The best hypercars – rated and ranked

With 1578bhp, a top speed of more than 280mph and a £5.17m price tag, the roofless Bugatti Mistral couldn't be a more fitting final act for the brand’s seminal 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine. 

Under its sculpted skin, the Mistral is largely similar to the Chiron, which means its predominantly a carbonfibre car with a mid-engined layout, two seats and a near-two-tonne kerb weight. 

The Mistral continues the Bugatti tradition of being a doddle to drive.

Matt Prior, Editor-at-large

Despite it having no fixed roof, the Mistral doesn’t feel like it has lost any rigidity. It's reasonably firm but absorbent enough, and you can change the ride height for super-high-speed runs.

And while the Mistral is wonderful to drive, the wonderful W16 is what makes it truly special. The air intakes are positioned just above the driver's head – and because the engine ingests so much air on full throttle, you can feel the pressure change in your ears. 

Overall the Mistral is as fast, beautiful, visceral and excessive as hypercars can get. 

The LaFerrari is no more, but Ferrari has plugged the gap with the new F80 hypercar. 

Like the W1 is for McLaren, the F80 is Ferrari's most powerful road car yet, powered by a hybridised twin-turbocharged V6 engine capable of revving up to 9200rpm. 

What’s odd is how quiet the car is from the outside. Towards the end of the pit straight, where the car must be pulling 140mph, all you hear is the whoosh.

Matt Prior, Editor-at-large

While the engine takes parts from the Italian firm's 499P Le Mans race car to produce 888bhp on its own, two electric motors work together to pump out an additional 280bhp, lifting total output to 1184bhp. 

Naturally, the F80 is incredibly fast. It launches from 0-62mph in 2.15sec and from 0-124mph in 5.75sec. That's faster than both the W1 and the Mercedes-AMG One.

The groundbreaking Evija rewrote the rulebook for hypercars and became the fastest car we've ever put through the rigorous Autocar road test. 

It smashed every acceleration and high-speed record set since the road test began in 1928. With a brain-wobbling 2039bhp, the Evija travelled from 0-150mph in just 7.7sec and 0-200mph in 13.0sec. In just a kilometre, it reached 217.4mph.

It’s a landmark experience but not a landmark driver’s car.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

It’s also well-balanced and fun to drive and feels natural on a twisty road, despite a kerb weight of almost 1900kg.

The driving position is excellent, with comfortable bucket seats. You’re enveloped in a snug, yet elegant cabin that feels very Lotus. 

In short, the Evija isn’t a revolutionary driver’s car but is certainly an influential EV that will shape the future of Hethel’s electric models. 

Some might view Lamborghini’s Aventador successor as a supercar, but anything that nudges over 1000bhp surely has to be granted hypercar status. 

By pairing a screaming 6.5-litre V12 with three electric motors, the plug-in hybrid Revuelto puts out a whopping 1001bhp and 739lb ft of torque for a super quick 2.5sec dash to 60mph.

Anybody who has driven an Aventador will find the Revuelto shockingly cohesive and biddable on the road.

Richard Lane, Deputy road test editor

It’s one of the fastest cars we’ve ever road tested, and yet this aggressive-looking, 1892kg missile is more enjoyable and approachable to drive than the unhinged Aventador. 

The clunky seven-speed manual gearbox is gone, swapped in favour of a lightning-fast eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Clever torque vectoring means the wide and heavy Revuelto remains agile and fun, be it on track or the road.

Move inside, and the Revuleto also feels ergonomically stronger and more comfortable than the Aventador. There’s even room for proper luggage under the bonnet.

Reincarnating a name like Testarossa was always going to be a bold move for Ferrari, but then this is a bold hybrid hypercar with a V8 engine, three electric motors and a total output of 1036bhp.

The 849 Testarossa is the successor to the SF90 Stradale, which used a similar V8 hybrid powertrain. While it was supremely fast, the SF90 was never engaging enough to be Ferrari’s benchmark driver’s car. 

The electric motor elements have introduced a new dimension of rev-matching. I’d be amazed if there’s a more accomplished transmission in operation anywhere.

Matt Prior, Editor-at-large

But this isn’t the case with the 849, which pairs unrelenting performance with communicative mid-engined handling. It’s thoroughly entertaining to drive and less clinical and complex than its predecessor.

It revs all the way to 8000rpm and will hit 60mph in under 2.3sec – yet it will also do 16 miles of pure-electric driving.

Sure, it's expensive at just over £400,000, but Maranello’s flagship hypercar now has the engagement to go with its wild performance.