Fastest Stick Shift Vehicles of the Last 30 Years
What is the fastest stick shift car in the world? That’s a question often debated, as it can be answered in many different ways. First, are we talking about the fastest manual-transmission car built by the factory? Currently or ever? Or are we talking about the fastest one created by custom-fabrication shops and racers? Instead of choosing one, we decided to pull together a list that looks at the fastest in each of those categories.
We want to clarify that fastest and quickest are two separate things. It may seem like just a matter of semantics, but we like to be accurate. Fastest refers to speed, measured in mph. Quickest is how long it takes to accelerate to a specific speed or within a set distance. For this discussion, we are only looking at quickest. We are using 0-60 mph times for factory-built cars and elapsed time (e.t.) in a quarter-mile for modified cars.
Fastest Stick Shift Production Cars from 1990-2020
Included in this list are several vehicles that rolled off European and Japanese production lines. We’ve included ¼-mile times (e.t.) where the data was available, and 0-60 mph times for all of them. And these impressive numbers were achieved with a human depressing a clutch pedal, manipulating a shifter to change gears, then release the clutch pedal. You might be surprised to see the top of the list has quite a few cars that are now more than 20 years old. And no surprise, many of them also are equipped with a TREMEC transmission.
2012 Ariel Atom 500 (V8): 0-60 mph, 2.3 seconds
2016 Hennessey Venom GT Spyder: 0-60 mph, 2.4 seconds; 9.4 (e.t.)
2015 SSC Tuatara: 0-60 mph, 2.5 seconds; 9.7 (e.t.)
2015 Ariel Atom 3.5R: 0-60 mph 2.5 seconds; e.t.,10.8 (e.t.)
2012 Hennessey Venom: GT 0-60 mph, 2.5 seconds
2007 Caparo T1: 0-60 mph, 2.5 seconds
2010 Pagani Zonda R: 0-60 mph, 2.6 seconds
2013 Ariel Atom 3.5: 0-60 mph, 2.6 seconds
2006 Ultima GTR 720: 0-60 mph, 2.6 seconds; 9.9 (e.t.)
2017 Rezvani Beast: 0-60 mph, 2.7 seconds
2007 SSC Ultimate Aero TT: 0-60 mph, 2.7 seconds; 9.9 (e.t.)
2012 BAC Mono: 0-60 mph, 2.7 seconds
2015 Rossion Q1: 0-60 mph, 2.8 seconds; 10.2 (e.t.)
2011 HTT Plethore: 0-60 mph, 2.8 seconds
2019 Ariel Atom 4: 0-60 mph, 2.8 seconds
2009 Caparo T1 Race Extreme: 0-60 mph, 2.8 seconds
2010 Koenigsegg Trevita: 0-60 mph, 2.8 seconds
2016 Zenos E10 R: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds
2010 Noble M600: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds; 10.9 (e.t.)
2016 Ariel Atom 3: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds
2007 Ariel Atom 2 Stage 2: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds; 11.4 (e.t.)
2009 Ariel Atom 3: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds
2011 Ariel Atom 3 Mugen: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds
1999 TVR Cerbera Speed-12: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds
2012 Zenvo ST1: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds
2006 Mosler MT900 GTR: 0-60 mph, 2.9 seconds
2017 VLF Force 1 V10: 0-60 mph, 3.0 seconds
2016 Ariel Nomad Supercharged: 0-60 mph, 3.0 seconds
2011 GTA Spano: 0-60 mph, 3.0 seconds
2011 Gumpert Apollo Sport: 0-60 mph, 3.0 seconds
2011 Iconic AC Roadster: 0-60 mph, 3.0 seconds
2011 Chevrolet Camaro SLP ZL1: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 11.0 (e.t.)
1993 Bugatti EB110 SS: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds
2011 Ferrari 599 GTO: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 10.9 (e.t.)
2002 Mosler MT900 Photon: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 11.0 (e.t.)
2005 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 10.6 (e.t.)
2006 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 10.6 (e.t.)
2004 Koenigsegg CCR: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 9.9 (e.t.)
2006 Koenigsegg CCR: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 9.7 (e.t.)
2003 Mosler MT900 Photon: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 11.0 (e.t.)
2006 Mosler MT900SC: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 11.0 (e.t.)
2011 Mosler MT900SC: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds
2013 Mosler MT900 SC: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds; 11.0 (e.t.)
2011 Rossion Q1: 0-60 mph, 3.1 seconds
2018 Lotus Exige Cup 430: 0-60 mph, 3.2 seconds
2007 Noble M400: 0-60 mph, 3.2 seconds; 11.4 (e.t.)
2009 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano: 0-60 mph, 3.2 seconds; 11.4 (e.t.)
2010 Porsche 911 Turbo (manual): 0-60 mph, 3.2 seconds; 11.4 (e.t.)
1994 McLaren F1: 0-60 mph, 3.2 seconds; 11.1 (e.t.)
1991 Jaguar Sport XJR-15 Supercar: 0-60 mph, 3.2 seconds
2013 Dodge Viper GTS: 0-60 mph, 3.3 seconds; 11.4 (e.t.)
2014 Dodge Viper Time Attack Edition: 0-60 mph, 3.3 seconds; 11.4 (e.t.)
2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Convertible: 0-60 mph, 3.3 seconds; 11 (e.t.)
Fastest Custom-Built Cars with a Manual Transmission
In the drag racing world, the debate of which is quicker, a manual or an automatic transmission, is never-ending. But it does provide great entertainment as various racers work to prove which is the quickest. Inside the stick-shift ranks there is a constant battle amongst racers in the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout. And these are true manual transmission-equipped racecars, not Lenco-style gearboxes. If you know of an H-patterned shift car that has run faster than the ones listed below, let us know by posting to the TREMEC Facebook page.
Joel Grannas/Grannas Racing Supra
Joel Grannas has been racing a long time, and his efforts have made him one of the most widely known and respected racers. He’s a leader in the 2JZ crowd, enthusiasts who are devout followers of the 3.0L inline-six that powered previous generations of the Toyota Supra. Joel recently broke the 6-second barrier in his Supra equipped with a TREMEC Magnum 6-speed transmission, running 6.90 e.t. at 194 mph. You can read about Joel and his 6-second Supra by clicking here.
Jonathan Atkins Chevy Camaro Z28, “Grubb Worm”
Although he didn’t snag the overall title, Jonathan Atkins of Tick Performance did set an impressive mark in becoming the quickest GM stick-shift car at the recent TX2K showdown. Powered by a Gen II LT1 small-block – that’s right, not an LS motor – “Grubb Worm” ran 7.28 e.t. at 196 mph. And Jonathan did it by shifting the gears of a TREMEC Magnum 6-speed. Like Joel Grannas, he is also on a quest to break into the 6s.
Two Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT) Honorable Mentions
While a dual-clutch transmission (DCT) is controlled by the driver like an automatic transmission, its internals are similar to a manual transmission (click here to read The Differences Between a DCT and a Traditional Automatic Transmission), so we thought we would include a couple of top-performing DCT equipped cars in this list as well. And yes, they just happen use a TREMEC DCT.
The TREMEC TR-9070 DCT is the only transmission available in the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. And with a 0-60 mph time under 3.5 seconds and a quarter-mile time under 11 seconds, it is also the quickest Mustang in Blue Oval history.
The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is equipped with a 6.2L V8 LT2 making up to 495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. This next-gen small-block is paired with the TREMEC 8-speed TR-9080 DCT. With the Z51 Performance Package, this newest model has the fastest 0-60 mph time (2.9 seconds) of any Corvette built.