Define 'fastest'
There are a few ways to measure how fast a vehicle is, including a 0-100 km/h time, a 0-200 km/h time, a 0-300 km/h time, top speed and lap times. With this in mind, we went about scouring the local vehicle listings for supercars and began comparing the figures produced by some of the more exotic machinery on the AutoTrader platform.
Related: McLaren GT (2021) - Video Review
The McLaren 765LT
Looking at the figures, McLaren's limited-run 765LT appears to have been the fastest new car that you could buy in South Africa at the time of writing. The twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 motor produces 563kW and 800Nm which is sent to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. This massive lump of power and torque is made more impressive by the 1 339kg kerb weight, making the McLaren lighter than your average crossover, and also five times more powerful.
The figures
The result of all of the impressive engineering is a 0-100 km/h time of 2.8 seconds, a 0-200 km/h time of 7.0 seconds, a 0-300 km/h time of 18.0 seconds and a top speed of 330 km/h. If we have a look at the results from the annual Car and Driver Lightning lap in 2021, the 765LT became the third fastest production car to ever lap the Virginia International Raceway, losing out to the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Weissach and the McLaren Senna both of which are no longer in production. With a lap time of 2:38.4, the 765LT proved deeply impressive, going several seconds faster than the latest Ford GT.
