodynamic addendum? Then the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring is the car for you. With 502 horsepower and an available seven-speed automated gearbox, the Iris Blue GT3 Touring we tested ripped its way to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. Opt for the six-speed manual and you’ll add 0.5-second to that time. That said, we think the stick shift’s greater driving engagement more than makes up for any loss in acceleration.
MORE ABOUT THE PORSCHE 911 GT3
We’re not sure if Porsche will sell an updated version of the current 718 Boxster and Cayman alongside the forthcoming battery-electric model. That said, if we’re to assume the German manufacturer decides to sell the 718 strictly in EV form, then we’re delighted to see the current car lean into its gas-powered performance potential in its final years on the market. You cannot go wrong with any 718 model, but you can go a little more right by opting for one of the six-cylinder options: the GTS, Spyder, GT4, or the absolutely bonkers GT4 RS. Though it stickers for around $20,000 less than the rear-engine 911 GT3, the 493-hp 718 Cayman GT4 RS offers near-equal performance figures to its pricier sibling. This includes its run to 60 mph, which we clocked at 2.8 seconds, the same as a 911 GT3 Touring we tested this year.
MORE ABOUT THE PORSCHE 718 CAYMAN
The current BMW M4 may lack the engaging dynamics of M4s and M3s past, but there’s no denying it’s one quick machine. Especially when fitted with the Competition kit and BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system. The former nets the M4 an additional 30 horsepower, for a total of 503, and a quick-shifting automatic transmission. Pair this with the grip of all-wheel drive, and you have the recipe for one of the quickest M4 variants available today, with the test car BMW sent us racing to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds.
MORE ABOUT THE BMW M4
Sure, the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 coupe includes a removable roof panel for a little bit of the wind-in-your-hair experience, but the convertible offers a true roof off experience. The power-operated top of the Corvette Z06 convertible, brings fresh air—and the sound of the Z06’s flat-plane crankshaft V-8—into the cabin at the push of a button. With assistance from finely tuned launch control system, accelerating to 60 mph happens in a mere 2.7 seconds.
MORE ABOUT THE CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06
The 2023 McLaren Artura plug-in hybrid’s gasoline-electric powertrain may lack the aural sensation of the V-8 720S, but the latest addition to the McLaren line certainly packs a punch worthy of bearing the British automaker’s name. We clocked this 671 horsepower coupe getting to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds, identical to the 710-hp 720S coupe.
MORE ABOUT THE MCLAREN ARTURA
The Lucid Air has the Tesla Model S in its sights, and the battery-electric sedan continues to prove it has the goods to take on the elder statesman of the luxury EV segment. Still, the Air’s yet to steal the acceleration crown from the Model S Plaid. Even though the 1111-hp Air Dream Performance model’s 2.6-second run to 60 mph falls short of the 1020-hp Plaid’s 2.1-second time, the dual-m0tor Lucid remains damn quick. So quick, in fact, that it’s among the quickest vehicles we tested in 2022.
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If you want the most performance-oriented variant of the eighth-generation Chevrolet Corvette Z06, then you ought to nab a coupe with the track-oriented Z07 package. The combination turns the already dynamically competent and relatively affordable mid-engine Chevrolet sports car into an outright performance anomaly that, among other things, is capable of getting to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds.
MORE ABOUT THE CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06
We started 2022 off strong with an early test of the 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S with the optional Lightweight package. This combination allowed the self-shifting 3566-pound 640-hp Porsche to accelerate to 60 mph in a mere 2.1 seconds. Netting this sort of performance, however, is not cheap, with the car we tested stickering for $223,230.
MORE ABOUT THE PORSCHE 911 TURBO
2022 Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS: 2.9 Seconds to 60 MPH
2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe with Z51 Package: 2.9 Seconds to 60 MPH
2022 Acura NSX Type S: 2.9 Seconds to 60 MPH
2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring: 2.8 Seconds to 60 MPH
2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS: 2.8 Seconds to 60 MPH
2022 BMW M4 Competition xDrive Coupe: 2.8 Seconds to 60 MPH
2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Convertible: 2.7 Seconds to 60 MPH
2023 McLaren Artura: 2.6 Seconds to 60 MPH
2022 Lucid Air Dream Performance: 2.6 Seconds to 60 MPH
2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S with Lightweight Package: 2.1 Seconds to 60 MPH
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