Car News

With Formula One-inspired styling, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is one of the most recognizable cars on the road today. Click to enlarge by Paul Seredynski A brief overview of the too-much-is-just-enough club.
Keen observers of the MSN Autos site will recognize this as the previous location of the now practically pedestrian 400-Horsepower Club. Throw a dart at the Cadillac lineup, and unless you wing the DTS or SRX, on any other model you can opt for 400-plus ponies under the hood. Mind you, four hundred of anything is a lot, and definitely nothing to sneeze at. But if you really want to impress in terms of excess thrust, the bar has leapt again. Just a few years ago, production cars with more than 500 horsepower were extremely rare, with the players limited to not-terribly-practical rides such as the Lamborghini Murcielago and Dodge Viper. Today there are at least a dozen brands that offer a U.S. production vehicle with 500 or more horsepower, with prices starting as low as $40,930—the base MSRP of the V8-powered 2007 Ford Shelby GT500.

With the AMG arm of Mercedes bringing its new 6.2-liter V8 online (and BMW answering with its new 5.0-liter V10), the number of models in this powerful club continues to proliferate as these new mills spread throughout those manufacturers’ lineups.

Photo Gallery: 500-Horsepower Club

Raging horsepower isn’t exactly the politically correct topic of the day, with environmental issues and fuel economy taking center stage. So what’s driving the latest horsepower surge? Generally speaking, power has taken on more significance as a key factor in the luxury equation.

Let’s face it: The 604-horsepower Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG isn’t much more lavish than the already luxurious 302-horsepower Mercedes-Benz S500. The S65 AMG is the top-level S-Class primarily because of the twin-turbo V12 under the hood—it’s all about bragging rights and performance. You just dropped 90-large on a sedan. Do you want to get dusted at a stoplight by someone in a Civic?

The biggest shift on the horsepower front is the types of models where you can find such prodigious output. No longer limited to performance coupes, 500-plus horsepower is available in nearly every body style: SUV, coupe, convertible, sedan—even in unexpected platforms such as Mercedes’ minivan-esque R63 AMG.

Thanks to Mercedes’ new mill, a number of the models in the 500 horsepower arena are four-door sedans. This subset still includes a wide range of sticker prices, from more stratospheric outlays such as the Bentley Continental Flying Spur (552 horsepower) and Maybach 62 S (604 horsepower), to more familiar models such as the BMW M5 (500 horsepower).

A pair of SUVs meet the club’s horsepower criteria: the updated Porsche Cayenne Turbo boasts a 500-horsepower direct-injected twin-turbocharged 4.8-liter V8 and the Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG sports the new 503-horsepower 6.2-liter V8.

Mercedes leads the way with 14 models that exceed 500 horsepower, with three of those models exceeding 600 horsepower (S65 AMG, SL AMG and McLaren SLR). Bentley, and Maybach tie for second, with four models each that make the 500 Club.

Of course, the 500 Club still hosts plenty of performance coupes, which form a slim majority in the clubhouse. The Mustang Shelby GT500 (500 horsepower), Corvette Z06 (505 horsepower), Dodge Viper (510 horsepower) and Saleen S7 (750 horsepower ..!!) form the domestic membership, with the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish S, Lamborghini Gallardo and Ferrari GTB adding some European flavor.

Porsche’s upcoming 911 GT2 is expected to break the 500 horsepower mark, and don’t forget the granddaddy of them all, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. The Veyron would earn two membership cards in the 500 Club, courtesy of its 1000-horsepower quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter 16-cylinder powerplant.