One of the pillars of Car and Driver—and Sports Cars Illustrated, which was our name until 1961—has always been recording objective performance data for a wide variety of automobiles. This tradition began in 1955, and our approach progressively became more and more scientific. One of the very first cars we tested was the high-tech Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (April 1956), but it missed out on making this list by one-tenth of a second. Plenty of legendary cars—ever hear of Chevrolet’s sports car, James Dean, or Ferris Bueller?—are among the 10 quickest to accelerate from zero to 60 mph that we performance-tested in the 1950s.
For perspective, the top car is equally as quick as today’s Volkswagen GTI. Heck, a 2015 Kia Sedona minivan would crack this list, but that doesn't make this group any less significant.
Be sure to also take a spin through the quickest cars we tested in the 1960s, '70s, '80s, '90s, and the 21st century so far.
10. 1958 Chevrolet Corvette — 7.6 seconds
December 1957
To mark the fourth birthday of the Corvette, its proud parents, the Chevrolet Motor Division, have announced the 1958 model which has undergone some extensive but not too important changes on the surface and a few rather interesting ones underneath. Starting right at the plastic body, the use of aluminum reinforcements in the cowl structure, inaugurated in mid-'57, has been extended to include the so-called "rocker panels" under the door openings. Bumpers are now bracketed to the frame in conventional American style, relieving the front and rear body panels of loads that are not rightfully theirs. These two items raise the weight "less than 100 pounds", but for racing, most of it can be unbolted and left in the pits without the SCCA batting an eye. READ MORE >>
9. 1956 Chevrolet Corvette — 7.5 seconds
May 1956
Chances are that by the time you read this the '56 Corvette will have made a profound impression on the whole sports car world, and after having had one under me for a couple of days I will be the last to be surprised. This very early production model showed a willingness and ability to be driven fast and hard under almost all conditions and demonstrated an even greater potential for competitive use. In my opinion, the Corvette as it stands is fully as much a dual-purpose machine as the stock Jaguar, Triumph, or Austin-Healey. Without qualification, General Motors is now building a sports car. READ MORE >>
8. 1959 Ferrari 250GT California Spyder — 7.2 seconds (tie)
September 1959
7. 1958 Chevrolet 315 Delray — 7.2 seconds (tie)
January 1959
6. 1957 Porsche 1500 RS Spyder — 7.2 seconds (tie)
February 1957
The Porsche Spyder is a fantastic machine. It is fast and fiercely powerful, one of the most successful competition sports cars in history, and it has a personality no less complex than Dr. Jekyll's. At brisk highway speeds it is very easy to drive, docile, perfectly manageable, superbly responsive. It is even an easy car to drive "fairly" fast, the way Ken Miles and Richie Ginther have driven it in a long series of spectacular 1500-cc-modified wins. But to drive it really fast, as fast as it's able to go—this is work for a driving genius—for a man, as Miles puts it, "with extraordinarily quick reactions and an exceedingly delicate bottom." Says Miles: "I'm just not that much of a driver." READ MORE >>
5. 1957 Chevrolet Corvette (Dual Quad) — 6.8 seconds
June 1957
Starting the dual-quad car was easy, by twisting the ignition switch, though some care was needed to avoid flooding on hot starts. Once warmed up, the idle was low enough at 500 rpm, but it was full of lumps and shook the car bodily. This can be handed to the competition cam, which was installed in both cars and checks out as seen in the sidebar. READ MORE >>
4. 1959 Chevrolet Corvette — 6.6 seconds (tie)
March 1959
With each annual change, Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Corvette's godfather, has emphasized performance improvements. His theory is that to sell, the Corvette must first go. Styling has had its innings, too, but they have acted with more restraint than one expects from Detroit. READ MORE >>
3. 1957 Chevrolet Corvette (Fuel Injected) — 6.6 seconds (tie)
June 1957
Chevrolet's injection is a premature baby, but it's still alive and kicking. It was prematured by a sudden jolt from the collective Plymouth and Ford styling departments, and without a major body change Chev needed a potent sales weapon. The decision to bring out fuel injection was made very, very late in 1956—virtually on the introduction deadline. READ MORE >>
2. 1958 Ferrari 250GT Europa — 5.9 seconds
January 1958
1. 1958 Ferrari 4.9 Superfast — 5.6 seconds
September 1958
It was a Sunday afternoon in late spring. The scene: New York's Hutchinson River Parkway. The two checkered cap collegiates in the top-down TD ahead didn't see us coming. Cruising up at 45 mph in fourth, we silently changed down to third and then to second. Alongside by then, we dropped into synchromesh low, double-clutching purely for effect. Blasting once on the Marchal Stridor air horn, we fled the scene at full throttle, rending the air with not-so-quiet thunder and leaving a faint trace of abused rubber on the concrete. READ MORE >>
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